Thomas Burrows came on in relief to help Alabama wrap up the victory.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- After tying the game in the seventh inning, a four-run eighth proved the deciding factor in Alabama's 8-4 win against 15th-ranked Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon inside Dudy Noble Field. The Crimson Tide clinched the series with today's victory and improved to 11-7 overall (2-1 SEC).
"It's always great to win a series on the road, particularly in the first SEC series of the season," said Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard. "The biggest takeaway from this weekend was that our guys competed in all three games. To come in to Starkville and win two out of three, that's a great start."
The Crimson Tide trailed much of the afternoon, but one run in the seventh evened the score and a four-run eighth put Alabama on top for good. With the bases loaded, Riley Colburn battled for a walk to push the Tide ahead 5-4, and by the inning's end Alabama had extended its lead to 8-4, the eventual final.
Mississippi State started the day's scoring in the bottom of the second. A walk followed by two singles loaded the bases, and then a wild pitch brought in the first run of the day. Two pitches later, an infield grounder led to the second Bulldog run to move the score to 2-0 after two full innings.
The Tide pitching staff put together a solid outing, allowing four runs on nine hits. Starter Geoffrey Bramblett worked 5.1 innings for Alabama and then turned it over to the pen. Relievers Ray Castillo and Thomas Burrows combined for 3.2 innings of work, with Castillo earning his second win of the year and Burrows claiming his third save on the young season.
