STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Alabama was playing baseball 90 miles west of its campus on Thursday night, but the Crimson Tide took a major stride toward Hoover.
Tommy Hunter fired a 144-pitch complete game and got all the offense he needed on Alex Avila's fourth-inning grand slam as Alabama held off Mississippi State 4-3 on a cool evening at Dudy Noble Field.
Alabama (30-23 overall, 14-14 SEC) pulled even in league play for the first time since it was 4-4 and moved into a tie for sixth place in the conference standings with Florida. State (32-17, 14-12) lost a chance to gain ground on Arkansas (17-11) in the SEC West.
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The Crimson Tide can clinch a spot in the SEC tournament at Regions Park next week with one more win this weekend or if two teams among the trio of Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee lose once more.
"It's big," said Hunter, who said the cool night air and a functioning change-up was instrumental in his complete-game effort. "We have to get two wins for sure to make it to the tournament."
Hunter (7-4) threw 99 strikes and registered his first complete game since throttling Tennessee in the Tide's SEC-clinching win on the final day of last season. State's Joseph McCaskill and Conner Powers each slammed the ball on the nose in the ninth inning, but right fielder Tyler Odle and left fielder Brandon Belcher each tracked back toward the fence to corral the line drives.
"We need to win, especially when a guy pitches that good," Alabama coach Jim Wells said. "He made pitches when he had to and had a change-up working tonight."
Mississippi State took a 1-0 lead in the second when Brian LaNinfa led off with an opposite field double and scored on a one-out grounder from Conner Powers.
Meanwhile, State starter Chad Crosswhite (7-3) had gotten out of jams in each of the first four innings, but could not escape the fifth.
Greg Paiml's head-first slide into second just beat the throw from left on his leadoff double in the Tide's fifth. Emeel Salem walked, then Belcher laid down a bunt on the left side of the infield to set up Avila.
The left-hander swatted a 2-1 change-up high in the zone to the gap in right-center.
"I knew I got it enough to get over the fence, but I wasn't sure if it was high enough," Avila said of his laser shot.
"I left a change-up up, he put a swing on it and it was a pretty good hit," Crosswhite said.
Belcher reached base four times, on three singles and an error, and raised his batting average in conference-only games to .357.

OUCH!!!!!!!!

Oh yea thats baseball!!
