Skip to main content

SEC Preview: Can the Dawgs' pitching staff do the dirty work? Arkansas, Bama, A&M overcome "weaknesses"?

Screenshot 2024-07-31 at 7.46.34 PMby: Brady Vernon02/02/24BradyVernon
Untitled design (2)
Courtesy of Kayla Renie/UGA Athletics

The always talented and tough SEC slate is virtually the postseason every week. Georgia returns essentially its entire roster with a few big additions. But, will the Bulldogs need to find new ways to win games to finish atop the SEC? Meanwhile, South Carolina has a similar build to a WCWS team from last season. Will Arkansas, Alabama and Texas A&M’s “weaknesses” hinder them this season? Find out in the SEC preview. 

Projected Standings
Georgia
Tennessee
Arkansas
LSU
South Carolina
Alabama
Texas A&M
Florida
Auburn
Missouri
Kentucky
Mississippi State
Ole Miss

SEC Player of the Year: Kiki Milloy, Tennessee

SEC Pitcher of the Year: Alana Vawter, South Carolina

SEC Freshman of the Year: Keagan Rothrock, Florida

Five Underrated Players to Know: 

  • Raigan Kramer, Arkansas
  • Jocelyn Erickson, Florida
  • Lyndi Rae Davis, Georgia
  • Brooke Blankenship, South Carolina
  • Rylie West, Tennessee

Three Storylines That Will Define the Season: 

Can Georgia’s arms win the grimy games?

Jayda Kearney, Sara Mosley, Sydney Kuma and the entire Georgia lineup are going to win the Bulldogs a lot of games this season. Georgia should finish toward the top of the national rankings in most offensive categories once again. Even the best lineups don’t have answers every game whether it be a dominant pitching performance or the bad luck with the ball not finding grass. 

Last season, 10 of Georgia’s 15 losses occurred when the offense scored two or fewer runs. The Bulldogs won just three games in that scenario. The pitching staff doesn’t need to be perfect for the team to succeed as the firepower returns and key transfers like Sarah Gordon. Avoiding a repeat of last season when the bats went cold against Cal Baptist and Ball State will be key for UGA.  

Shelby Walters, Madison Kerpics and North Carolina transfer Lilli Backes are all very talented and experienced at this point. While the returners carried the majority of the innings, Backes gives Georgia a lefty to use. Even Kylie Macy has shown good stuff in her limited outings over the past two years. 

It’d be a little overzealous to believe one of the arms becomes a bonafide star but the group has the ability work together to put together low-scoring wins. Backes proved to be a workhorse at North Carolina and will be able to carry a chunk of innings too. Keeping everyone fresh simply could be the difference in winning. The best teams win in different ways, and for Georgia to emerge as the SEC winner this seems to be the path forward. 

Will South Carolina be Stanford east? 

This goes much deeper than South Carolina’s addition of Alana Vawter, but the Stanford transfer certainly helps. Donnie Gobourne did a lot of her damage via the strikeout, that’s not the case with Vawter. She relied on weak contact and having a great defense behind her. Well, what team finished tied for the least amount of errors in the SEC last season? The South Carolina Gamecocks.

The ingredients are there for South Carolina to build off the success from last season. Star defender Brooke Blankenship is a pitcher’s best friend. South Carolina has its own impressive freshman pitcher to help complement Vawter. Sage Mardjetko comes to Columbia from Lemont, Ill. after an extraordinary senior year that included a 23-0 record with a 0.00 ERA, and a dozen no-hitters, including one in the state championship game. The pair have already started to push one another ahead of their debut season as Gamecocks. 

There shouldn’t be NiJaree Canady-level expectations for Mardjetko because that wouldn’t be fair to anyone. However, the way the two win against batters seems like a perfect match. Fellow freshman Reganne Bennett and fifth-year Bailey Betenbaugh will firmly be in the mix as well.

South Carolina’s offensive numbers from last year aren’t staggering by any means. However, they have natural power and boast the second-most stolen bases among Power Five programs. Blankenship finished with a .300 average and came through in clutch moments. Veterans Riley Blampied and Aniyah Black hit seven and six home runs respectively. It’s easy to foresee Jen Cummings having decent power numbers again. Denver Bryant headlines a group of SEC transfers that includes Bre Warren and Kiki Estrada. Karley Shelton rounds out the group of rookies who are expected to make an immediate impact. 

On paper, South Carolina benefits from its SEC schedule. The Gamecocks have six series against teams that finished in the bottom half of the conference last season. Their other two SEC series are both at home against Tennessee and Arkansas while missing Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and LSU. The Gamecocks appear to have a lot going for them this season. 

Will Arkansas, Alabama and Texas A&M overcome their perceived weakest faucets?

Arkansas, Alabama and Texas A&M all have a ton of talent. But coming into the season, each has their own perceived weakness. Arkansas doesn’t have a go-to arm, Alabama’s offense is a question mark and Texas A&M’s defense was a real issue last season. 

Let’s start in Fayetteville. There is no Autumn Storms, no Mary Haff, no Chenise Delce. There isn’t an ace for the Razorbacks, well at least not yet. Arkansas may simply use all six of its pitchers effectively. However, Courtney Deifel has too rich of a history developing arms to not think someone steps forward. Of the pitchers on the roster, transfers Morgan Leinstock and Reis Beuerlein or sophomores Hannah Camenzind and Robyn Herron are the likely candidates based on what we’ve seen to become the team’s leader in the circle. As good as the Bogle Bombers should be, Arkansas will need an arm to work through a tough inning or go win a game for them, it’s figuring out who it will be. 

Montana Fouts wasn’t the only key loss for Alabama’s roster. Ashley Prange and Ally Shipman’s graduation leaves the Tide without their two top hitters from a year ago. The sophomore class has a chance to be special if all comes together, building off a solid freshman year. It won’t be shocking if Kenleigh Cahalan is an All-American at some point in her career. Larissa Preuitt and Kristen White showed potential in the outfield and both have a chance to start for years to come. Marlie Giles steps into the starting catching role. The numbers from last season aren’t eye-popping by any means, but Alabama always finds a way to be good one way or another. If that group can make second-year jumps paired with veterans Bailey Dowling and Jenna Johnson, Alabama’s offense can be better than last season. 

Trisha Ford’s pitching staff is deep. Emiley Kennedy has the physical tools to be an ace and one of the best arms in the conference. The Julia Cottrill-led offense should be more well-rounded in year two under Jeff Harger. But, for Texas A&M to be very good, the defense has to be better. The Aggies finished second-to-last in the SEC in terms of fielding percentage, and that doesn’t account for the fly balls that were misread and fell for a hit in the outfield. The addition of Jazmine Hill will not only add a quality bat, but a veteran to solidify the team’s outfield. Koko Wooley should have less than 15 errors this year and Amani Harper made strides throughout the season at second base as a freshman last year. If the defense comes together, the pitching becomes more confident and then takes the pressure off the offense. 

 

You may also like