May 3, 2004

COLUMBIA, S.C. –
The Southeastern Conference announced the pairings of the 2004 SEC Softball Tournament on Monday and the South Carolina Gamecocks will play the SEC Champion LSU Tigers in first round action. The University of Alabama will host the tournament in Tuscaloosa, Ala., May 13-16. The USC vs. LSU game is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. (EST) start on Thursday evening. USC is the No. 8 seed while LSU is the No. 1 seed.

No. 2 seed Tennessee will open the tournament with a noon (EST) game against No. 7 Mississippi State, followed by a 2:30 (EST) game matching No. 3 Georgia and No. 6 Florida. Closing out day one of the tournament will be a classic rival meeting of No. 4 Auburn against No. 5 Alabama at 8:30 p.m. (EST).

The Gamecocks will take a 27-20 overall and a 12-18 SEC record into the tournament. This marks USC’s least number of conference wins for a season since 2000, when the Gamecocks went 11-16 and had the seventh seed. That was also the year the Gamecocks won the SEC Tournament title and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional. That year, South Carolina went 4-1 and beat LSU 1-0 in the championship game.

This will mark the first time USC has ever opened against LSU, but it is the third time the two teams have met in tournament. The tournament series between the two teams is 1-1. LSU beat the Gamecocks 5-1 last year in the semifinal round to eliminate USC from the tournament.

Tickets for the tournament can be purchased through the University of Alabama Ticket Office at 877-263-8453.