Bracket Set For 2003 SEC Softball Tournament
Bulldogs To Face SEC Regular Season Champion Georgia In Final Game Of First Round
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Eighth-seeded Mississippi State (33-26) will face 2003 Southeastern Conference regular season champion and top-seeded Georgia (54-10) in the 8 p.m. nightcap of the opening round of the 2003 SEC Tournament which begins Thursday in Plant City, Fla.
The Bulldogs, which could have jousted up a spot with a Mississippi victory over Tennessee in Oxford on Sunday afternoon, have an identical record with Auburn but settled into the eight seed due to the second tiebreaker which involved both clubs? divisional records. Auburn possesses a 6-8 clip against SEC Western Division teams, while the Maroon and White collected a 5-9 record against those same squads.
MSU and Auburn split a doubleheader in Starkville on April 5, with the rubber game of the series being cancelled due to rain.
The opening game of the tournament will feature third-seeded LSU (45-14) against sixth-seeded Tennessee (43-23) at 12 p.m., while the final game of session one will pit second-seeded Alabama (41-19) against seventh-seeded and cross-state rival Auburn (26-29) at 2 p.m. The opening game of Thursday?s evening session will feature fourth-seeded South Carolina (37-16) against fifth-seeded Florida (38-21) at 6 p.m., with the eighth-seeded Bulldogs taking on Georgia at 8 p.m.
Mississippi, Arkansas and Kentucky are the only schools which failed to qualify for the eight-team double elimination tournament. Vanderbilt does not sponsor softball.
The Red and Black Bulldogs took the bookends of their series with MSU on March 15-16 in Starkville, with the Maroons posting a 2-0 victory over the then-No. 10 ranked Bulldogs in the nightcap of a Saturday doubleheader. The game will pit the league?s top two hitting teams against one another with Mississippi State hitting .310 and Georgia tallying a .308 batting clip.
Historically, Mississippi State is 9-10 in the SEC Tournament, posting a program-best 4-2 clip en route to a championship game appearance in the 1998 postseason gala. The Bulldogs are 6-4 against teams from the Eastern Division and have split four meetings with Georgia in tournament play.
Georgia ousted the Maroon and White from the 2002 SEC Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn., on the shoulders of a 7-1 decision.
The 2003 SEC Tournament, which will make its first appearance in Plant City this season, runs from Thursday through Sunday in Plant City Stadium. Single game general admission ticket booklets can be purchased for $6, while Dr Pepper General Admission 6-Packs can be purchased for $30. For more information, or to purchase your tickets over the phone, contact the Plant City Stadium ticket office at (813) 659-4200, extension 4302.