BIG WEEK: Auburn Baseball MUST Have A Strong Week Going Into SEC Play

0:00Another week goes by. Another week where SEC baseball is really good. Yes, please, thank you. You're talking ball with the SEC squad. From Alabama to Tennessee, from Georgia to Oklahoma, from Auburn to Texas. It's the local experts of the Lockdown Podcast Network, bringing you scoops, breakdowns, and the most comprehensive preview of the upcoming SEC weekend. It's the SEC squad, and we have a seat for you. The current feelings of thin skin are prohibited. Squad up, you're part of the SEC squad. Yes, squad up. Let's go. The SEC baseball squad, back at John Zach Blackerby, a host locked on Auburn, Stephen Willis, host locked on Ole Miss, Eric Kane, host locked on Falls, John neighbors, host locked on, Razorbacks, and we really appreciate you tuning in. I'm just getting Chris Marler also here with us. T-host locked on Gamecocks. Give us a quick update of your team

1:01and what they did since we last spoke. Gentlemen, John neighbors, you leave us off. Yeah, Arkansas decided to be weird and start like losing games. They shouldn't have, and it started really to be concerning. Lost a game, got smoked by an in-state rival. Now I can call on that. Arkansas State. In the midweek, but then they dropped their first game to UT Arlington at home, which was unacceptable. Even Boobert started coming out. They didn't raise your back stadium. But, hey, took care of business. They won the next two games. For some reason, it didn't move at all and the D1 poll of number six. So I'll take it. They'll be all right, but they got some work to do. Were you part of the Booberts, John neighbors? I cannot confirm or deny. All right. All right. Breaking news. Jimmy Stein, host of Locked On Banner. Also with us, welcome in Jimmy. Great to have you. Oh, Eric Kane. Give us an update on your balls. Yeah, last we all talked. It was a series loss to the mighty Golden Flashes of Kent State. But they rebounded. It's got the big win over Bellarmine in the midweek last week and took it on the chin to number one UCLA.

2:05Tennessee actually battled back. It was one run game in the seventh and in USC LA scored six runs of the seventh. But dropped that one in Arlington. Global, I feel within had wins over Arizona State in Virginia Tech. Offense, not great over the weekend, but the pitching was really solid, especially in those last two wins. So feeling better about Tennessee leaving the weekend after facing some pretty good competition. Chris Marler gives an update on South Carolina. They won all their games. And they're probably going to win the World Series. Not just for college baseball, but probably the MLB as well if they're given the chance. Yeah, and acting never lose a game. Maybe so. Well, they did lose to Queens, which was tough. And especially because that team was 0 and 17 all time. It gets power four teams. And was 9 and 44 season ago. And if you're keeping score at home, that's pretty. But yeah, history is a good way to look at it. That's great. When they played Clemson this weekend. And the cool thing about that was that they won the first game, which did what neighbors hate some more than anything. It's give hope.

3:06And they just dangled in front of us. And I ate it up. And then they lost their next two games. And the suck has returned. So there you go. Yeah. All right, Jimmy Stein locked on Bama. Last time we spoke, Alabama was a bit of a heater. Where are we now? Kind of hard to say, you know, the record's pretty good. Some of the wins are good. Some of the players have been really good. The best player on the team, Justin LeBron, is one of the best players in the country. He's off to a great start. A couple of pictures look great. It's kind of one of those things where the record looks good. Two of the three losses, they're 9 and 3. Two of the three losses are the teams that are likely to be in the NCAA tournament at the end. So you're not talking about bad losses. There's just a feeling that it's a little bit of a house of cards, and that it's kind of being held together with glue and spit. The competition this week, two mid weeks, and then North Florida comes to Tuscaloosa. Good chance there'll be five more wins. And a good chance I'm telling you guys the same thing next Monday that the record looks good.

