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Alabama came into the SEC baseball tournament as a bubble team for the NCAA playoff that starts next week. Maybe a bubble team that was likely to get in, but a bubble team nonetheless.
The Tide is not on the bubble anymore.
Not after knocking out arch-rival Auburn, which is one of the teams competing for a dwindling number of spots in the NCAA tournament. And not after an extra-innings, 7-5 win against Ole Miss on Thursday that has Alabama a couple of games away from playing for the SEC tournament championship. Sure, these aren't the top-tier SEC teams that Alabama is defeating right now, but the Tide will get their chance to do that soon enough.
Starting Friday, when Alabama will face either LSU or Arkansas with a spot in the semifinals on the line. Winning that game, and then one or two more, would be nice -- but most likely just icing on the cake.
As for Ole Miss -- the Rebels are almost certainly going to the NCAA tournament one way or the other. They would have liked a win, but they didn't need it. Instead the victory went to the team with the most to lose.