March 31, 2008

Tuscaloosa, AL (UWIRE) -- Saturday's rain forced a seven-inning game for the series finale on Sunday, but they played nine anyway.

A not-so-classic pitcher's duel between Alabama's Robert Phares and Ole Miss' Cody Satterwhite led to a 1-1 ballgame at the end of seven. It took a Logan Power RBI single in the top of the ninth to give the Rebels the win.

Alabama clinched the series earlier Sunday with a 5-3 come-from-behind win in the continuation of game two.

Satterwhite mowed down Alabama through 6.2 innings, allowing just two hits and one run.

Phares scattered nine hits over eight innings, allowing two runs. He allowed base runners in seven of the eight frames he pitched, but worked out of the jams.

"It's funny, if you lose the second one and win the third one, you're out here jumping around," Alabama head coach Jim Wells said. "You lose the last one, and it's tough."

With its resurgence over the last two weeks, the Crimson Tide has moved into a tie with Ole Miss and Auburn atop the SEC West at 4-5.

The Tide only had four hits on the day, but was one hit away from walking out with a sweep. Alabama left runners on third base in the fourth, fifth and ninth innings.

One of Alabama's best opportunities came in the eighth inning, in which Jeff Texada led off with a pinch-hit single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Josh Rutledge. Alex Avila laced a two-out liner in the left field, but Fuller Smith made a diving catch to save the game.

"It was tough, because you feel like we were just one hit away from winning the game," Wells said. "But we did some good things in all phases of the game this weekend against some quality arms."

Ole Miss finally broke the 1-1 tie in the ninth inning. Zach Miller was plunked by a Phares fastball, prompting Wells to grab Josh Copeland out of the pen. Copeland walked Brett Basham, then Fuller Smith moved both runners over with a bunt.

Logan Power delivered for Ole Miss with a solid RBI single to right to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead. Copeland avoided further damage by inducing a 1-6-3 double play off the bat of Cody Overbeck.

In the bottom half of the ninth, Kent Matthes gave the Tide one more chance with a two-out triple into the left-centerfield gap, but Alex Kubal grounded out on the next pitch to end the game.

Alabama will host UAB Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before heading to Regions Park Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. start.

Game 2: Alabama 5, Ole Miss 3

In the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, Alabama used a masterful performance from reliever Will Stroup to take game two. The game was suspended Saturday because of rain, keeping original starter Austin Graham from pitching in Sunday's continuation.

Stroup surrendered just one hit over 5.2 innings to record the win. Alabama entered Sunday down 3-2 in the third inning, but the Tide scratched for two in the sixth and one in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead.

Copeland relieved Stroup in the ninth after he walked two batters. Copeland recorded the save by retiring the first two batters he faced.

Game 1: Alabama 6, Ole Miss 5

Alabama took the series opener behind three home runs off two of the best pitchers in the conference.

Avila smacked a two-run homer off Rebel ace Lance Lynn in the fourth inning, and Matt Bentley followed with a solo bomb in the fifth.

With the game nodded at five in the eighth, Bentley smashed a moonshot to dead center off ace reliever Scott Bittle.

Copeland (1-1) picked up the win for the Tide, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings, working out of trouble in each frame.

(C) 2008 The Crimson White via UWIRE