SEC BASEBALL TOURNEY: Tide, Tigers playing for NCAA seeding

By GRAHAM DUNN


Alabama needed a win over Florida or a loss by either Tennessee or Ole Miss on the final day of the the Southeastern Conference regular season to avoid playing in the first round of the SEC baseball tournament.

None of those outcomes took place meaning the Crimson Tide will open the single-elimination tournament on Tuesday with plenty to play for.

The Tide will be the No. 9 seed, just missing out of the first-round bye, and will face 16th-seed Missouri in the first game of the tournament on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Hoover Met.

The game can be heard on WTLS Radio (click) and seen on the SEC Network.

Teams may have NCAA seedings to play for this week, particularly the Crimson Tide, which is considered a bubble team as far as one of the top 16 overall seeds. The RPI and strength of schedule ranks among the best in the country and they have 14 wins verses Quad 1 teams.

This year’s tournament features a new format - single elimination - meaning Alabama would have to win five games to earn the title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Regionals.

Meanwhile, Auburn will be the sixth seed and open the tournament on Wednesday against either Texas A&M or Mississippi State, two teams that finished the regular season with with an underwhelming record.

Texas A&M was the preseason No. 1 team in the country in most polls but started the conference season losing its first six games on the way to a disappointing 11-17 record.

Mississippi State also struggled to a 15-15 conference record and fired its coach, Chris Lemonis, a few weeks ago.

The top four seeds are led by regular season champ Texas, followed by Arkansas, LSU and Vanderbilt.

A win for Alabama on Tuesday would match it with Tennessee, which is the eighth seed.

SEC Tournament schedule (Single Elimination)

Tuesday (All times CDT)

9:30 a.m.: Gm 1 - Alabama (9) vs. Missouri (16)

1 p.m.: Gm 2 - Oklahoma (12) vs. Kentucky (14)

4:30 p.m.: Gm 3 - Florida (10) vs. South Carolina (15)

8 p.m.: Gm 4 - Miss St (11) vs. Texas A&M (15)

Wednesday

9:30 a.m.: Gm 5 - Game 1 winner vs. Tennessee (8)

1 p.m.: Gm 6 - Game 2 winner vs. Georgia (5)

4:30 p.m.: Gm 7 - Game 3 winner) vs. Ole Miss (7)

8 p.m.: Gm 8 - Game 4 winner vs. Auburn (6)

Thursday

3 p.m.: Gm 9 - Game 5 winner vs. Texas (1)

6:30 p.m.: Gm 10 - Game 6 winner vs. Vanderbilt (4)

Friday

3 p.m.: Gm 11 - Game 7 winner vs. Arkansas (2)

6:30 p.m.: Gm 12 - Game 8 winner vs. LSU (3)

Saturday (Semifinals)

12 p.m.: Gm 13 - Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner

3:30 p.m.: Gm 14 - Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner

Sunday (Finals)

2:30 p.m. - Gm 15: Game 14 winner vs. Game 13