HOOVER, Ala. (Interstat) — The 2026 Southeastern Conference Baseball Championship opens Tuesday with a first-round matchup between seed Missouri and seed Mississippi at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

The Tigers (22-30) enter the double-elimination tournament after a three-game sweep at Texas last weekend, capped by a 12-7 loss Saturday. The Rebels (36-20) dropped two of three at Alabama but still secured a top-two seed behind series wins against Texas A&M and Arkansas.

Tuesday’s game pits two pitchers who have been effective in recent outings. Missouri right-hander Isaiah Salas worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief against Texas on Saturday, striking out three without allowing a hit. In his previous four appearances, Salas surrendered four earned runs in a brief outing at Georgia on May 2 but otherwise allowed no earned runs across 6 2/3 innings against Vanderbilt and Arkansas. He has 10 strikeouts over his last 8 1/3 innings.

Mississippi left-hander Walker Hooks also threw 3 1/3 hitless innings Saturday against Alabama, fanning three. Over his last seven appearances, Hooks has allowed two earned runs in 14 innings with 14 strikeouts. He has not permitted an earned run in seven of his last eight outings, including two scoreless frames in a win over Texas A&M on May 8.

Missouri’s offense has struggled, averaging 3.5 runs over its last 10 games. Third baseman Chris Patterson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs against Texas. The Tigers are last in the SEC in batting average (.241) and runs per game (4.6).

Mississippi counters with a lineup that scored 17 runs against Tennessee-Martin on May 12 and averages 6.8 runs per game. The Rebels’ pitching staff owns a 4.21 ERA, second-best in the conference.

The all-time series favors Mississippi, which has won five of the last seven meetings. The teams did not play during the regular season.

First pitch is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon with temperatures forecast in the low 80s. The Interstat game simulator projects Mississippi to win 5-2.

The winner advances to face the winner of Wednesday’s game between Tennessee and Alabama. The loser drops into the elimination bracket.