How to Watch Alabama Baseball in the Second Round of the 2021 SEC Tournament
On Tuesday, Alabama baseball kept its NCAA Regional hopes alive with a 9-3 victory over South Carolina to move on to the double-elimination portion of the 2021 SEC Tournament.
On Wednesday, the Crimson Tide will hope to build on those hopes and gain some momentum for its regional resume.
While No. 10-seed Crimson Tide made relatively quick work of the No. 7-seed Gamecocks, its next matchup will prove to be much tougher in the No. 2-seed Tennessee Volunteers.
Alabama has already faced Tennessee this season in a three-game series where neither team had quite gotten into gear just yet. The Crimson Tide was able to best the Volunteers in the series opener, 7-4, but fell in the next two games — albeit by close margins on both occasions.
Since that series in the opening weekend of April, Tennessee has gone 13-8 in SEC play for an overall 20-10 record in the conference. Alabama, on the other hand, has gone 10-10 since that date. Granted, the Crimson Tide had to face two of the conference's top teams in Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. That being said, the Volunteers had to handle Florida, Vanderbilt and Arkansas, so call it even in terms of strength of schedule.
A win on Wednesday would dramatically increase Alabama's chances of reaching an NCAA Regional. The victory over the Gamecocks on Tuesday proved that the Crimson Tide is not going to leave the tournament quietly, and if the same Alabama team shows up against Tennessee, it could be one of the Crimson Tide's more memorable games this season.
How to Watch No. 2-seed Tennessee vs No. 10-seed Alabama
Where: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala.
When: 1 p.m. CT on Wednesday, May 26
TV: SEC Network
Online: ESPN app
Last Time Out: Alabama baseball dominated No. 7-seed South Carolina in Tuesday's opening round, defeating the Gamecocks 9-3. Tyler Ras gave the Crimson Tide exactly what it needed on the mound with a six-inning outing that limited South Carolina and inspired the Alabama bats. Second baseman Peyton Wilson led the Crimson Tide in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Combined with multiple diving catches in the outfield and a solid defensive performance by the Alabama infield, the Crimson Tide will look to take its momentum from Tuesday into its matchup with Tennessee.
Alabama 2021 Review: The Crimson Tide finished the season with an overall record of 29-22, including a 12-17 record in the SEC. While pitching has been a struggle all season, the Crimson Tide bats have been fairly productive until recently. Third baseman Zane Denton has frequently been a contributor on offense, leading the team with a .317 batting average and totaling 63 hits with 36 runs and 38 RBIs. In terms of power, catcher Sam Praytor leads Alabama with 13 home runs as well as RBIs with 44 on the season. While the Crimson Tide will need to bring its A-game up and down the lineup, look for these two players to heavily contribute if Alabama is able to pull of a win against Tennessee.
Crimson Tide SEC Tournament History: Prior to the SEC Tournament's inception in 1977, Alabama baseball had the league's third-most SEC Championship Series victories with four in seven appearances. In tournament play since 1977, the Crimson Tide is tied for second-most tournament championships with seven and has the third-most appearances with 27. Alabama's most recent tournament championship was in 2003, its second of back-to-back titles. This year marks the team's return to the tournament after missing the field every year since 2016.
