Photo by Tim Casey - Florida Athletics
The Florida Gators have earned the No. 1 seed in 2014 SEC Baseball Tournament, which commences Tuesday, May 20, at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Alabama, as the Vanderbilt Commodores (40-16, 17-13) will host the Tennessee Volunteers (31-22, 12-18) at 9:30 a.m. (EST).
The Volunteers took two of three in a three-game series against the Commodores in early-April, outscoring Vanderbilt by a combined score of 23-13. Sophomore right-hander Walker Buehler (9-2, 2.31) will get the starting nod for the Commodores, facing off against Tennessee’s freshman right-hander Hunter Martin (4-3, 3.12).
Three other games are scheduled to commence SEC Tournament play on May 20. Arkansas (35-21, 16-14) will host Texas A&M (33-23, 14-16), as the Razorbacks took two of three against the Aggies in College Station two weekends ago. A duel of staff aces will ensue on the mound, as Daniel Mengden (4-7, 3.41) will face off against Trey Killian (3-8, 2.34).
Alabama (34-21, 15-14) will take on Kentucky (32-22, 14-16) at 4:30 p.m., as Freshman right-hander Nick Eicholtz (3-1, 3.06) will take the mound for the Crimson Tide against the Wildcats’ junior southpaw A.J. Reed (10-2, 2.11). Alabama took two of three against Kentucky in their only meeting of the season, a three-game set in mid-March.
Mississippi State (35-20, 18-12) and Georgia (26-28-1, 11-18-1) will finish off the first day of competition, as the Bulldogs from Starkville will send junior right-hander Lucas Lester (0-0, 1.52) to the mound to face off against the Bulldogs from Athens’ senior right-hander Dylan Cole (1-0, 4.72). Mississippi State took two of three at Georgia in mid-March.
The Top 4 ranked teams of Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana State, and South Carolina will face off against the winners of the aforementioned four matchups on Wednesday. Below are the seedings for this year’s SEC Tournament, as 12 of 14 SEC teams (excluding that of Auburn and Missouri) have made the tournament field.
2014 SEC Tournament Seedings
| Seed Rank | Team | SEC Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Florida | 21-9 |
| 2. | Mississippi | 19-11 |
| 3. | Louisiana Tech | 17-11-1 |
| 4. | South Carolina | 18-12 |
| 5. | Mississippi State | 18-12 |
| 6. | Vanderbilt | 17-13 |
| 7. | Arkansas | 16-14 |
| 8. | Alabama | 15-14 |
| 9. | Kentucky | 14-16 |
| 10. | Texas A&M | 14-16 |
| 11. | Tennessee | 12-18 |
| 12. | Georgia | 11-18-1 |
The first round of the tournament will be single elimination style, wherein each losing team will be eliminated from further contention in the SEC Tournament. The second round of play will feature a double elimination format, as each losing team is given a second chance at moving on in the tournament. Single elimination commences once again in semi-final play, as the two remaining teams will compete in a single-game matchup to decide the winner of the tournament.
Below is a complete schedule of the 2014 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.
2014 SEC Tournament Schedule
| Game No. | Date | Time (EST) | Matchup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | May 20 | 9:30 a.m. | Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee |
| 2. | May 20 | TBD | Arkansas vs. Texas A&M |
| 3. | May 20 | 4:30 p.m. | Alabama vs. Kentucky |
| 4. | May 20 | TBD | Mississippi State vs. Georgia |
| 5. | May 21 | 9:30 a.m. | Louisiana State vs. Game 1 Winner |
| 6. | May 21 | TBD | Mississippi vs. Game 2 Winner |
| 7. | May 21 | 4:30 p.m. | Florida vs. Game 3 Winner |
| 8. | May 21 | TBD | South Carolina vs. Game 4 Winner |
| 9. | May 22 | 9:30 a.m. | Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser |
| 10. | May 22 | TBD | Game 7 Loser vs. Game 8 Loser |
| 11. | May 22 | 4:30 p.m. | Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner |
| 12. | May 22 | TBD | Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner |
| 13. | May 23 | 3:00 p.m. | Game 9 Winner vs. Game 11 Loser |
| 14. | May 23 | TBD | Game 10 Winner vs. Game 12 Loser |
| 15. | May 24 | 12:00 p.m. | Game 13 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner |
| 16. | May 24 | TBD | Game 14 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner |
| 17. | May 25 | 3:30 p.m. | Game 15 Winner vs. Game 16 Winner |
