Ole Miss came to Hoover with a winning streak and high hopes for solidifying its NCAA Tournament standing.

By mid-afternoon Tuesday it was on its way back to Oxford, facing a long week of waiting and wondering how badly its first-round flameout at the Southeastern Conference Tournament would hurt.

No. 11 seed Alabama scored four runs in the seventh inning and went on to beat Ole Miss 6-1 in the first game of the tournament’s single-elimination round.

“I just told the players it doesn’t take a baseball genius to figure out what happened,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “Alabama just outplayed us today. That is what makes the SEC such an unbelievably good league. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day.”

Ole Miss (30-26) had won six of seven games entering the tournament, and could have improved its NCAA Tournament seeding with a couple of wins in Hoover.

Bianco still seemed confident that the Rebels had done enough to not cost themselves more than a couple of spots on the seeding line.

Ole Miss is a respectable No. 24 in this week’s NCAA Ratings Percentage Index rankings, which are a key component in determining at-large bids for the tournament field. They’ve also played the toughest schedule in the country, which should give them some more leeway with the committee.

“I don’t get a vote. I think we have done enough. When you look at our resume there is not a bad thing on it. We have a good RPI and a winning record in the best conference in the nation,” Bianco said. “We had series wins against Florida and Vanderbilt, and we split with Texas A&M and Louisville. All of those teams are vying for national seeds. This team has played the No. 1 toughest schedule in the country and made it through that gauntlet.”

Besides the implications on its postseason destination, Bianco said only playing one game had a lot of negative effects.

“There are a lot of bad things about getting bumped in the first game. Some guys didn’t get to pitch. For (Brady) Bramlett and (Christian) Trent that may be a good thing, but for the most part that may not be a good thing for everyone,” Bianco said. “When you do not get to use guys they have to sit. We need to get them some work during the week.”