1998 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament

The 1998 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament was held at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama from May 13 through 17. Auburn defeated Arkansas in the championship game, earning the Southeastern Conference's automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

1998 Southeastern Conference
baseball tournament
Teams8
FormatTwo pools of four-team double elimination
Finals site
ChampionsAuburn (3rd title)
Winning coachHal Baird (2nd title)
MVPRodney Nye (Arkansas)
Attendance87,295
1998 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Eastern Division
No. 7 Florida  x‍‍y 21 8   .724 46 18   .719
No. 19 South Carolina  ‍‍‍y 19 10   .655 42 16   .724
Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 12 18   .400 26 31   .456
Tennessee  ‍‍‍ 11 17   .393 36 20   .643
Georgia  ‍‍‍ 8 21   .276 24 30   .444
Vanderbilt  ‍‍‍ 6 24   .200 25 28   .472
Western Division
No. 3 LSU  x‍‍‍y 21 9   .700 48 19   .716
No. 16 Alabama  ‍‍‍y 19 10   .655 43 16   .729
No. 12 Auburn  ‍‍y 16 12   .571 46 18   .719
No. 6 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍y 14 15   .483 37 20   .649
Arkansas  ‍‍‍y 13 14   .481 37 19   .661
Ole Miss  ‍‍‍ 13 15   .464 30 23   .566
x – Division champion
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1998[1]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Regular Season Results

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The top four teams (based on conference results) from both the Eastern and Western Divisions earned invites to the tournament. The 12 teams played a 30-game conference schedule, playing 10 three-game series. Each team did not play one team from the opposite division.

For the first time, the SEC tournament used the Omaha format, which was first adopted at the College World Series in 1988. The eight teams were seeded and divided into two four-team brackets; seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 made up bracket one and seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8 made up bracket two. Bracket play was double elimination. The two bracket winners met in a single championship game.

Tournament

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First roundSecond roundSemifinalsFinal
6Mississippi State9
3South Carolina8
6Mississippi State3
7Arkansas10
7Arkansas8
2LSU4
7Arkansas7-
6Mississippi State3-
3South Carolina0
2LSU66Mississippi State7
2LSU5
7Arkansas5
5Auburn11
5Auburn7
4Alabama8
5Auburn
1Florida4
8Kentucky4
1Florida6
5Auburn39
4Alabama41
5Alabama8
8Kentucky31Florida2
4Alabama3
  • Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt did not make the tournament.

All-Tournament Team

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Most Valuable Player Rodney Nye, Arkansas

Position Player School
1B Rodney Nye Arkansas
2B Heath Kelly Auburn
3B Chad Wandall Auburn
SS Joe Jester Arkansas
C Brent Caldwell Arkansas
OF Hayden Gliemmo Auburn
OF Drew Bounds Alabama
OF Jack Welsh Arkansas
DH Jayson Cox Alabama
P Randy Keisler Louisiana State
P Jarrod Kingrey Alabama
MVP Rodney Nye Arkansas

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1998". Boyd's World. Retrieved May 3, 2015.