HOOVER, Ala. – It’s hard to believe that just one week ago, Mississippi State was holding its breath and waiting for a backdoor invitation to the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

On Sunday, Bulldog Nation exhaled with a collective victory bark as State – the team that only earned a No. 7 seed after three other schools lost on the final day of the regular season – completed one of the most unlikely championship runs in SEC history.

Tournament MVP Jeff Butts went 2-for-3 with a homer and two runs scored, pitcher Brooks Dunn allowed one run in 6 2/3 strong innings, and Mississippi State claimed its first SEC baseball championship since 2001 – and sixth overall – with a 4-1 victory over archrival Ole Miss. In four tournament games, State outscored its opponents 22-7.

The SEC title gives State an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but they had likely secured a berth already with their play this weekend.

“We knew we had to win at least one to get to a regional, then we won two and then three, and then you start thinking we can win this thing because we were playing well and pitching well,” Mississippi State coach Ron Polk said, adding that he felt the Bulldogs’ title wasn’t as improbable as it seemed. “Being a No. 7 seed, this makes it one of the nicers ones, but there were only four games separating the top five in the SEC West. A play here or there and we’re a No. 1 seed hosting a (regional).

“It’s not like we’re the upset champions of the world or anything.”

The Bulldogs’ victory spoiled a spectacular charge out of the losers’ bracket by Ole Miss. The Rebels beat Florida twice on Saturday to advance to the championship game, only to see their title drought continue for a 28th consecutive season.

Ole Miss has not won an SEC Tournament since the first one in 1977, and has dropped seven straight tournament games against Mississippi State. Strangely, the only time Ole Miss has beaten the Bulldogs in the tournament was when the Rebels won it.

There was a silver lining in the loss for Ole Miss. Before the game, it was announced they would host an NCAA regional for the second straight year.

“This one’s going to sit in your mouth for a little bit. This is one of the worst losses I’ve ever taken,” said Ole Miss catcher Barry Gunther, who was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. “But if we go on and do what we want to do, nobody will remember losing to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament.”

License plates from all over Mississippi filled the parking lot at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium for the first All-Magnolia State SEC final, and the scene inside resembled a weekend series in Starkville or Oxford.

Maroon-clad MSU supporters lined the first-base line, while Ole Miss fans dressed in blue and red sat on the third base side. A total of 12,290 fans turned out for Sunday’s game, the third-largest championship game crowd in tournament history and the largest for a game not involving Alabama or Auburn.

The two sets of fans cheered every pitch and play from start to finish, and traded chants throughout the game.

“Because of the weather, I didn’t think we’d have that big a crowd,” Polk said, noting that thunderstorms threatened to postpone the game. They finally hit the Birmingham area about an hour after the game ended. “It was like a football atmosphere. I felt like I was on the 50-yard line.”

Before the game, fans and neighbors mingled as they waited for the gates to open. Once the game started, however, it was all business. Dunn and Ole Miss starter Mark Holliman matched zeroes until Jeffrey Rea’s RBI double put MSU ahead 1-0 in the third.

Ed Easley added a two-run single later in the inning and Jeff Butts homered off the right field foul pole to lead off the fifth as the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 4-0.

Holliman left after the third inning and relievers Jon-Jon Hancock and Stephen Head held the line for the Rebels the rest of the way. They allowed only one run and four hits in five innings of work.

The Rebels’ hitters didn’t hold up their end of the bargain, however. Ole Miss managed just five hits in the game, and didn’t score until C.J. Ketchum brought in Zack Cozart with a pinch-hit single in the seventh to cut State’s lead to 4-1.

MSU had taken the easier path to the championship game, using strong performances from its starting pitchers to beat LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee.

On Sunday, Dunn held the Rebels to five hits and one run in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out three, walked three and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth before giving way to Brett Cleveland with two on and two out in the seventh.

As Dunn came off the field, he was greeted by a line of teammates in front of the dugout and a thunderous ovation from the Bulldog faithful. Cleveland brought on another cheer moments later when he struck out Cooper Osteen to end the seventh inning and keep the Bulldogs’ lead at 4-1.

Former Warren Central standout Brian Pettway and ex-Vicksburg High star Justin Henry were named to the all-tournament team.