SCORE: Alabama 6, Ole Miss 1
RUNDOWN: Alabama (31-26) scored all of its runs with two outs, getting two in the fifth and four in the seventh. Geoffrey Bramblett pitched a complete game for the Crimson Tide. Ole Miss dropped to 30-26.
Mikey White, Casey Hughston and J.C. Wilhite each had two hits for the Tide. White, Hughston, Henry and Wilhite each had run-scoring hits in the seventh.
Ole Miss’ lone run came on a fifth-inning RBI single from Errol Robinson. Scott Weathersby (4-2) took the loss, pitching into the seventh.
CLUTCH MOMENT: Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard pushed the right buttons to get Alabama’s first run. With runners on the corners and two outs, top hitter Mikey White had two strikes on him. Georgie Salem took off for second, drawing a throw from Ole Miss catcher Austin Knight. It was low and mishandled, allowing Chandler Avant to score.
Alabama got in a groove after that and pulled away from the Rebels.
DIAMOND MVP: Alabama right fielder Casey Hughston hit better than .500 in non-conference games but came into the game with a .208 average and zero doubles or triples against SEC foes. He had a pair of two-out RBI hits, including a double in the seventh, in this one.
ACE OF THE GAME: Tide pitcher Geoffrey Bramblett, who played his senior year at Hoover, held the Rebel bats in check. One key stretch came in the eighth when, with one out and two on, he struck out cleanup hitter Sikes Orvis for the fourth time and then struck out Austin Knight. Bramblett struck out a career-high 10 in the complete game and improved his record to 8-3.
WHAT’S NEXT: Alabama plays No. 3 seed Texas A&M on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. Ole Miss is eliminated, but will likely be a two seed in an NCAA regional when that’s announced next Monday. Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said he’s leaning to giving freshman Jake Walters the start against Texas A&M, but senior Taylor Guilbeau is another option.
MANAGER SPEAK
“It doesn’t take a baseball genius to figure out what happened. Alabama just outplayed us today.” – Ole Miss’ Mike Bianco.
“We got in the right spot in the lineup, for one. Mikey (White) delivers one and Casey (Hughston). We were right there in a pretty good spot with guys. That’s the key to winning, it’s about timely hits. I don’t know that we could explain why guys get two-out hits one day and the next day you don’t.” – Alabama’s Mitch Gaspard on the two-out hits.
PLAYER SPEAK
“He did a really good job of mixing three pitches and working in and out of the zone. I had a tough time picking it up.” – Ole Miss’ Sikes Orvis, who struck out four times.
“It felt like I could get to 0-1 or 1-2, but it was hard to strike them out.” – Ole Miss starting pitcher Scott Weathersby, who took the loss.
“(Catcher Will) Haynie was calling a great game behind the plate. I didn’t have to shake him off hardly at all. I just had to work fast.” – Alabama pitcher Geoffrey Bramblett
“You can’t really look forward to the future because we really don’t have one. We have to create what our future is.” – Bramblett
