He does have guys hitting behind him that are hitting .375 and .357 in conference play only, so it's not like he has "terrible protection." Sneed's slugging % is .641 and Duffy's is .548 in SEC play also, so while they may not be feared, they are still statistically some of the best hitters in SEC only games.
Again, hitting isn't really our problem. If it wasn't for some of the Cohen guys like Ogden, Frost, and Thigpen, our SEC batting average would be in the top 4-5 in the league. The other categories, not so much.