SEC baseball a dogfight in 2021

Not since the new millennium began has a Southeast Conference baseball season gone by without Mt. Pleasant or Fairfield at the top. More than halfway through the 2021 conference schedule, it looks like that is about to change.

The Panthers and Trojans have dominated SEC baseball for over 20 years. They’re the only two schools that have won the title outright and every split championship has involved one of the two, but that streak looks destined to come to an end.

Fairfield is sitting fourth out of six, with a 5-7 SEC record, and Mt. Pleasant is fifth, at 3-9. Washington’s 8-6 conference mark bests both, but even the Demons are a hop, skip and a jump away from the SEC’s leaders.

Barring major upsets, Burlington (11-1) and No. 10 (3A) Fort Madison (10-2) are in a two-dog race to the finish line. The SEC’s only two canine mascots split their first doubleheader of the year, and would be all squared up if not for Washington’s 4-3 home win over Fort Madison on June 3.

Washington is back above .500 in conference play after a sweep against Keokuk on Monday. The Demons have just six conference games left to play, two each against Burlington, Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant.

While the Demons aren’t mathematically out of the conference race, they’ll need to get red-hot and hope for some help from the rest of the SEC if they want to make a late run at the title.

Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant each have eight SEC games left. Along with finishing a weather-postponed doubleheader against each other, the Trojans need to play Fort Madison, Washington and Keokuk. Mt. Pleasant still needs to play Fort Madison, Washington and Burlington.

Washington’s Lucas Kroll is sitting atop the SEC in batting average with a mark of .469. He leads the SEC with 30 hits. Teammate Wilx Witthoft leads the league with 10 doubles, and Reece Mayer has five triples on the year to add to Washington’s impressive stats.

Washington is the top hitting SEC team with a .355 team average. Mt. Pleasant is fourth, hitting .276 as a team, and Fairfield bats .239, which is worst in the conference.

It’s the defensive side that separates the SEC’s leaders from the rest of the pack. Burlington has a team ERA of 2.47, best in the conference. Fort Madison is right behind them with a 2.57 ERA, and the SEC’s other four teams are far behind, with Fairfield sitting at 6.18, Washington at 6.59, Keokuk at 10.08 and Mt. Pleasant and 10.95.

The conference schedule resumes Thursday night with three more doubleheaders. Fairfield will host Washington. Mt. Pleasant hosts Fort Madison, and Keokuk hosts Burlington.

SEC BASEBALL STANDINGS

Team Conference Overall

1. Burlington 11-1, 17-5

2. Fort Madison 10-2, 17-4

3. Washington 8-6, 12-7

4. Fairfield 5-7, 7-12

5. Mt. Pleasant 3-9, 5-15

6. Keokuk 1-13, 2-20