Alabama came out firing on the mound and at the plate to begin their final series of the regular season victorious against conference rival Ole Miss, 4-1.

Out of the gate the Tide loaded the bases and catcher Dominic Tamez shot an RBI single out into center field, allowing Jim Jarvis to advance home. With the bases still loaded and Rebels starting pitcher Xavier Rivas feeling the pressure on the mound, he threw a four pitch walk to Ed Johnson, advancing Tommy Siedl home for a quick 2-0 lead.

The quick 2-0 start allowed Alabama starting pitcher Luke Holman to settle in on the mound that turned into a fantastic outing for the sophomore. Holman threw 6.2 innings with five strikeouts and allowed just four hits. He threw a shutout for six innings until his one earned run came in the 7th inning.

Interim head coach Jason Jackson was more than pleased with Holman’s night in his post-game press conference.

“Luke Holman was fantastic tonight. He did a really good job on short rest. Pitchers are big on their routines, and not only was it a short week for Luke but we had some lightning delays, and it was raining so those kind of things can sometimes get a guy out of whack, but Luke came out like a champ and did a great job of pitching deep into the ballgame for us, “ Jackson said.

The Tide continued their strong start at the plate in the third and fourth innings. Andrew Pinckney blasted a solo shot to left center field, followed by Jarvis slicing an RBI single to left field in the fourth to give Alabama their fourth and final runs of the ball game.

Pinckney has now hit 11 home runs in his last 16 games dating back to April 18 at UAB. He also hit at least one homer in the last three-straight games, hitting two in their 12-1 win Saturday against Texas A&M followed by a solo shot in their 11-0 victory on Sunday.

With the victory tonight, Alabama improves their record to 36-17 and have their SEC record back to 500 (14-14 SEC) for the first time since April 23. In the other dugout, Ole Miss falls to 25-27 (6-22 SEC) on the season.

 

Up Next

The Tide continue their final home and regular season series in The Joe versus the Rebels Friday evening at 6 p.m. CT followed by the series finale on Saturday. Friday, Alabama will start right-hander Garrett McMillan on the mound to face off against Ole Miss righty JT Quinn.

The series finale will be played as a double-header on Friday, due to inclement weather on Saturday.

 

Follow Alex Chasen on Twitter @_AlexChasen