SEC Baseball Tournament 2018: Final Four Schedule and Bracket Predictions

Navigating through a field of talented teams is never easy in the SEC, especially if you are involved in a double-elimination tournament.

After four days of action in Hoover, Alabama, the field at the SEC baseball tournament is down to five, with the semifinals taking place Saturday.

Second-seeded Ole Miss and No. 11 Texas A&M are locked into one semifinal matchup, while No. 4 Arkansas awaits the winner of the suspended quarterfinal between No. 1 Florida and No. 8 LSU.

Saturday's play in Hoover, Alabama begins at 11 a.m. ET with the conclusion of the Florida-LSU game, which the Tigers lead 10-0 in the sixth inning.

Once the Tigers and Gators are finished at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, the final four will square off for the opportunity to play in Sunday's final.

Final Four Schedule

No. 2 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Texas A&M (1 p.m., SEC Network) 

No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Florida/No. 8 LSU winner (TBD, SEC Network)

Texas A&M Looking to Continue Cinderella Run

Texas A&M wasn't given much of a chance to advance to the SEC tournament semifinals, as it lost five of its final seven regular-season games.

The drop in form at the end of SEC play handed the Aggies the No. 11 seed and long odds to survive the double-elimination portion of the bracket.

In their first three postseason games, the Aggies reeled off victories over No. 6 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Georgia and No. 7 Auburn.

With as much rest as you can have this time of year in their possession, the Aggies face their toughest test yet Saturday against No. 2 Ole Miss.

One of the things playing in Texas A&M's favor is the decision-making skills of manager Rob Childress, as Gabe Bock of TexAgs.com pointed out:

By pressing the right buttons, Childress set his team up for success with ace Mitchell Kilkenny on the mound to face the Rebels.

Kilkenny has been Texas A&M's most successful pitcher, putting together an 8-3 record with a 3.00 ERA and 80 strikeouts over 87 innings.

In the three-game series with Ole Miss March 22-24, the Aggies and Rebels played a trio of one-run games.

Kilkenny went 4.2 innings during his start in the rubber match of the series, won 7-6 by Ole Miss, who used six different pitchers in the victory.

After falling to Auburn in the second round, Ole Miss knocked off Georgia in extra innings before dispatching the Tigers with ease Friday to earn a date with Texas A&M.

The No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament won nine of its last 11 games and boasts an offense, led by Thomas Dillard and Nick Fortes, that can rough up any pitcher no matter how talented he is.

LSU Trying to Finish Off Florida, Earn Semifinal Matchup With Arkansas

The only thing stopping LSU from advancing to the semifinals Friday night was Mother Nature. 

The Tigers took a 10-0 lead on top-seeded Florida in the sixth inning before fog rolled in. The game was consequently suspended until 11 a.m. ET, per the SEC's official Twitter account:

Before the weather halted their upset bid, the Tigers were lighting up the Florida pitching staff, and when the game resumes, they will have runners in scoring position with two outs.

If Paul Mainieri's team finishes off the victory Saturday morning, it would avenge a 4-3 loss to the Gators in the first double-elimination round.

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Awaiting the Tigers, as long as they avoid a calamitous collapse, is Arkansas, which used its own win over the Gators plus a victory over No. 5 South Carolina to cruise into the semifinals.

LSU won the regular-season three-game series over the Razorbacks during the first weekend of May, with both of the victories coming by one run.

Arkansas ended SEC regular-season play with a pair of losses to Georgia, including one in extra innings, but it hasn't been phased in Hoover.

The Razorbacks tagged opposing pitching for 21 runs, and with LSU coming in to the semifinal on little rest, they could feast on the Tigers with a spot in the championship on the line.

Predictions

Ole Miss over Texas A&M.

Arkansas over LSU.

Statistics obtained from the teams' official websites. Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.