The Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament got underway Wednesday in Columbia despite the conspicuous absence of the tournament's host.
Top-seeded Florida swept Missouri over the weekend and the Tigers became the only team to miss out on the 12-team tournament. The event began Wednesday with first-round action at Mizzou Softball Stadium.
The top four seeds received byes and will begin play Thursday.
Texas A&M, which earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament, was knocked out by No. 11 seed Mississippi State. The Bulldogs blanked the Aggies 2-0 and will face No. 3 seed South Carolina at 11 a.m. Thursday.
No. 7 seed Arkansas survived No. 10 Kentucky in a 3-1 ballgame. The Razorbacks will play second-seeded Georgia at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Louisiana State earned the No. 5 seed in the tournament. The Tigers beat Mississippi 4-1 on Wednesday and have a date with No. 4 Tennessee at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Florida, which captured the SEC's regular-season title with its sweep of Missouri, will meet eighth-seeded Alabama at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The Crimson Tide came from behind to nip in-state rival Auburn, 6-4.
Semifinal play begins at 2 p.m. Friday. The tournament final will be at 7 p.m. Saturday.