Alabama Clinches Double-Bye with 6-2 Regular Season Finale Win

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 18 Alabama (37-18, 18-12) takes the series from the No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels (36-20, 16-14) with a 6-2 regular season finale victory. The win marks Alabama's 18th league triumph this season, the program's highest total since 2009. More importantly, the win secures a double-bye for the Crimson Tide in the SEC tournament next week.

Alabama starter Myles Upchurch turned in a wonderful seven innings in the biggest start of his young collegiate career, holding the Rebels to two earned runs on four hits and two walks, adding six punchouts to his winning line. Crimson Tide reliever Ashton Crowther held up his end of the deal, closing the final two innings of the game, only allowing one Rebel batter to reach safely.

Ole Miss starting pitcher Cade Townsend was tagged with the loss Saturday, allowing seven hits and five earned runs across 3.2 innings of action.

After Upchurch retired the Rebs in order, Alabama struck first for the first time this weekend. A Bryce Fowler leadoff single set up Justin Lebron, who pulled a double to the left-center gap to plate Fowler, pushing Alabama out to an early 1-0 lead.

Upchurch posted another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, but Mississippi's Townsend dug his heels in, allowing a lone hit courtesy of a two-out Luke Vaughn single, otherwise setting down the other three Crimson Tide batters.

The Ole Miss lineup got to Upchurch in the third, loading the bases with no outs thanks to a pair of singles and a hit by pitch. A Dom Decker single brought in the first Rebel run of the ballgame before a Tristan Bissetta sacrifice fly handed Ole Miss the 2-1 lead.

The Crimson Tide worked around the jam after throwing out Decker, who attempted to tag after the sacrifice fly, and with a strikeout to prevent further damage.

From then on, Upchurch and the Alabama defense rolled, only allowing four baserunners over six innings.

Alabama threw a jab back in the bottom of the third with a two-out John Lemm RBI single to tie the game, before throwing the hook in the fourth with a three-spot in large part due to a Jason Torres two-RBI 102 MPH single off the glove of Ole Miss shortstop Owen Paino, to take a 5-2 lead.

Alabama added a run once more in the fifth, thanks to Eric Hines' mammoth solo shot, 408 feet to dead center. 6-2, Alabama

The series win marks Alabama's sixth in league play, the most since the Crimson Tide also took home six conference series in 2009.

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