Missouri clinches bid in SEC Tournament

COLUMBIA - Win and in.

That's all the Missouri baseball team had to do to clinch a spot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Well, the Tigers will be playing postseason baseball.

Missouri used an eighth-inning home run from Keaton Steele to defeat Kentucky 4-3 on Friday night.

The SEC Tournament starts Tuesday in Hoover, Ala.

Eric Anderson pitched 7 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on four hits with four strikeouts for the Tigers. Jake Walsh picked up the win by tossing the final 2/3 of that eighth inning.

That's when Steele blasted the tiebreaking homer to send Missouri to the postseason. He then picked up the save in relief, tossing an inning and allowing one hit while striking out a batter.

Kentucky took a 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the third. Missouri got one back in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single from Dylan Kelly.

Shane Segovia tied the game with a two-run single in the sixth, setting the stage for Steele's late-game heroics.

Missouri (18-30, 10-19 SEC) and Kentucky (29-24, (10-19 SEC) play at 1 p.m. today to decide who gets the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament.