SEC Tournament
Review
LSU defeated Vanderbilt, 5-4, in 11 innings last Sunday (May 26) to win the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament championship. The Tigers entered the tournament as the second seed overall, while the Commodores were the top seed. LSU jumped out to 4-2 lead but Vanderbilt tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. Neither team scored again until the Tigers knocked in the game-winning run in the top of the 11th inning. Vanderbilt failed to score in the bottom half of the inning, and the Tigers celebrated yet another tournament championship.
Prior to Sunday’s showdown, both teams were in danger of missing the championship game. Despite being the top two seeds for the tournament, the Tigers and the Commodores lost early games. Vanderbilt lost its opening game to Texas A&M 5-0, while LSU lost 4-1 to rival Arkansas. Luckily for both teams, each received favorable matchups the rest of the way.
On May 23, Alabama defeated Ole Miss 7-5 to knock the Rebels out of the tournament. Vanderbilt edged South Carolina 4-3, and Mississippi State beat Texas A&M, 6-4. Entering the weekend, the only two undefeated teams in the tournament were Mississippi State and Arkansas. Friday’s lose-or-go-home games included rematches between Vanderbilt/Texas A&M and LSU/Alabama. The Commodores blanked the Aggies, 3-0, while the Tigers slid past the Crimson Tide 3-2.
In the semifinals on May 25, LSU defeated Arkansas, 3-1, to reach the title game. In the following game, Vanderbilt put on a hitting display en route to a 16-8 victory over Mississippi State.
NCAA Tournament Preview
Nine SEC teams made the 64-team NCAA tournament field. LSU, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Mississippi State received No. 1 seeds and will host the regional round. Alabama, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Arkansas received No. 2 seeds, while Florida is the league’s lone third seed.
The regional round is a four-team double elimination tournament. From there, 16 teams will advance to the Super Regionals, where two teams compete in a best-of-three series. The eight remaining teams then enter the College World Series, which eventually determines the national champion.
SEC Regional matchups (May 31- June 3)
Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida State vs. Savannah State
Alabama vs. Troy
Starkville, Miss.
Mississippi State vs. Central Arkansas
South Alabama vs. Mercer
Raleigh, N.C.
N.C. State vs. State University of New York at Binghamton
Ole Miss vs. William & Mary
Nashville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt vs. East Tennessee State
Georgia Tech vs. Illinois
Manhattan, Kans.
Kansas State vs. Wichita State
Arkansas vs. Bryant
Corvallis. Ore.
Oregon State vs. UT-San Antonio
Texas A&M vs. UC-Santa Barbara
Columbia, S.C
South Carolina vs. Saint Louis
Clemson vs. Liberty
Bloomington, Ill.
Indiana vs. Valparaiso
Austin Peay vs. Florida
Baton Rouge, La.
LSU vs. Jackson State
Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Sam Houston State