Chaos arrived early in Hoover.
The No. 16 seed Missouri Tigers stunned the No. 9 seed Ole Miss Rebels 10-8 on Tuesday morning in the opening round of the SEC Baseball Tournament, pulling off the first upset of the week at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
Missouri entered the tournament as the last seed in the field after a brutal SEC regular season, but the Tigers came out swinging offensively and never backed down from the Rebels. Ole Miss battled late and made things interesting, but Mizzou held on to secure the 10-8 victory and advance deeper into the bracket.
The loss makes Ole Miss the first team eliminated — or “banished” — from Hoover this year.
Despite the early exit, the Rebels are still expected to hear their name called during Monday’s NCAA Tournament selection show. Ole Miss finished the regular season 15-15 in SEC play and built a strong enough résumé to comfortably remain in the field, though this loss likely damages any lingering regional hosting hopes. The Rebels now project much closer to a No. 2 regional seed entering the NCAA Tournament.
Meanwhile, Missouri suddenly has life in Hoover after entering the week with little outside expectation. For at least one day, the Tigers flipped the bracket upside down and sent a likely NCAA Tournament team packing earlier than expected.
The Tigers set their sights on another Magnolia State foe in Mississippi State on Wednesday.
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