Rain, weather delay SEC baseball tournament in Hoover
The South Carolina baseball team will be the No. 10 seed in the SEC tournament that starts Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama. When the game actually starts is in flux.
Tuesday’s first game between No. 6 Georgia and No. 11 Alabama has been delayed twice so far because of rain in the Hoover area. Alabama leads the game 5-1 in the bottom of the third inning.
The forecast for the week in Hoover isn’t looking too promising — there’s a 70% chance of rain every day through Thursday. Tuesday’s game schedule could be looking at a series of stops and starts, based on the forecast.
The Gamecocks (27-27, 13-17 SEC) will open tournament play Tuesday — approximately 30 minutes after Alabama-Georgia wrap — against the very same Gators team they played this weekend in Gainesville. USC won Saturday’s game 4-1 to avoid a sweep after dropping the first two games.
The Gamecocks sit at No. 67 in the college baseball RPI and do not project to qualify for an NCAA regional. More than likely, USC’s only hope of making the NCAA tournament will be through winning the SEC tournament title outright.
The Gamecocks haven’t had much success in the SEC tournament under head coach Mark Kingston, going 1-4 in the tournament and losing in their first game of the tournament last season.
The SEC tournament includes the 12 top teams in the conference in terms of winning percentage. Missouri (10-20 SEC) and Mississippi State (9-21) both failed to make the cut this season.
SEC tournament seeding
1. Tennessee (25-5)
2. Texas A&M (19-11)
3. Arkansas (18-12)
4. LSU (17-13)
5.Auburn (16-13)
6. Georgia (15-15)
7. Florida (15-15)
8. Vanderbilt (14-16)
9. Ole Miss (14-16)
10. South Carolina (13-17)
11. Alabama (12-17)
12. Kentucky (12-18)
SEC tournament bracket, schedule
Tuesday, May 24 (single elimination); later game times are estimates
Game 1: No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 11 Alabama, 11:05 a.m., SEC Network
Game 2: No. 7 Florida vs. No. 10 South Carolina, TBD, SEC Network
Game 3: No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. No. 9 Mississippi, TBD, SEC Network
Game 4: No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 12 Kentucky, TBD, SEC Network
Wednesday, May 25 (double elimination)
Game 5: No. 3 Arkansas vs. Game 1 winner, 10:30 a.m., SEC Network
Game 6: No. 2 Texas A&M vs. Game 2 winner, TBD, SEC Network
Game 7: No. 1 Tennessee vs. Game 3 winner, 5:30 p.m., SEC Network
Game 8: No. 4 LSU vs. Game 4 winner, TBD, SEC Network
Thursday, May 26 (double elimination)
Game 9: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 10:30 am, SEC Network
Game 10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, TBD, SEC Network
Game 11: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 pm, SEC Network
Game 12: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, TBD, SEC Network
Friday, May 27 (double elimination)
Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 loser, 11 a.m., SEC Network
Game 14: Game 10 winner vs. Game 12 loser, TBD, SEC Network
Saturday, May 28 (single elimination)
Game 15: Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 winner, 11 a.m., SEC Network
Game 16: Game 12 winner vs. Game 14 winner, TBD, SEC Network
Sunday, May 29
Championship: Game 15 winner vs. Game 16 winner, 3 p.m., ESPN2
This story was originally published May 21, 2022 at 7:11 PM.
