This Alabama baseball season has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. There's been ups and downs since the beginning of the season, but in a critical stretch of the schedule before the postseason arrives, Rob Vaughn's team is trending up once again.
Alabama's 5-4 win over Ole Miss on Thursday night to open the final series of the regular season was the Crimson Tide's seventh straight SEC win. The win followed back-to-back series sweeps over Vanderbilt and South Carolina that revived the Crimson Tide's postseason hopes after a rough stretch.
Tyler Fay threw seven strong innings against the Rebels, allowing three runs on seven hits, but striking out 11.
Alabama trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 7th, with the lone Tide damage at the plate coming from a Justin Lebron two-run homer in the 1st inning. But then the Crimson Tide plated three runs in the 7th to take the lead.
Bryce Fowler tied the game with an RBI single, which Lebron followed with one of his own to push the Tide ahead. John Lemm added a pivotal insurance run with an RBI walk to give Alabama a 5-3 lead as it turned to Matthew Heiberger to get six outs.
That extra run proved to be critical as Ole Miss got a run on the board in the 9th, but Heiberger shut the door with a strikeout - one of five he recorded over two innings - to earn a massive victory for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama baseball took another major step toward Regional hosting, SEC Tournament double-bye
The win over Ole Miss likely locks Alabama into getting to host a Regional in the NCAA Tournament this year. Another series win, or better yet, a sweep, and the Crimson Tide could end up being a national seed and in line to host a Super Regional, assuming it makes it through the Regional round.
That's only happened one time in program history, back in 1999. That's also the last time the Crimson Tide made it to the College World Series.
Alabama has hosted a Regional six times previously, last occurring in 2023. This would be the first time under head coach Rob Vaughn.
The win over Ole Miss, coupled with Texas A&M's loss to Mississippi State, moved Alabama into sole possession of third place in the SEC, behind only Georgia and Texas. The top four teams in the standings earn a coveted double-bye in the SEC Baseball Tournament next week in Hoover. Alabama last won the SEC Tournament in 2003, but earning a double bye would give Vaughn's club the best chance of ending that drought.
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