TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball fell just short in its comeback effort against Ole Miss, suffering a 10-8 loss in the series finale with the Rebels on Saturday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide finished the regular season at 27-29 overall and 8-22 in Southeastern Conference play.

"I thought our kids really competed all weekend," said Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon . "We had three really tight games that could've gone either way. Knowing we were out of contention, I'm really proud of our kids and the effort that they gave. Even though it didn't finish our way today, we answered four times. The four times that they scored, we scored in the bottom half of the inning. It's just a huge compliment to the resolve that our kids showed, and it's unfortunate that we couldn't come out on top."

The two teams exchanged runs all afternoon in a contest that lasted over six hours with a 2:05 rain delay, as Alabama answered back each time Ole Miss scored. The Tide trimmed the deficit to one run after six innings of play, but the Rebels pulled away with a three-run inning in the eighth. Alabama battled for a two-spot in the home half of the eighth to make it a two-run affair before threatening in the ninth but could not move in front.

The Tide offense was led by its 1-for-4 hitters, who each contributed multi-hit efforts and batted a combined 10-for-19 (.526) with four doubles – one from each hitter – six of the team's eight RBI and four runs scored. Junior leadoff man Cobie Vance finished 3-for-4 with one RBI, a walk and a career-high tying three runs scored. Matching Vance in hits was fellow junior Keith Holcombe , who went 3-for-5 with a team-high tying two RBI. The Tide's No. 3 hitter, senior Chandler Avant , recorded a 2-for-4 day and contributed two RBI with one run scored, while cleanup man Chandler Taylor also collected two hits, with the junior going 2-for-4 with one RBI and a walk.

Ole Miss got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first. A two-out single and walk put two on before they both came in with an RBI-double to make it a 2-0 game. Alabama answered, cutting the lead to one in the home half of the first. Vance led things off with a walk before a double from Holcombe placed the tandem in scoring position. Avant followed the duo with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring UA's first run.

The Tide evened things up one inning later thanks to a Connor Short home run. The roundtripper was the senior's first of the season and made it a 2-2 contest. The tie would not last long, as the Rebels posted a four-spot in the third on the power of four hits and a walk to regain the lead, this time at a 6-2 tally. The third frame was then interrupted by rain, with the two teams waiting 2:05 to resume play.

Following the break, Alabama responded on offense once again, scoring two in the bottom of the third to cut the Rebel lead in half. Vance singled to start the third and moved himself into scoring position with a stolen base. One out later, Avant singled through the left side to put runners on the corners for Taylor, and the junior delivered, sending a single through the right side to bring in one. Another single loaded the bases for John Trousdale , with the sophomore sending a hard grounder to short that was misplayed to help one more cross and set things at 6-4 after three full.

Both teams went scoreless until the sixth, with the Rebels striking first. A one-out single put a man on, with the runner moving up 90 feet on a stolen base. One out later, Ole Miss registered an RBI-single to center to push the lead back to three. The Tide would answer right back, plating two to cut the deficit to one at 7-6. A one-out single from Short started a streak of three consecutive singles to load them up for Holcombe. The Tide left fielder answered the call, sending a hard grounder through the right side to score a pair and make it a one-run game heading to the seventh.

Ole Miss then made it a four-run game with three in the top of the eighth as wild pitches hurt the Tide in the frame. For a fourth time on the day, the Crimson Tide answered, this time with two in the bottom of the eighth. A two-out error on the infield gave UA a baserunner before an RBI-double from Vance scored the inning's first run. Holcombe singled in the next at-bat to bring Avant to the dish, with the senior sending an RBI-double to center to cross one more and make it a 10-8 contest with one inning left to play.

The Tide did not go quietly, threatening in the bottom of the ninth with the winning run at the plate. Junior Matt Malkin led off the inning, reaching on a hit-by-pitch, and one out later Jett Manning reached on a catcher's interference to represent the tying run. With runners on first and second, Alabama was unable to capitalize on the opportunity as a pair of strikeouts went for the final outs.

Today's regular-season finale wrapped up the 2018 campaign for Alabama baseball.

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