BATON ROUGE – The LSU softball team will begin defense of their Southeastern Conference Tournament championship against SEC regular season champion Georgia on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (CT) at the Florida Softball Field in Gainesville, Fla.

The eighth-seeded Tigers (30-21, 12-18 SEC) tied with Mississippi State (32-27, 12-18 SEC) for seventh place overall, but the Bulldogs earned the seventh seed by way of winning the three-game series in Starkville, Miss., earlier this season. Georgia (48-12, 26-4 SEC) earned the top seed overall after winning its second SEC Championship in school history.

LSU has advanced through the conference tournament into the championship game each of the last six seasons. The Tigers have won the SEC Tournament four times, including last season when LSU defeated Georgia, 4-1, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.,

If the Tigers defeat Georgia, they will play the winner of the Tennessee-Florida game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (CT). If LSU loses, it will play the loser of that game at 12:30 p.m. (CT).

All of the Tigers’ postseason games will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Network in Baton Rouge on Country Legends 107.3 FM and on the internet at www.LSUsports.net. The four-day tournament will conclude with the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT). The game will be broadcast on FSN Southwest in Baton Rouge on cable channel 38.

Day One – Thursday, May 12

Game 1 No. 3 Auburn vs. No. 6 South Carolina 10 p.m. (CT)

Game 2 No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 7 Mississippi State 12:30 p.m. (CT)

Game 3 No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 5 Florida 4 p.m. (CT)

Game 4 No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8 LSU 6:30 p.m. (CT)

Day Two – Friday, May 13

Game 5 Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser 10 a.m. (CT)

Game 6 Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser 12:30 p.m. (CT)

Game 7 Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 4 p.m. (CT)

Game 8 Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner 6:30 p.m. (CT)

Day Three – Saturday, May 14

Game 9 Game 5 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser 12:30 p.m. (CT)

Game 10 Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser 10 a.m. (CT)

Game 11 Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner 4 p.m. (CT)

Game 12 Game 8 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner 6:30 p.m. (CT)

Day Four – Sunday, May 15

Game 13 Same as Game 11 (If necessary) 8 a.m. (CT)

Game 14 Same as Game 12 (If necessary) 8 a.m. (CT)

Game 15 Title Game 1 p.m.