4:09Several things look good. But it doesn't feel like everything's clicking or that the team is great. A little worried about SEC competition showing up. But overall, you got to like the record and some of the players, three to six hitters and a couple of starting pictures look really good early. Blue and spit. Was that gross for anyone else? Oh, hot. Hot. That's pretty thread. Love that. I don't get really wrong. On the same page there. Steven Willis. I think Blue and spit would work, come to think of it. Yeah, how does that? Yeah, I don't know. I'm not smiling to clear the science there. Anyway, I don't know how I follow that. But, um, let's go. Yeah, I always had a weird weekend. They had a game which the pitchers struck out 20 Baylor Bears that they lost because a player golfed a fastball outside low into the Crawford boxes in Houston, Texas. You ended up going to extra innings and lost the game because in college baseball, by the way,

5:09in extra innings, the Manford runner on second base is now a thing. So get ready for that, everybody. So that happened against Ohio State. That is what you expect, garbage program. And then in the game against Coastal Carolina, they just completely no showed. And that one was concerning because they had errors in the field. Dom Decker hit two home runs. He had never hit a collegiate home run before last week. And now he's hit four. And I'm worried that going into SEC baseball is kind of like Willie Mays haze from Major League 2 to where it's just going to start going to the warning track to where he's hitting home runs. You're trying to all the time. But good player. Offensively, he was the star, him, and Tristan Bessetta, Clemson transfer. But I think they were in a weird place. They went one and two for the weekend. Hopefully they can turn it around this weekend. Yeah, and then just quick update on Auburn. They, I mean, typical midweek weirdness.

6:10Needed to walk off to beat West Georgia. Fortunately, Auburn was on the good side of that. And then they won the second and third game after losing the Friday game against Nebraska in extras. But they ended up winning that series. They just kind of forced Nebraska. They just ran out of pitching, which was great. It's great down the stretch there. And so I think that's definitely a big difference when an SEC team is playing even a solid team for another conference is just the pitching depth in the SEC seems to be. Oh, there's nobody else on the shock that Arkansas didn't drop. So I was rooting for it, you know, but like two and two, like on the week, I'm shocked. And they didn't beat anybody like of importance over the weekend. I thought they were two and three. Was it two and two or two and three? It was two and two. So they should have been the one of the two wins was a one nothing win over UTA, which is, I mean, that's not super great. I think it's still called a win. Yeah, no, no, listen, you didn't drop in the polls.

7:12So there's nothing to be feisty with us about. You're living in good graces here, buddy. I'm just saying, if you, I mean, of the most negative of all of us here, neighbors, you're telling me you were happy with the one oh win over UTA? Yes, because it's a win. Okay. In baseball, John neighbors is so different than any other form of John Habers. It's so weird. Yeah, this is springtime. He's already gone through football basketball season by the time he gets to spring. It's like, uh, yeah, listen, I enjoy winning at the something sometimes, you know, it's fun over here. So hopefully it could keep up, but it is funny just because, you know, they have some really good players and they're trying to figure out the pitching rotation. They have their Sunday guy end up with Colin Fisher. I mean, that guy's incredible. May it move him to the A spot and then move around. A guy like Gabe Gagel. So they got, they got so much talent. It just a matter of just putting it all together. So I'm not worried. It's just more of a little bit frustrating, especially losing Arkansas State. Like, that's terrible. That's awful. Yeah. Can't imagine that. Can't imagine that for sure. All right.

8:13So there's a, there's a thing that we've talked about several times. All of y'all, half of y'all mentioned it. Let's, let's touch on that in just a moment, right here on the SEC baseball squad. Glue and spit. Yeah, that's right. What if sports were traded like markets? Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood prediction markets. It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a live market. You can buy or sell your positions live all game long. Use your sports knowledge in the moments that matter. Robin Hood prediction markets changes the game. It's people moving the action. So in momentum shifts, you can move with it. You're no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade every play with Robin Hood. Now available across the US download the Robin Hood app. Now to begin today show also brought to you by our friends. And indeed raise your hand if you love indeed.

9:17Here's a stat that says everything over the next minute. Companies like yours have made 27 hires on indeed according to indeed data worldwide. Chris Marler quick reaction to that fact. Love that also just realize I've been reading the wrong ad series this week. So it's tough night for me. All right, yep. Yep, that tracks. Listers of this show can get a $75 sponsor job credit to help get your job the premium status. It deserves an indeed.com slash podcast. It is indeed.com slash podcast need to hire. This is a job for indeed sponsored jobs. Today's show also brought to you by our friends. At Fandall, Fandall is America's number one sports book. Chris Marler redeemed yourself. Give me a line courtesy of Fandall. Oh, tomorrow in basketball, Georgia is one and a half point favorite over Alabama. And that is shocking for a number of reasons, but also because the money line is turned off currently on Fandall to their begging you to take Georgia. Interesting. Auburn and eight and a half point favorite against LSU.

