Day 2 of the SEC Tournament: Mississippi State Bulldogs versus Alabama Crimson Tide

No. 1 seed overall Mississippi State (40-14-1, 21-9 SEC) will play the Alabama Crimson Tide (32-24, 15-15 SEC) in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

The Bulldogs earned themselves a first-round bye after receiving the title of SEC regular season champs while the Crimson Tide played in round one and defeated Kentucky 5-2 to advance. The two teams faced off three times during the regular season, with Mississippi State taking two of the three.

That moment when you become @SEC Champions…#HailStatehttps://t.co/Rvql2fmvbS

— MSU Baseball (@HailStateBB) May 22, 2016

Mississippi State Head Coach John Cohen said that there were three ways that his team went from “worst to first” in just one season. The Bulldogs went 8-22 in conference play last season.

The Crimson Tide will have a lot to overcome in this matchup against the team that ranked first in the SEC in hits and on-base percentage, and second in the SEC in batting average. A major key to their game will have to be limiting the production of freshman Jake Mangum, who was recently awarded SEC Freshman of the Year. Mangum hit .427 on the year with nine doubles and three triples. He had 25 RBI and stole a base in six of seven attempts—defense will play a pivotal role for Alabama.

4 + 6 + 3 = 2

How about that @AlabamaBSB defense? https://t.co/XB557ZdeYw #SECBaseball pic.twitter.com/shAKgNsOCo

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 24, 2016

The pitching matchup for the game will be Geoffrey Bramblett and Zac Houston. Bramblett was 5-3 in 14 starts with a 2.76 ERA, while Houston was 4-0 in four starts with a 2.25 ERA.

First pitch will be at 5:30 p.m. and you can catch the game on the SEC Network.