LEXINGTON ? The fourth-ranked Kentucky baseball team, fresh off sharing the Southeastern Conference championship with Alabama, has earned the No. 2 seed for the SEC Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Hoover, Ala.

The Wildcats play the tournament?s first game against No. 7 South Carolina, who UK swept earlier this year at home. The game is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

Should the Wildcats win, they play at 5 p.m. on Thursday while a loss means a second straight 10 a.m. game on Thursday. Kentucky?s opponent will be either No. 3 Georgia or No. 6 Vanderbilt.

It is the first time UK has earned a berth in the eight-team field since 2000. That year, the Wildcats beat USC in the first round before dropping its next to contests an being eliminated.

The Tournament is set up similar to the College World Series, with eight teams in two four-team, double-elimination brackets. The winner of each bracket plays a one-game, winner-take-all championship game on Sunday.

Since the current format was adopted in 1998, Kentucky has gone two-and-out twice and posted a 1-2 mark once. No team that has won the SEC regular-season championship has won the SEC Tournament under the current format.