Let's talk about the baseball schedule
I like how it sets up. I always split the schedule up into three parts- pre-SEC play, first half of SEC play and then second half.
So, pre-SEC we have a couple of weekend opponents against Northern teams who are beatable and it should give us a chance to play a lot of guys, not overexert our starters, give some freshmen some experience on the mound. Then midweek we have some teams that I think are pretty good quality opponents for the most part. The only midweek gimmie is a Weds against Alcorn. But Troy, Austin Peay, USM in Hattiesburg, and Tulane in Biloxi should be some pretty good tests for this team. They're also teams that are usually pretty decent where we can build our resume' up some. But the Arlington Tournament is a chance for our team to make a statement. Arizona State is a blueblood, Virginia Tech is good, and then the big one is UCLA who might be number one on Sunday. If we play well early and get a win over UCLA, it could have a similar impact as beating Texas in Arlington in 2021. After that tournament we play Lipscomb for a weekend series and we get a chance to reset and make some adjustments before SEC play.
I'm going to be interested to see how BOC manages pre-SEC play because I didn't really care for how Lemonis managed it. Lemonis stayed with some guys too long and then other guys weren't getting innings or AB's hardly and then we had to tinker a lot in SEC play usually after we lost our first three series. I'm expecting to see more guys play early. And the other thing I'm interested in is how BOC manages the staff when we have four legit SEC caliber starting pitchers with three spots. Do we piggyback Foster and Stone? Do we pitch one midweek and bring them back in relief on Sunday like we used Houston Harding? Is it going to be straight up traditional like when Brooks Dunn was our midweek guy and he basically pitched midweek every Tuesday?
SEC play. It is a difficult schedule but looking at it the road series that worry me the most are Arkansas and Texas. I think both of those teams are going to be up to play MSU but my hope is we can at least win 1 game at both of those. We usually play like garbage against Arkansas so I hope BOC at least improves us there. The next most difficult road series IMO is Ole Miss. I think they are probably a top 30 team and they have some seniors like Hunter Elliott, Judd Uttermark, and Will Furniss who has given us some problems and honestly it wouldn't shock me if we lost the series to them because they have seniors and it's on the road. At the same time, I think we have a decent chance to win the series especially if we beat Elliott. Plus, we tend to play them pretty well. The other two road series though I think are pretty winnable and maybe even sweepable in South Carolina and Texas A&M. I think both of those teams might be looking for new coaches at the end of the year. So, really not the worst road schedule ever honestly.
Then we play LSU for SBW. We usually find a way to win at least one game against them in Starkville. Might set an attendance record too. Georgia will be a tough series too. The rest- we play Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee. Auburn is better than they were and Butch will have them ready to play but I think we win the series probably. And Vanderbilt is still good but not what they were with Rocker and Leiter and I think Tennessee takes a step back without Vitello. This might be wooly but I could see us winning 3-4 of our home weekend series.
The midweeks lighten up a bit for the most part once SEC play starts- the most difficult games being the Governor's Cup and a home game against USM. We also play Samford on the road and those are always tricky. The rest of the midweek is Memphis in Starkville who can never can seem to get their act together, a potentially decent Nichols team, and then two games against SWAC teams in Jackson State and Grambling.
The toughest stretch during SEC play is definitely LSU at home, Ole Miss for the Governor's Cup followed up by a road series against Texas. That's also a chance for us to make a move for the postseason as well if we play well.
We'll see how it plays out!
