SEC officials don’t expect tournament format changes

HOOVER, Tenn. (WVLT) - Baseball weather was absent for the front end of the SEC Tournament. Hundreds of fans and many teams left waiting on the sidelines for their turn to play.

Midway through Thursday, SEC officials were confident no further changes to the schedule would happen. Four games will be played Friday and Saturday to make up for the numerous delays that occurred through the first two days of the tournament.

However, if anymore delays happen, we could see more than the championship game played on Sunday.

Herb Vincent , the SEC Associate Commissioner of Communications, said their goal is to also keep the double elimination format intact.

He said teams came to play ball and fans came to cheer on their teams, so they don’t want to short anyone that opportunity.

Despite the inclement weather, quality baseball is still being played.

“They get excited when they get to play and that’s what we want to give them, an opportunity to play baseball,” said Vincent. We’re searching for those times. And I think we’re getting into the weekend when they can play. And I think you’re right, when we have played baseball, we’ve had some ninth inning wins. Defense is always amazing in this tournament and pitching is great. So, it’s the best baseball in the country and we want to give them an opportunity to play.”

Vincent said the presence of Vol fans is very apparent at the Hoover Met this week.

“We’re really excited about the fact that we have so many Tennessee fans coming. Their excitement has been evident in our ticket office with how many tickets they have purchased and how many fans were coming to the game.”

Vincent added, “Every year we seem to have a new fan base that kind of grows. This year, it’s Tennessee. And usually when that fan base grows a little bit, they keep coming back.”

The top ranked Vols faced Vanderbilt Thursday night. The Vols clinched a fourth straight win over Vandy with a 10-1 victory in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

Tennessee will face the winner of the Kentucky-LSU game, Friday night