SEC Baseball Tournament 2016: Tuesday Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule

The 2016 SEC Baseball Tournament kicked off Wednesday with four games, featuring eight teams trying to secure an automatic bid to this year's College World Series.

Unlike traditional conference tournaments, the SEC has increased the urgency for teams playing Tuesday. As a result of there being 12 teams in the tournament, the opening-day games are single-elimination.

The four teams that win Tuesday will advance to the winner's bracket Wednesday, which reverts back to the traditional double-elimination format. It's an unfair break for the teams in opening-round action, but it does add to the drama on the field.

Here's a look at the results from Tuesday's SEC tournament games as well as a look at the updated bracket still to come.

Game	Matchup	Result/Start Time (ET)
1	No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 11 Missouri	Vanderbilt def. Missouri, 7-0
2	No. 7 Mississippi vs. No. 10 Georgia	Mississippi def. Georgia, 5-1
3	No. 8 Kentucky vs. No. 9 Alabama	Alabama def. Kentucky, 5-2
4	No. 5 LSU vs. No. 12 Tennessee	Approx. 9 p.m.

2016 SEC Tournament Bracket (via SEC Network)

No. 9 Alabama def. No. 8 Kentucky, 5-2

Clinging to a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth inning, Alabama’s Will Haynie drilled a two-run homer over the left-field fence that gave the Crimson Tide all the cushion they would need to defeat Kentucky and advance in the SEC tournament.

Haynie’s ninth-inning blast provided the first runs for Alabama since the third inning, when it broke out against Wildcats starter Zach Logue to score three times.

Tommy Deas of TideSports.com noted that Haynie’s power swing is not something that’s a surprise when he’s on:

The junior catcher leads the Tide with 10 home runs this season. 

There were more good vibes for the Crimson Tide in victory. Starting pitcher Nick Eicholtz was terrific, scattering three hits in 6.2 innings, allowing two runs and working around a leadoff solo homer to Evan White in the fourth inning that cut the lead to 3-1. 

Alabama's bullpen was terrific. Matt Foster and Thomas Burrows were perfect in 2.1 innings of work, striking out a pair.

Despite the loss, there is still hope for Kentucky to make the NCAA tournament field of 64. The Wildcats are projected as a No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional by Baseball America's Jim Shonerd after a 32-25 record. 

Things will only get more difficult for the Crimson Tide as they continue their march toward a conference tournament title against No. 1 seed Mississippi State. Those two teams played a three-game series at the end of April, with the Bulldogs winning twice. 

No. 7 Ole Miss def. No. 10 Georgia, 5-1

Georgia struck first with a solo home run from Stephen Wrenn in the first inning, but Mississippi got the last laugh with a 5-1 victory thanks to stellar pitching and a big fourth inning. 

Mississippi starting pitcher Brady Bramlett only went four innings, but he was very good after allowing the homer with just two more hits allowed. The Rebels' bullpen picked up where the right-hander left off, tossing five innings of four-hit baseball, led by Brady Feigl's three-inning effort. 

J.B. Woodman had the big bat for Mississippi by going 2-for-3 with a double, triple and three RBI. His triple opened the scoring for the Rebels in the fourth inning, giving them a two run lead that they would not relinquish. 

Colby Bortles drove the other two runs for Ole Miss in the win, both coming on a double two hitters after Woodman opened the team's scoring. 

Swayze Field noted on Twitter what it would mean for the Rebels to have more efforts like today from Bortles:

Bortles has been hitting the ball with more authority recently. He hit a solo home run in a 6-1 loss on May 19 against Texas A&M in the final series of the regular season, followed by a two-run double today. 

Georgia struggled all season and will finish 2016 with a 27-30 overall record. The Bulldogs were cruising early on the strength of Wrenn's blast and three shutout innings from starter Heath Holder in which he faced the minimum nine hitters. 

The second time through the lineup for Holder, however, proved to be his downfall and the floodgates opened for Mississippi. 

Next up for the Rebels will be a matchup with No. 2 seed South Carolina. The two teams haven't played since March, but the Gamecocks had their way in that series by an 18-6 margin. 

Fortunately for Ole Miss, even if Wednesday's game turns out the same way as those previous games, the double-elimination format will give the Rebels a second chance to make their way through the SEC tournament. 

No. 6 Vanderbilt def. No. 11 Missouri, 7-0

An early pitching duel turned into a 7-0 rout for Vanderbilt, which used a four-run sixth inning to break open a scoreless game against Missouri in the SEC tournament's opening game.

The Commodores, who won the 2014 College World Series and lost to Virginia in the championship series in 2015, got an excellent start from Patrick Raby. The freshman right-hander tossed six shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out four.

Missouri starter Tanner Houck was matching Raby pitch for pitch through five innings, prompting ESPN's Ben McDonald to offer the high praise (via SEC Network):

Houck came apart in the sixth inning, starting with a leadoff walk to Ethan Paul. Jeren Kendall followed with a single, and Bryan Reynolds doubled both men home. Two errors by Missouri later in the inning led to two additional runs.

After Vanderbilt was able to put some distance between itself and the Tigers, all eyes turned to freshman right-hander Donny Everett in the ninth inning. He was consistently hitting 96-97 mph with his fastball, with Adam McInturff of Baseball Prospectus offering a brief synopsis on the young man:

Everett's name should be familiar to Major League Baseball draft fans, as he reportedly turned down $2.5 million offers from teams last June because he wanted to attend college, per Jon Heyman, formerly of CBS Sports.

That kind of arm strength as a senior in high school is rare to find, so Everett's talent was much better than that of a typical 29th-round pick. He's got a unique ability to overpower hitters, so all Vanderbilt has to do is get a late lead, and it will be safe because college hitters aren't accustomed to seeing 97 mph.

Things will get more difficult for the Commodores on Wednesday, as they take on a Texas A&M team that took two out of three games played between the teams less than two weeks ago.

Vanderbilt was shut out in each of its two losses against the Aggies, so being able to build an early cushion will do wonders for the Commdores' confidence.