OXFORD - Ole Miss did nothing to solve its SEC third-starter pitching woes Sunday.

Rebels coach Mike Bianco hopes that will change next week as he turns to his closer, Scott Bittle, in his hour of need.

As 12th-ranked Ole Miss was going for an SEC sweep, No. 24 Alabama rolled through three pitchers for 19 runs through the first five innings and defeated the Rebels 19-6 before a Swayze Field crowd of 6,778.

Fifth-year senior Brett Bukvich, replacing Aaron Barrett in the rotation, lasted just two-thirds of an inning and surrendered seven earned runs on six hits.

Alabama put up eight runs in the first and six in the second.

The Crimson Tide (15-7, 3-3 SEC) also shredded Rory McKean with seven earned runs in one inning and Kyle Barbeck with five earned runs in 22-3 innings.

Alabama had 21 of its 23 hits before the fifth inning. The Crimson Tide had five home runs.

"When you're down 0-2 you have to win. Our concentration probably was high. We got some balls that went right down the first and third base lines, we had some good fortune," Alabama coach Jim Wells said, "but we're a good offensive team. If we get on you, we can beat you pretty good."

Bianco quickly answered the third-starter question in his postgame address.

He had just had an outfield discussion with Bittle, who earned All-American honors last season when he was 7-1 with eight saves, a 1.78 earned run average and 130 strikeouts in 702-3 innings.

"I prefer Scott in the bullpen, and I think he would too, but this is something we need, we need a change of pace on Sundays. He said, Sure,'" Bianco said.

Bittle has started three games in two seasons at Ole Miss, all of them in 2007. His last start was against then-No. 1 Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament semifinals when he pitched seven innings.

He threw 71-3 innings in a relief win at Kentucky last year, striking out 10, in a game that clinched an SEC Tournament berth.

Bianco believes his bullpen is strong enough to help out if Bittle isn't ready to go seven innings.

The decision was made easier by the relief performance of Jake Morgan, who struck out six of the seven batters he faced over two innings for the save on Saturday.

"We probably wouldn't make the move if we didn't have someone like that we felt comfortable with," Bianco said.

Ole Miss (15-5, 4-2 SEC) trailed 19-0 before scratching out a run in the eighth and five more in the ninth, four of them on a grand slam by freshman Matt Snyder.

On the mound David Goforth - the fourth pitcher - finally settled things down, throwing 32-3 scoreless innings with two hits, one walk and four strikeouts.

Alabama got five RBIs from three-hole hitter Josh Rutledge, and national home run leader Kent Matthes added two more to his total for 15 on the year. One was a 478-foot shot over that cleared the left-field wall, the wrought iron fence and the temporary trailer behind it.

"The first two starters did a good job hitting their spots. We saw more balls over the plate today and we took advantage of it. Overall, the guys they ran out there were good pitchers. We just took advantage of their mistakes," Matthes said.