How to Watch Alabama Baseball's Second-Round SEC Tournament Game Against Tennessee

By defeating 16-seed Missouri 4-1 in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Tuesday, Alabama baseball earned the right to advance to the second round in Hoover. The fruit of that labor is a rematch against No. 8-seed Tennessee on Wednesday.

No. 9 seed Alabama (41-15) defeated the Tigers 4-1. The Volunteers (41-15), as the No. 8 seed in the single elimination bracket, were the last to earn a first-round bye.

The Crimson Tide's victory over Missouri marked head coach Rob Vaughn's first career SEC Tournament win. First pitch in the game was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. CT (the very first contest of the tournament).

That start time was originally set to remain the same for Alabama's matchup against Tennessee. The matchup was to be the first of four games played on Wednesday.

However, weather changes announced late in Tuesday evening's Florida-South Carolina game revealed that the scheduled nightcap, between 11-seed Mississippi State and 14-seed Texas A&M, was pushed back to Wednesday morning, meaning those schools now get the 9:30 time slot.

As such, the Crimson Tide and Volunteers will now play immediately after the conclusion of that game on the SEC Network. The winner faces No. 1-seed, regular season champion Texas.

These two teams met in the regular season during the second series of league play. Tennessee won the final two games of a late-March series in Tuscaloosa after the Crimson Tide threw the first punch in game one.

The last time the programs encountered one another in Hoover was May 2021. Alabama upset Tennessee 3-2 in 11 innings in its second game at that year's tournament. The Volunteers went on to eliminate the Crimson Tide two days later with a seven-inning win by an 11-0 final score.

Wednesday's game carries NCAA Tournament repercussions, for both the winner and the loser. The losing team will have no more chances to prove itself on the field before selection day. The winner could be a regional host, depending on how the selection committee values Hoover.

Alabama has not chosen a starting pitcher for the contest. Tyler Fay tossed six strong innings on Tuesday, and fellow right-hander Riley Quick wants to start the game. Vaughn said minutes after the Missouri win that no definite decision had been made at that moment.

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