COLLEGE STATION, Texas — With one bad inning Thursday, Ole Miss likely saw its Southeastern Conference championship hopes evaporate. Now the Rebels need to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to their status as one of the league’s top four.

Texas A&M scored five times in the sixth inning Thursday to beat the Rebels 6-1 in their series opener in College Station.

Ole Miss (39-15, 17-11 SEC) now needs to win the last two games of the series to have any chance of finishing first in the SEC’s regular season. More importantly, it needs to win at least one of the last two games to stay among the top four teams and earn one of the coveted first-round byes at next week’s conference tournament.

The Nos. 5-12 seeds play a single-elimination first-round game Tuesday in Hoover, Ala., while Nos. 1-4 get a bye into the double-elimination round that starts Wednesday.

Texas A&M (40-12, 19-9) can clinch one of the byes with one more victory.

Colby Bortles homered in the second inning for Ole Miss to tie Thursday’s game at 1. That lasted until the sixth, when the Aggies caught fire and surged into the lead.

Nick Choruby led off with a single and scored from first on a double by J.B. Moss to put the Aggies in the lead. Moss, in turn, scored on a double by Hunter Melton and Melton scored on a single by Ryne Birk.

Jonathan Moroney’s two-run single gave Texas A&M a 6-1 lead. Six of A&M’s first seven batters in the inning got hits.

Moss and Moroney each finished the game with three hits, while Choruby went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Melton also had an RBI ground out in the first inning and finished with two RBIs.

Texas A&M starter Brigham Hill (7-1) allowed four hits and one walk in seven innings, and struck out eight in earning the win.

Ole Miss ace Brady Bramlett (7-3) pitched into the sixth inning before falling victim to the Aggies’ onslaught. He allowed four runs on six hits, struck out four and walked none.

Andy Pagnozzi pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Rebels.