10:17It's down to half a point, by the way, half a point. Eric, don't correct me in front of everybody, please. Half a point. He's been through enough. Yeah, he's been through enough on this show already. Head over to fandall.com to get started. They also have parlay profit boost for a lot of different things regarding college basketball right now. Fandall.com, that's fandall.com. Fandall play your game. Thank you so much for making all of our shows. Your first listen every single day. We really, really appreciate it. Something that a lot of you guys said is talking about, OK, but when conference plays starts, this is last weekend before conference play starts. Jimmy, I know you touched on it. Who else kind of wants to see a little bit more from their team before conference plays starts? It's sneaking up on us. Stephen Willis, take it away. What do you want to see? I want to see them be able to fill the ball in the infield. Whenever they lose, it's usually because of self-inflicted wounds.

11:18It's usually throwing areas, which is completely, I don't know. I'm not going to say unacceptable, but it's pretty not acceptable. And I don't like three outcome hitting. Ole Miss likes to play the Mike Bianco, the Skip Bertman from when he was in LSU. They were the guerrilla ball from time to time. And you don't see them manufacturing runs. You want to have some dirt bags in your lineup against coastal Carolina. The three outcome stuff just came to fruition in a horrible way. That needs to be corrected because the pitching's going to be much better when SEC teams roll in the town. Eric, I think you raised your hand too. What do you want to see from Tennessee before conference play starts? Offense. I mean, good Lord. Tennessee's hitting 268 in these non-conference games. I mean, that's not good enough in SEC play. I mean, again, like, you beat VT, not a very good team, three to one. You beat Arizona State, who I think is an actual good team, but it's five to three. I mean, Tennessee score 13 runs in three games last weekend. Need to score more runs. A couple of different guys.

12:18You've got to step up. This super sophomore class, Tennessee has a perfect game right of them, top class in the country and all that. I mean, you've got to come along right now. So obviously, it's a long season, off to slow starts, but got right state this weekend and then you're at Georgia, I think you're at Georgia, but I'd like to see some often, some more often. They're last in the SEC and run scores of, I think, like, 68. Yeah. That's crazy. It's one more for a successful season, right? Be nice. For sure. Anybody else want to add anything they want to see from their team before conference play starts? I wouldn't mind firing pulmonary. And I know that sounds crazy because it's so early, but like at seven and five and you start looking at this, they got to play USC upstate on Tuesday, which as a former Georgia College State University Bobcat, you better not lose to them because we didn't. That was division two. They better win two or go two and no in the midweek. They have prints in this weekend, as long as it's not an academic decafalon, they should probably win that.

13:19But five of their first six weekend series in the SEC are going to be against top ten opponents. And that's probably the same for a lot of teams on the skates, it's kind of part for the course. Right. But with how bad South Carolina is, I just, I don't know how long you let this thing play out with, with Benari, because it's just, it's some point you also need to show the fans like, hey, we, we hear you. This does suck. Here you go. Are you also surprised that Vandy is also seven and five with South Carolina at the bottom of the league? Is that surprising to anyone else? They're never going to go west of the Mississippi River ever again. It is so bad. That's why Cory isn't here. Okay. I make sense. We get. I mean, we bullied him pretty bad like the first time we did this for nicer last week. Yeah. Maybe we scared him off. I don't know. I don't know. Who'd have thought the Vanderbilt guy doesn't want to come on during baseball season, but he was pretty loud during football season. Yeah. I know. Yes. This is the world we're living in. Yeah. That's the pain of blue and spit.

14:20I hate it. I hate it so much. I'm so uncomfortable when you say that. Of these teams that, you know, I mean, a lot of these teams on paper have that good record. Jimmy was talking about that earlier. Texas 10-0, Florida 11-1, LSU 11-1, however, we're recording this on Monday night. That may be changing. Is it still 10-0? It's 10-1. LSU scored. All right. 10-1. Yeah. Yeah. It's in like the sixth inning. Thank God. I didn't go to that game. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Mississippi saying 11-1, A&M, 10. I mean, art of these teams. Which one of these are you saying you guys saying like, I don't know if I'm buying that. I mean, even Missouri, who is kind of deemed as the worst team in the conference, they're 10-2 right now. I'm not buying Missouri. I'll just go in. I don't know anything about that team. I'm not buying Missouri. I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm just asking the question. I don't know. Missouri is not real. You're not going to win it every week, but LSU. I think there's two, three, even four teams in the SEC that can win the national championship.

