SEC Baseball Tournament 2017: Tuesday Schedule and Bracket Predictions
The SEC baseball tournament is set to begin Tuesday with a lot of pressure on the teams in action.
Unlike most of the postseason, the first round in Alabama's Hoover Met Stadium is single elimination. The eight teams all have a chance to fight their way into the NCAA tournament, but their season could also end with one bad game.
Although Florida, LSU, Kentucky and Arkansas will wait until Wednesday to begin their SEC tournament run, there will be plenty to watch in arguably the deepest conference in the country.
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SEC Tournament Day 1 Schedule (May 23)
Game 1: No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 11 South Carolina (10:30 a.m. ET)
Game 2: No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Missouri (2 p.m. ET)
Game 3: No. 8 Auburn vs. No. 9 Ole Miss (5:30 p.m. ET)
Game 4: No. 5 Mississippi State vs. No. 12 Georgia (9 p.m. ET)
Note: All games will be shown on SEC Network
Vanderbilt vs. South Carolina
The season hasn't gone as South Carolina has expected, but there is enough talent to start a turnaround in the postseason.
Jacob Olsen and Carlos Cortes are hitting well as of late and the offense is capable of exploding at any time.
Meanwhile, the pitching staff doesn't have to be perfect in order to win games. The Gamecocks are 30-12 when allowing five or fewer runs this season compared to 2-11 when giving up six or more.
Vanderbilt has some of the best starting pitching in the country, including Kyle Wright and Patrick Raby, but it will need more than that to succeed in this tournament. In a single-elimination round, the pressure will especially be on the rest of the squad to carry the load.
South Carolina has to win this game in order to potentially reach the NCAA tournament and the will to win can carry the squad to an upset.
Prediction: South Carolina 3, Vanderbilt 2
Texas A&M vs. Missouri
Both these teams learned how tough the SEC can be this season. Texas A&M went 20-6 during the nonconference season while Missouri was 21-5.
However, both find themselves in the middle of the pack in the conference standings.
Youth is a big issue for Texas A&M with many of the top players being freshmen. Braden Shewmake, Hunter Coleman and Logan Foster are key parts of the lineup, and with inexperience comes inconsistency.
On the other hand, Missouri has veterans it can rely upon in big moments. Brett Bond, Trey Harris and Nelson Mompierre are juniors who can help carry the offense, while most of the rotation is also upperclassmen.
In a situation like this where the loser goes home, experience can go a long way.
Considering the Tigers also ended the season with six straight wins while the Aggies come in 1-5 in the last six, Missouri should be able to pull out the win.
Prediction: Missouri 5, Texas A&M 3
Auburn vs. Ole Miss
Two ace pitchers could go a long way in the postseason, which makes Auburn dangerous.
Casey Mize and Keegan Thompson have both put together outstanding years, although Thompson is the one who will get the start in the first round against Ole Miss.
"There's not any player on our team we would want more than Keegan to be on the mound for us in our opening game in Hoover," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said, per Tom Green of AL.com.
After producing a 2.30 ERA in 13 starts this year, there should be plenty of confidence in the junior. Ole Miss has some solid pitchers but simply no one who can put up zeros like Thompson.
The Rebels will have to rely upon on their offense, which has a tendency to get impatient. Without much of a middle-of-the-order threat, they will have a hard time piecing together hits to create runs.
Auburn also lacks power, but Jonah Todd and company should be able to claw their way to a victory.
Prediction: Auburn 3, Ole Miss 1
Mississippi State vs. Georgia
One hitter can't always carry a team to victory, but Brent Rooker isn't like most players. The SEC Player of the Year dominated opposing pitching this year, hitting .415 with 20 home runs and 73 RBI. He also added 18 stolen bases just for good measure.
The team's Twitter account noted just how impressive his numbers have been this season:
This overshadows his teammates' achievements, although Ryan Gridley, Jake Mangum and others are capable of picking up the offense when Rooker isn't at the plate.
Even if a team wants to try to pitch around the superstar, the rest of the lineup is good enough to make them pay.
While the Bulldogs' starting pitching has been inconsistent this season, the offense should be more than enough to outlast their first-round opponent. Although there could be issues against better opponents later in the postseason, Georgia will have a hard time simply keeping up Tuesday.
Prediction: Mississippi State 9, Georgia 3
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