TUSCALOOSA | The third ranked University of Alabama softball team prepared to leave for the Southeastern Conference Tournament the way it has prepared for every game this season — as a business trip.

As the team boarded its chartered bus bound for Baton Rouge, La., for their first-round game against No. 7 seed Mississippi State today at 5 p.m., players wore a look of determination. There was no horsing around with one another. They just quietly loaded their luggage into the bus and took their seats one by one.

The No. 2 seed Crimson Tide (49-5) is seeking its fourth SEC Tournament championship (1998, 2003, 2005) and first since the conference went to a single-elimination format in 2006.

Coach Patrick Murphy said the new format has taken some of the strategy out of the tournament.

“It’s a different go-round,” Murphy said. “The years that we won it I think only one year we went undefeated. So right now that’s out the window. If you lose, you’re done. I think it’s a little bit different with your pitching staff because there’s no saving anybody. You have to go match-up to match-up, batter by batter.”

Alabama is 21-16 in SEC Tournament play, including 3-1 against Mississippi State (40-19). The Tide owns the all-time series 34-7, including a three-game sweep in Starkville, Miss., earlier this season.

Junior center fielder Brittany Rogers has two SEC Tournaments under her belt and said the key to being successful is staying focused.

“We’ve definitely learned we have to take it one game at a time,” Rogers said. “That’s the mentality we’re taking now. One game at a time and focusing on whoever our opponent is first. We realize that if we stay within ourselves everything else will take care of itself.”

The Tide enters the tournament after a 4-2 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Ga., on Sunday.

Murphy said he doesn’t think one loss will stop the Tide from continuing to play well.

“At previous tournaments we went 2-2 and 1-2 one year and both of those years we went to the World Series,” Murphy said. “I don’t think with this team it matters that much. They really have not looked at the standings. They haven’t looked at who’s ahead of them. They haven’t looked at rankings. Other teams it would have killed them. With this team it didn’t matter at all that we lost to Georgia on Sunday.”

Rogers called the loss a wake up call.

“We realize that if we don’t execute and do what we’re supposed to do we can lose,” Rogers said. “It was definitely good for us to get a little taste of that.”

After its recent losses to Georgia and DePaul, Alabama slipped to third in the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings. However, the Tide is No. 2 in the most recent RPI rankings and still has a good chance to host an NCAA Regional. The Regionals are May 16-18.

Alabama is 10-4 against top-25 ranked teams, including road contests against Northwestern, DePaul and Washington.

Murphy said he hopes the NCAA Regional sites have already been decided.

“Because it’s only a one-loss difference if we lose, I would hate to think that they would decide who hosts Regionals on one game, which is what it would come down to,” Murphy said. “On the other hand, we could go 3-0 and cement a top-8 seed, which we hope to do.”

Rogers said the team hasn’t talked about their ranking or where it will be placed.

“We’ve just been focused on taking care of business when we’re supposed to,” Rogers said.

After having spent much of the season trying to catch Florida for the regular season SEC championship, the possibility exists for the Tide to play the top-ranked Gators in the SEC Tournament Championship game on Sunday. Murphy said the possibility is intriguing.

“I think it would be a great thing for college softball and for the SEC,” Murphy said of a possible No. 1 vs. No. 3 match up. “Both of us have to get through our brackets to get there, and we’re certainly not looking past Mississippi State.”

Reach Aaron Suttles at aaron.suttles@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0229.