15:22Yeah. And I know this is going to sound weird coming for me, but Mississippi State, they're very good. They're pretty good. I watched Mississippi State play twice in person this weekend, and I thought they were so overranks in preseason. It's pretty good. Again, I didn't see their entire staff. They played somebody good this week, don't they? They played a bunch of people good this week. Are you mean the good upcoming week? Well, they just played UCLA. Yeah. Yeah. They go to Southern Miss. Uh, two. Number 10. Number 10 Southern Miss. Yeah. That's not even a midweek. That's a trap. That's an ambush. Yeah. Alabama played at Southern Miss last Tuesday and got, got whacked pretty good, but then went to Texas and beat Iowa. They beat ranked Oregon State, lost to Houston. Southern Miss is better than all three of those power four teams. I believe it's hard not to get whacked pretty good with a gluing spit, but I'll tell you that it's also the misdemeanor. I hate it. Um, one of two teams in the SEC that has won loss in the year because it missed to be state wins that game against UCLA when they're up five three, if they don't give them up

16:24a bomb to to rock Cholosky, however you say his name, we're probably talking with them a little bit differently. I think what I'm most impressed with them is going into the after the first weekend, they hit 236 against Hofstra opening weekend and now they are second in the SEC in batting average overall. Um, and obviously, I think the arms are going to be fine. So they are still a very, very good team. Texas is like the most under the radar elite team in the country and like, I know that it's early on and I know they haven't played the same gauntlet that a lot of other teams have had. And I also know that I don't love giving Texas a lot of credit for anything, um, but them being one of three teams in the country that are still undefeated and you talk about other 11 wins. I think it's eight out of the 11, um, they've given up two runs or less on the mound. They've been very, very good. All right, anything, anything else from anybody specifically before we wrap this one up since everybody wants to know more about Tennessee, uh, you know, to the captain of the pitching man, like I talked about the offense earlier, um, which, you know, good players are going

17:27to figure it out, right? I mean, this pitching, regardless, going to keep Tennessee in every game, allow Tennessee to play catch up offensively, uh, the three starters, were they perfect this past weekend? No, but man, they all pitch into the sixth inning, um, you know, taking coons, when he got hit, he got hit hard, but boy, did he look good with 10 strike outs against UCLA and, um, you know, Blanco on Sundays, he's got some control issues, but he's getting up to combine runs, the last two starts laying a maximum good, the bullpen outside of, you know, Brandon Robinson, who's their top bullpen arm got roughed up against UCLA, then they threw some scrubs to, I don't want to say scrubs, they threw, threw some younger arms to save the bullpen, but the bullpen was great the rest of the weekend. I'm big fan of Tennessee's pitching staff. I think that, um, there's a lot more firepower last year, but I think this is going to be a much better staff talked about them. I've been really pleased with Auburn starting pitching as well. I do think they get a little bit more vulnerable, the deeper in games, which I'm a little surprised with because coming to the season, I really like some of their relievers. Um, I'm really just basing that off of the Nebraska series.

18:28I'll probably shouldn't overreact to that as much, but, um, definitely something worth noting. It's really one team that, that's not getting enough love and it's probably also because they have not played anyone yet and that's Georgia. But Georgia went into this past week, tied for first the SEC in homeruns of 23. They now have 38, which is 10 more than any other team, um, in the conference. They're also top five in the SEC and ERA is a staff and again, like they have not played anyone great, but they're going to hit the ball like really, really well always with that head coach. And the bigger thing too is the two kids they got from Stanford out of the transfer portal on the mound, they have both been very, very good so far. So it'll be interesting to see when they actually start playing some actual competition, um, but they, they look really, really good so far, especially offensively. So when do they leave in William sport? Very fair. They, I don't think they've left home. They have, I mean, they, they are McCulley Colken right now in Athens, Georgia. I don't know if they have an ankle monitor or like as they probably should with some of the players in that football team, but I mean, my God.

19:29Wow. Yeah. Game of home. You're right. It's crazy. All right. Good stuff. I'm going to ankle monitor. All right. Cool. I'm laughing. I'm laughing. You had two days in there. That one. That one. That one. Chris Marler, host of locked on Gamecox. Jimmy Sin, host of locked on Bama John neighbors, host of locked on razor backs. Eric Kane of locked on ball. Stephen Willis of locked on Ole Miss. I'm Zach Blackerby. I host locked on Auburn. Thanks for tuning in to the SEC baseball squad. Fire Steven Pearl. Okay. Man. What? What? What? What? What what? Fire Steven Pearl. Seventh Pearl. Fest of fire Steven Pearl.