Alabama Baseball Preview: SEC Tournament

In the blink of an eye, this could be the end of the Alabama baseball careers for such stalwarts like Chance Vincent, Georgie Salem, and Thomas Burrows. After winning seven of eight games, the Tide's chances for the post-season appearance looked promising. Then, the South Carolina Gamecocks swept that notion right out the door. With Alabama balancing precariously on the NCAA bubble, today's game with Kentucky could mean the difference between saying goodbye to the seniors (and Burrows who could be drafted early) and extending the season a few more weeks.

The Wildcats sit in a similar position in what could be an NCAA elimination game for both teams. Kentucky (32-24 overall, 15-15 SEC, 55 RPI) and Alabama (31-24, 15-15 SEC, 58 RPI) tied for eighth place in the overall league standings. UK is slotted as the No. 8 seed and Alabama at No. 9 because the Wildcats won two out of three games between the teams in early April. While that series was played in Lexington, today's first round SEC Tournament game will be played at "The Met" Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover at 4:30pm CT. The game will be televised on the SEC Network. Win that game and they face SEC regular season champs Mississippi State on Wednesday 4:30pm CT. Lose and pray the NCAA selection committee deems the Tide worthy of the post-season.

The Tide saved up junior right hander Nick Eicholtz from the weekend series while UK used their three weekend starters to achieve a sweep over Mizzou. The 'Cats are expected to start sophomore lefthander Zach Logue, who has a 3-1 record and 2.62 earned run average. Eicholtz is 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA.

The first round is single game elimination.

* Only the top 12 teams participate in the SEC Tournament. Auburn (23-33, 8-22) and Arkansas (26-29, 7-23) did not qualify.

Tournament Schedule

(All times CT)

Tuesday, May 24

Game 1: No. 6 Vanderbilt 7, No. 11 Missouri 0 - F
Game 2: No. 7 Ole Miss 5, No. 10 Georgia 1 - F
Game 3: No. 8 Kentucky 2, No. 9 ALABAMA 5 - F, Hunter Webb 3 hits, 2 RBI, Will Haynie 3 hits, HR, 2 RBI
Game 4: No. 5 LSU 5 No. 12 Tennessee 4 - F, Vols blow a one run lead in the ninth.

Wednesday, May 25

Game 5: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. Vanderbilt, 9:30 a.m.
Game 6: No. 2 South Carolina vs. Ole Miss, 1 p.m.
Game 7: No. 1 Mississippi State vs. ALABAMA, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8: No. 4 Florida vs. LSU, 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 26

Game 9: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 9:30 a.m.
Game 10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 11: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Game 12: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8 p.m.

Friday, May 27

Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 loser, 3 p.m.
Game 14: Game 10 winner vs. Game 12 loser, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 28

Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 11 winner, noon
Game 16: Game 14 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 29

SEC Championship 2 p.m.

All games can be seen on the SEC Network, except the Championship game which will air on ESPN2.