Tennessee softball SEC Tournament preview vs. Mississippi State: Live stream, game time, TV and radio info
As the No. 3 seed, Tennessee softball has its first SEC Tournament game today against a program that pulled off an upset Thursday. Karen Weekly’s team, ranked anywhere from No. 10 to No. 13 depending on the service you use, will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Led by third-year head coach Samantha Ricketts, Mississippi State comes in as the No. 11 seed on the heels of a 7-4 upset over the No. 6 seed LSU Tigers Wednesday that ended up going nine innings. That happened after them losing two of three at home to LSU last weekend to close out the regular season.
On the other side, the Lady Vols are coming off a huge sweep at home of the Auburn Tigers last week, who entered the series in the top 20 of every poll, to close out the regular season. Here is all the information you need for Tennessee softball’s first SEC Tournament game.
Broadcast information
When these two met in the regular season back in the first weekend of April at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., the Lady Vols took two of three. They won the first game 9-1 in five innings and the third game 10-1 in six innings while losing the second game 8-3.
Annie Willis got the start for Mississippi State Wednesday, but Kenley Hawk and Aspen Wesley both saw action. It’s likely Hawk or Wesley takes the mound first Thursday. Meanwhile, the Lady Vols will likely start Ashley Rogers.
A potential top 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament is on the table for the Lady Vols. The winner of this game will advance to take on the winner between the No. 7 seed Missouri Tigers and No. 2 seed Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Tournament semifinals Friday afternoon.
Last year, Tennessee softball lost to Alabama in the semifinals. UT hasn’t made the championship game since 2015, when it lost 6-5 to the Auburn Tigers. The last time they won the SEC Championship was 2011, but just like this time, they were a No. 3 seed then.