SEC Baseball Weekend Recap - Week 6

The second weekend of SEC action has been completed and there were a few surprises around the league in some big early season matchups. Let's take a look at this week's SEC players of the week, along with the updated standings and some notes on this weekend's matchups:

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alex Bregman • LSU
Freshman • SS • Albuquerque, N.M.

• Bregman hit a remarkable .632 (12-for-19) in the Tigers' four wins last week with two doubles, three RBI and six runs scored ... he collected three hits in each of the Tigers' four games, including a three-game SEC sweep of Auburn ... Recorded two stolen bases and posted a .650 on-base percentage ... he delivered the game-winning, walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning Wednesday in the Tigers' 2-1 victory over Northwestern State.
• Bregman hit a sizzling .692 (9-for-13) in the Auburn series with one double, two RBI, five runs scored, two steals and a .714 OBP.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Ryne Stanek • Arkansas
Junior • RHP • Overland Park, Kan.

• Stanek worked the second complete game of his collegiate career to lead Arkansas to the series-clinching win over South Carolina on Saturday ... The Razorbacks went on to sweep the three-game series against the Gamecocks, becoming the first SEC team to sweep a three-game series in Columbia since 1999 ... Stanek only allowed two unearned runs on three hits and struck out a season-high seven batters in his complete game effort.
• The three hits allowed were the fewest by an Arkansas pitcher in a complete game performance since Brett Eibner in 2009 ... Opened the game by retiring the first eight batters he faced.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Matt Kent • Texas A&M
LHP • Waco, Texas

• With the Aggies looking for doubleheader sweep and a road series win over No. 6 Ole Miss, Kent entered a game with the Rebels leading 5-2 in the second and kept their prolific bats in check as A&M registered a 10-6 come-from-behind win. The Rebel assault already chased two A&M pitchers from the contest when the Aggie freshman entered the game to start the bottom of the second.
• The southpaw worked 5.0 scoreless frames, holding Ole Miss to three hits and one walk while striking out three.

[via SECSports.com]

• There's no doubt the the most anticipated series in-conference this past weekend was the South Carolina - Arkansas series that took place in Columbia, South Carolina. I would imagine most of us expected a tight series between a team ranked #1 in the preseason and a team that has for years called the top 10 home. But that tight series had a much different outcome than we might have expected, as the sleeping giant Arkansas awoke, winning three games at South Carolina while scoring 24 runs on the weekend. Arkansas blew things up early in the Friday game, using a 9(!)-run fourth inning to secure a 15-3 series opening win en route to a sweep on the weekend. That is impressive to do to any team, let alone the top ten Gamecocks AT their home field. Needless to say, Arkansas might have figured things out, and oh goody! Just in time for MSU to travel to Fayetteville this weekend.
• Speaking of MSU, the Bulldogs for the second straight weekend had ample opportunity to win a series against a top ten foe, only to let that opportunity slide away due to errors. This weekend's errors were on the pitching side of things - the Bulldogs gave up a total of five runs on two -- yes, TWO -- hits in two first-innings of a doubleheader on Saturday. That doomed State from the start, and they were never able to recover, losing two games and the series to the homestanding Wildcats. If State is going to get on track in the SEC, they are going to have to figure out their pitching staff, and in a hurry. Evan Mitchell continues to struggle, and right now, no position in the rotation is safe from change.
• LSU continued just being LSU this weekend by winning three in a row at home against a slumping Auburn team. Okay, so maybe Auburn isn't slumping as much as they've just opened SEC play with the #2 and #7 teams, respectively. Unofficial stat from this weekend series: Mason Katz hit another 1,335,237 home runs. Seriously, the guy is impressive.
• Georgia and Missouri continued their battle for SEC East cellar dominance, as the dynamic duo of teams went a combined 1-5 on the weekend against Tennessee and Alabama. Georgia has now lost eight games in a row.
• In one of the other semi-big matchups in-conference this weekend, Vanderbilt took on Florida in a series that in any other year might have gone either way. Still, Florida came out swinging, taking Friday night's game from the #2 Commodores. But of course, the 'Dores bounced back and won two games and the series, keeping their hot season start intact.

Here's a look at the upcoming week 6 matchups in conference:

• Georgia at Kentucky
  
• Mississippi St. at Arkansas
• Alabama at Auburn
• LSU at Missouri
  
• Texas A&M at South Carolina
  
• Ole Miss at Florida
• Tennessee at Vanderbilt