?The No. 7 Crimson Tide defeated No. 6 Ole Miss 7-5 on Thursday during the SEC Championships. Alabama had a shaky couple of innings in the beginning but turned the game around and pulled the victory out in the 10th inning of the game.
?The Tide, which will now move on in the tournament, concocted a superb game against the Rebels constantly keeping them on their toes. Coach Mitch Gaspard said the want to better themselves is what is driving the players to excel.
?“The aggression [of the game] helped get them to win today,” Gaspard said. “[Spencer Turnbull] did a really great job in the middle but we have to keep improving.”
?Both Alabama and Ole Miss were an even match for each other; which was demonstrated in the first inning. It only took Alabama pitcher Spencer Turnbull five pitches to end the first inning. Ole Miss used a few more pitches but neither team scored.
?After a quick first inning, Ole Miss took control in the second inning, gaining three runs; two were made due to an error by centerfielder Georgie Salem. The quick runs left Alabama struggling to gain control in the next inning. But the fourth inning would favor them immensely.
?Alabama managed to snag some runs in the fourth inning. Kenny Roberts walked to first and Salem hit towards shortstop leaving two men on base. Then Roberts stole third base, and Mikey White pull the ball into right field sending Roberts home. Salem made it home while Austen Smith was batting. Two runs, two hits and two walks were made during the fourth, yet Ole Miss still led the game 3-2.
?Coming off a two run inning, the Tide went into the fifth hoping to tie up the game. Chance Vincent hit a single but his teammates continued to help him around the diamond bringing him home to tie up the game. Kyle Overstreet had one RBI. Alabama gained two more hits in the fifth and tied up the score 3-3. Alabama continued to dominate the game in the sixth inning. White moved to second base on a Rebel error. Next, Smith hit his first triple of the season, bringing home White and making it to third. Booth hits a groundout but manages to get an RBI, bringing home Smith.
Unfortunately for the Tide, Ole Miss was able to tie up the game in the bottom of the seventh. The Rebels loaded the bases and ended up getting two runs tying up the game 5-5.
“Our group is really resilient,” Gaspard said. “We fell behind but they did a good job offensively to get it going again. Obviously there’s still some stuff to work on but we fought back.”
?Once the game was tied, both teams tried to get another run. However both were unsuccessful in both the eighth and ninth innings.
?In the 10th inning, Alabama took charge of the game getting both Overstreet and Moore on base. Overstreet walked to first and Moore hit a double. White went up to bat next hitting a single to left field, which brought both Overstreet and Moore home. The two runs helped secure Alabama’s victory over the team.
?“To be able to come up and get a timely hit to win the game is kind of surreal,” White said.
?Alabama will be back at it on Friday at 3 p.m. to face the loser of the LSU/Arkansas game at the Hoover Met.
