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SEC Baseball: Top series for Week 2 of 2019 conference play

By Justin Strawn

BATON ROUGE, LA - MAY 12: LSU Tigers head coach Paul Mainieri during a game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers on May 12, 2018, at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. (Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - MAY 12: LSU Tigers head coach Paul Mainieri during a game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers on May 12, 2018, at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. (Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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GAINESVILLE, FL – APRIL 26: Auburn’s Judd Ward (1) makes a catch during the college baseball game between the No. 22 Auburn Tigers and the No. 1 Florida Gators on April 26, 2018 at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL – APRIL 26: Auburn’s Judd Ward (1) makes a catch during the college baseball game between the No. 22 Auburn Tigers and the No. 1 Florida Gators on April 26, 2018 at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Second best SEC baseball series this weekend: (12) Auburn Tigers at (2) Mississippi State Bulldogs

Why it’s important

The series between the Auburn Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs will feature two of the best pitching teams in the conference. The Friday night starters could put on the best pitching duel you will see in the SEC this year.

Auburn will come to Starkville with a minuscule 2.11 earned run average and hitters are hitting just .204 against their pitchers. Hits and runs are hard to come by when taking on the Auburn Tigers.

The ace of the staff is Tanner Burns. He sports a 0.54 ERA with a 3-0 record and hitters are hitting just .154 against him. On the season, Burns has struck out 48 hitters and walked just five.

The Tigers will follow Burns with Jack Owen who also has a sub 1.00 ERA at 0.31. Batters are hitting just .161 against Owen

As good as that is, Mississippi State can counter with a 2.24 team ERA and two solid aces of their own. Ethan Small will counter Burns on Friday night with a sparkling 1.50 ERA. Hitters have struggled to the tune of a .157 batting average against Small. He has struck out 51 and walked just five.

First round draft pick and freshman J.T. Ginn will go on Saturday. Outside of the last inning of his last outing, Ginn has been just as impressive. His ERA is 2.59 and hitters are batting just .195 against him. He has 43 strikeouts and just 3 walks.

Prediction

As great as the pitching is in this series, the winner of the series will be determined by who can generate the most offense. And for that reason, the edge has to go to Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs are hitting .314 and averaging almost nine runs a game. Auburn is no slouch with a .272 average and almost seven runs a game, but the Bulldog bats have been red hot as of late, and they should pave the way to a 2-1 series victory.