Auburn and Alabama's pitchers are set for the SEC tournament opener Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Tigers will throw left-hander Cory Luckie. The Crimson Tide will go with Jimmy Nelson.Luckie (6-3, 6.17 ERA) has been more effective than his ERA indicates. He went 4-3 in his SEC starts, allowing three runs or less five times, the highlight being a complete game win against Vanderbilt. The sophomore started the opening game of all but two SEC series.
"We're going to try to keep things status quo," Auburn head coach John Pawlowski said.
Pawlowski said Grant Dayton would be available for Thursday's game if the Tigers choose to use him.
"We're going to look at the second game after we complete the first one," Pawlowski said.
Nelson (7-2, 4.05 ERA) has thrown two straight complete games, beating Ole Miss 4-1 and Tennessee 11-3. He had 19 strikeouts in those games.
Neither pitcher did great in his only matchup against the other team this year. Luckie gave up five runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings of a 10-5 loss April 2. Nelson got a no decision after giving up four runs in five innings April 3. Alabama wound up winning 6-5.
Both teams enter the game on hot streaks. Auburn (39-17, 20-10 SEC) won six straight to win the SEC West. Alabama (34-21, 15-15) won five straight to get the seventh seed.
The winner of Wednesday's game plays the winner of Ole Miss-South Carolina on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET. The loser plays the loser of Ole Miss-South Carolina on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Here's the full SEC tournament bracket. All games are at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.
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