Tide rolls over Rebs, Auburn beats Kentucky in SEC opener

Former Hoover High star Geoffrey Bramblett looked right at home.

The Alabama right-hander was dominant in pitching the Crimson Tide over Ole Miss 6-1 in the opening game of the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Met on Tuesday.

"I just wanted to give my team a chance to win," Bramblett said.

The Tide (31-26) advances to face Texas A&M on Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Bramblett (8-3), a sophomore, went the distance, scattering nine hits and striking out a season-high 10 batters and walking none.

The game was scoreless until the fifth inning. 

Chandler Avant stole home to put the Crimson Tide on the board first. Alabama added another run when Casey Hughston singled to score former Vestavia Hills standout Georgie Salem.

Ole Miss responded in the bottom of the fifth when Errol Robinson singled up the middle to bring Kyle Watson across the plate for the Rebels' only run of the game.

Alabama scored four more runs in the top of the seventh inning. All of the Crimson Tide's runs in the game came with two outs.

"We're still breathing," said Alabama shortstop Mikey White, the former Spain Park star. "We're just going to keep fighting until we're done. It's a lot of fun playing with this team because there's a lot of fight. We haven't had the best record but we've had a lot of fight."

The Rebels (30-26) are eliminated, but more than likely will earn an at-large NCAA bid.

Auburn advanced as well, beating Kentucky 6-3.

Cole Lipscomb pitched into the eighth inning and Jackson Burgreen had four hits to pace the Tigers. Former Briarwood Christian star Daniel Robert, a Hoover native, added three hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Tigers (35-22).

Kentucky (30-25) was eliminated from the tournament.

Auburn faces LSU at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.