COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Arkansas baseball team will play either Alabama or South Carolina first at the SEC Tournament next week in Hoover, Ala. 

The Razorbacks (43-12) are the No. 2 seed at the tournament by virtue of winning the SEC West. They will play the second quarterfinal game Wednesday at approximately 1 p.m. 

The Crimson Tide and the Gamecocks will play a single-elimination game Tuesday at approximately 1 p.m.

Alabama (33-21) is the No. 7 seed after tiebreakers with four other teams that finished with an SEC record of 13-17. South Carolina (33-21) was also included in the tiebreaker and is the No. 10 seed.

The Crimson Tide were the highest seeded of the five teams that were tied in the standings. That was because Alabama was the only team to win a series against the highest-seeded common opponent, top-seeded Tennessee. 

South Carolina earned the No. 10 seed over LSU due to results against Arkansas. The Gamecocks went 1-2 against the Razorbacks on April 19-20, while Arkansas swept LSU in March. 

The Razorbacks defeated South Carolina 2-1 in the series opener in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks won 6-3 in the first game of an April 20 doubleheader and Arkansas won the finale 9-6.

Alabama lost 5-3 to the Razorbacks in the series opener. The Crimson Tide won the final two games of the series by scores of 4-3 in 10 innings and 5-0. That series was played in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on April 12-14.

The Arkansas-Alabama-South Carolina grouping will be paired against a grouping of Kentucky-Georgia-LSU in the quarterfinal round. 

The Razorbacks will play at least two games in Hoover. The quarterfinals are a double-elimination round that are scheduled Wednesday through Friday. 

The semifinal and final rounds revert to a single-elimination format. 

SEC Tournament Schedule

Tuesday (First Round)

Game 1: No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 11 LSU

Game 2: No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 10 South Carolina

Game 3: No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. No. 9 Florida

Game 4: No. 5 Mississippi State vs. No. 12 Ole Miss

Wednesday (Quarterfinals)

Game 5: No. 3 Kentucky vs. Game 1 Winner

Game 6: No. 2 Arkansas vs. Game 2 Winner

Game 7: No. 1 Tennessee vs. Game 3 Winner

Game 8: No. 4 Texas A&M vs. Game 4 Winner

Thursday (Quarterfinals)

Game 9: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser

Game 10: Game 7 Loser vs. Game 8 Loser

Game 11: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner

Game 12: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner

Friday (Quarterfinals)

Game 13: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 11 Loser

Game 14: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 12 Loser

Saturday (Semifinals)

Game 15: Game 13 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner

Game 16: Game 14 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner

Sunday (Championship)

Game 17: Game 15 Winner vs. Game 16 Winner

It was a roller-coaster weekend for Arkansas baseball as a win that clinched the SEC West title was sandwiched between one tight and one blowout defeat against Texas A&M.

The No. 2 Razorbacks (43-12, 20-10 SEC) dropped two-of-three games against the No. 4 Aggies (44-11, 19-11) to close the regular season. Arkansas had a chance to win the series entering Saturday’s rubber match, but Texas A&M handed the Hogs their first run-rule defeat of the season, instead.

All eyes now shift toward the postseason, with Arkansas opening its SEC Tournament Wednesday night as the No. 2 seed. The Hogs will receive a first-round bye thanks to their top-four finish in the league.

Here are four observations from the Razorbacks’ series loss to Texas A&M.

Mission accomplished for Arkansas baseball

The 14-4 loss Saturday will sting, and Arkansas will be disappointed to have wasted a record-breaking start from Hagen Smith in the opener, but the only objective this weekend was to win the SEC West. The Hogs did just that with a 6-3 win Friday night.

More: Arkansas baseball clinches SEC West title with win over Texas A&M

More: Arkansas baseball bracketology: Where Hogs stand in 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket projections

“There are a lot of teams who haven’t been able to do that and we’ve done it five of the last six years,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. “Came in second the year we didn’t do it. Just kind of let it go that last weekend a couple, three years ago, and it feels good.”

Gage Wood makes case to remain in weekend rotation

Changing the weekend rotation for the final conference series of the season — on the road against a consensus top-five team in the country — turned out to be a well-worked gamble from Van Horn.

Wood made the first SEC start of his career Friday and limited the Aggies to two earned runs across five innings. He struck out five and didn’t walk a single batter after Van Horn removed Brady Tygart and Mason Molina for losing their control in back-to-back starts building up to this weekend.

Tygart didn’t pitch against Texas A&M, but Molina did, thrusted into the Friday night fire of a 3-3 tie with a runner on first and no outs in the bottom of the seventh. Molina got out of the jam and recorded the final nine outs of the win. He could jump back into the weekend rotation as soon as the SEC Tournament.

Hudson White continues late-season surge

White won the division for Arkansas in game two, crushing a hanging slider and giving Arkansas its first lead of the weekend with a three-run homer to left in the top of the eighth. He hit another home run Saturday and finished the weekend 4-for-10 with four RBIs and three runs.

Two weeks ago, White could sense his season changing with Arkansas on the road against Kentucky. He entered that series hitting just .243, but he’s gone 14-for-32 since then with four home runs and 13 RBIs. The Texas Tech transfer is now hitting NUMBER.

“It’s been awesome,” White said Friday night. “Just been trying to stick to my plan and stick to my routine. Just trying to help the team keep stacking up wins.”

There might also be another bat getting hot at the right time. Wehiwa Aloy hit a pair of home runs this weekend to up his team-high on the season to 13.

What does Arkansas do with Will McEntire and Kendall Diggs?

It was not a fun weekend for McEntire. He faced one batter out of the bullpen Thursday night and walked in the game-winning run. He then got his first start of the season Saturday and gave up a pair of two-run homers with the Aggies striking for four runs in 1 1/3 innings.

McEntire has now given up 17 earned runs in his last 11 appearances. With a 10.60 ERA during that stretch, McEntire’s season mark has dropped from 1.75 to 4.29.

Diggs, meanwhile, went 0-for-7 at the plate and simply can’t get out of this slump that’s now stretched across two months

How much longer are the leashes for both players? There is no obvious replacement for Diggs in right field, but it’s going to be hard for Van Horn to trust McEntire in the postseason with his current form.