Cowbell Corner

No. 18 Mississippi State to face No. 10 LSU at SEC Softball Tournament

The Bulldogs and Tigers will meet for the first time since 2023 in the second round of the championship tournament in Athens, Ga.

Taylor Hodges

Alabama opened the SEC season on the wrong end of a 9-1 score against Mississippi State at Rhoads Stadium. Mississippi State hitter Jessie Blaine comes to the dugout after hitting a home run.
Alabama opened the SEC season on the wrong end of a 9-1 score against Mississippi State at Rhoads Stadium. Mississippi State hitter Jessie Blaine comes to the dugout after hitting a home run. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2025 SEC Softball Tournament bracket has been set and Mississippi State fans will have to until Wednesday to see their team play.

The Bulldogs (37-16, 13-11 SEC, No. 18 in ESPN.COM/USA Softball Top 25) earned the No. 8 seed in the tournament and will face No. 9 seed LSU (40-13, 12-12 SEC, No. 10 in ESPN.COM/USA Softball Top 25) at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Jack Turner Softball Stadium in Athens, Ga. Every game of the tournament, except for the semifinals and final games, will air on SEC Network.

Mississippi State and LSU haven’t faced one another this season, but the Tigers do hold a commanding 65-12 all-time record. LSU won the most recent game against Mississippi, 8-0, back in April 2023.

Technically, the Tigers and Bulldogs are getting first-round byes in the SEC Tournament. Tuesday’s first round will see just three games played, with those winners advancing to play the Nos. 5-7 seeds on Wednesday.

Expect both sides to send their best pitcher out to start. That’d be Sydney Berzon (17-6, 2.46 ERA, 96 SO, 72 BB) for LSU and Raelin Chaffin (21-8, 2.53 ERA, 180 SO, 44 BB) for Mississippi State. Chaffin ranks in the top 17 nationally in strikeouts and 23rd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.49 K/BB).

Mississippi State also has one of the nation’s best hitters in Sierra Sacco. She ranks inside the top 10 in batting average (.466) and top 20 in on-base percentage (.554), while also recording 48 RBIs, 11 home runs and stealing 16 bases.

It’s a single elimination tournament, which means whoever loses goes home (until they get their NCAA Tournament invite). Whoever wins Wednesday morning’s game will have a tough time staying in the tournament much longer with SEC newcomer and winner of the last four Women’s College World Series, No. 1 Oklahoma to face the winner of Bulldogs-Tigers.

Here’s the full SEC Softball Tournament bracket and final standings:

2025 SEC Softball Tournament
2025 SEC Softball Tournament / SEC

Final SEC Softball Standings

  1. Oklahoma (17-7)
  2. Texas A&M (16-7)
  3. Texas (16-8)
  4. Tennessee (15-9)
  5. Arkansas (14-10)
  6. Florida (14-10)
  7. South Carolina (13-11)
  8. Mississippi State (13-11)
  9. LSU (12-12)
  10. Alabama (12-12)
  11. Ole Miss (11-13)
  12. Georgia (7-16)
  13. Kentucky (7-17)
  14. Auburn (6-18)
  15. Missouri (6-18)

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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