After a truly disappointing finish to the regular season, the Texas Aggie Baseballers (36-19, 13-17) need to go on a bit of a run in this 2018 SEC Baseball Tournament if they want to nab an at-large bid in a regional somewhere. They could also do the thing and win the whole shebang, which would secure an automatic bid, but that’s... not likely. Snapping out of this 3-8 funk they’re in and taking down some of this year’s heavy hitters in the SEC would go a long way toward making sure A&M’s streak of 11 consecutive regional appearances continues. And for what it’s worth (not much), should that streak end this season it is still the longest such streak in program history by seven years.

All is not totally lost on the regional front. It’s worth noting that Auburn finished the year at 13-17 in league play in 2015, and they were granted an at-large bid. Their RPI that year, accoring do Warren Nolan, was 26, which is lower than A&M’s RPI of 20 this season. They won their first round matchup with Kentucky in Hoover before falling to LSU and Florida. SO, winning games in Hoover can help, and should the Aggies string together some wins this week, Selection Sunday might not be so terrible.

The Aggies enter the tournament as the No. 11 seed, taking on the sixth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores (31-24, 16-14) in the tournament’s opening game. A&M is making its sixth SEC Tournament appearance in six tries since joining the league in 2012-2013, which is cool, though they invite 12 of the 14 teams. This is the lowest seed A&M has entered the tournament with to this point. Their previous low was the No. 10 seed in 2014.

The first round is single elimination, moves to double elimination in the second and third rounds, and goes back to single elimination for the semifinals and the championship game. So, yes, losing today would be less than great.

You can follow the official interactive bracket here. The winner of today’s contest between the Ags and Dores will take on Georgia tomorrow morning at 9:30 CT.

Probable Starters

Kaylor Chafin (4-0, 3.47 ERA) vs. Tyler Brown (1-3, 6.71 ERA)

Kaylor Chafin has not had the year that we all hoped he would after his outstanding 2017 campaign, but he has been better of late. In his last 13.1 innings he’s allowed three runs on 12 hits and five walks, while striking out 14. In his two starts on the year, he gave the Ags 5.0 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just three hits, walking none, and striking out five against Abilene Christian and Sam Houston State combined. Rob Childress is definitely saving his regular starters by starting Chafin, but it’s a bit of a gamble. We’ll see which Kaylor Chafin shows up to the park this morning.

How to Watch

• Time: 9:30 am CT
• TV: Every game of the tournament will be televised on the SEC Network
• Live Video: Every game can also be streamed via SEC Network +
• Radio: Dave South has the call on SportsRadio 1150 AM/The Zone 102.7 FM
• Live Stats: SECSports.com