Tournament time: No. 13 Auburn will face Missouri in the SEC Tournament

AUBURN, Ala. Riding an eight-game winning streak, No. 13 Auburn (33-19-1, 17-13 SEC) opens postseason play against Missouri (30-23, 10-20 SEC) in the SEC Tournament on Tuesday night in Hoover, Alabama.

First pitch at Hoover Met Stadium is scheduled for 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 3, which is scheduled to begin at 4:30 PM CT.

“We’ve been working hard to play something,” head coach Butch Thompson said. “It’s like getting a second wind. We’re trying to sell that to our ball club on arguably the best amateur tournament there is. We had great preparation and a good spirit from the ball club. We’re excited.”

The game will be broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network and can be heard locally on 93.9 FM. It will also be broadcast nationally on the SEC Network.

Tuesday Gr. LHP Tommy Vail (5-1, 3.38) vs. Jr. LHP Javyn Pimental (1-1, 6.26)

The Tigers earned a No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament for the second consecutive season. It’s the first time Auburn has finished in the league’s top five in back-to-back seasons since 2002-03.

The team enters the postseason on an eight-game SEC winning streak, the program’s longest SEC streak since winning nine consecutive league games in 1995.

The SEC’s eight-game winning streak is the second-longest by a league team this season.

Auburn is hitting .329 with a 3.21 ERA while outscoring opponents 77-28 during the streak.

The team went a league-best 12-3 in the second half of SEC play, marking its best 15-game stretch since also going 12-3 in the final 15 games of the 2010 regular season.

The Tigers are one of two SEC teams to win five straight at any point this season.

Auburn set the SEC record for back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since four straight years in 1997-2000.

The team’s 17 conference wins are the most since winning the SEC West in 2010 (20).

The 33 SEC wins over the past two years are the fifth most in the league.

The team is second in the league in batting (.291) and third in ERA (4.41) over the last six weeks.

Missouri enters the SEC tournament ranked 12th with a 30-23 overall record and a 10-20 record in SEC games.

The Tigers finished the regular season 5-4 over the last three weekends, but went 1-14 in league play.

Offensively, Missouri ranks last in the league with a .262 average, including a .242 clip in league play. Second Team All-SEC third baseman Luke Mann leads the Tigers with a .318 average and 21 home runs to go along with 54 RBIs.

The Tigers are tied for 11th in the league with a 5.86 ERA, including a 7.38 ERA in conference play. The staff has struck out 476 batters in 441.0 innings.

Hoover Met Stadium has a clear bag policy.

Bags cannot exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12″.

Fans can access the SEC Tournament Central page here.