Baseball Set for Pair of Midweek Games at The Joe
4/16/2018 5:47:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide will host Samford on Tuesday before welcoming Alcorn State to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday evening
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball returns home to start a six-game homestand with a pair of midweek contests at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide will first host in-state foe Samford on Tuesday evening followed by a single contest with the Alcorn State Braves on Wednesday night. Both games are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network+.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow the midweek games via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
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PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
TUESDAY: UA – Mason Duke (Jr., RHP) vs. SAM – Hamp Skinner (So., LHP)
WEDNESDAY: UA – TBA vs. ASU – TBA
LEADING OFF (SAMFORD)
• Alabama and Samford will meet for the 106th time in series history when the two square off on Tuesday evening. The Crimson Tide holds a 91-14 all-time advantage in the series, including a 73-8 mark in home contests with the Bulldogs. Tuesday's matchup will complete the 2018 home-and-home series between the two in-state foes.
• The teams last met on Feb. 27, 2018, at Joe Lee Griffin Field in Birmingham. In that game the Crimson Tide used 10 hits and a six-run ninth to cruise to a 13-3 win over the Bulldogs.
• Samford comes to Tuscaloosa with a 23-14 record and a 10-2 mark in the SoCon. The Bulldogs are riding a 12-game winning streak and are coming off a series sweep of Mercer last weekend.
• Alabama will send junior right-hander Mason Duke to the mound against the Bulldogs. Duke sports a 2-1 record and a 1.57 ERA (4 ER/23.0 IP) in his 11 appearances, three of which have been starting efforts.
• Samford calls on sophomore Hamp Skinner. The left-hander is 3-1 on the year with a 5.16 ERA (17 ER/29.2 IP) across 12 appearances, including six starts.
ABOUT SAMFORD
• Samford returns 28 letterwinners, including seven positional starters and four starting pitchers, from the 2017 roster that finished 33-26 overall and 11-13 to rank sixth in the SoCon. The 2018 roster is without six letterwinners from a season ago, a number that includes two positional starters and one pitcher.
• The Bulldogs were selected to finish third in the SoCon in both of the league's preseason polls, which features two separate preseason votes - one poll representing votes from the league coaches and one representing votes from the media.
• Casey Dunn is now in his 14th season as a head coach, all of which have come at Samford. During his time with the Bulldogs, Dunn has accumulated a 430-365 career record. A 1999 graduate of Auburn, Dunn is joined by associate head coach Tony David, assistant coach Tyler Shrout and volunteer assistant Hunter Morris to round out his staff.
LEADING OFF (ALCORN STATE)
• Alabama and Alcorn State will meet for the 23rd matchup all-time on Wednesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide is 21-1 overall against the Braves with all 22 matchups coming at home for UA.
• The two squads last squared off on April 18, 2017, with Alabama claiming an 18-1 win seven innings. The Tide win extended UA's streak to 20 consecutive wins in the series.
• Alcorn State comes to The Joe with an 8-27 overall mark and a 3-12 record in SWAC action. Most recently, the Braves were swept in a three-game road series this past weekend against Seattle University.Â
• The starting pitchers for both teams have yet to be announced.
ABOUT ALCORN STATE
• Alcorn State returns five positional starters and nine pitchers from a 2017 squad that finished 12-33 overall and 7-17 in SWAC play to finish fourth in the East Division and ninth overall. The 2018 roster is without three positional starters and five pitchers from a season ago and welcomes 14 newcomers to the team.
• The Braves were selected to finish third in the East Division of the SWAC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference coaches and sports information directors.
• Bretton Richardson is in his third season with the Braves in 2018 and owns a 36-96 overall mark during his time at ASU. Richardson, a graduate of Florida A&M, is aided by assistant coach Tristan Toorie and volunteer assistant Cedric Bell.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama finished last week at 1-3. The Crimson Tide first won a 12-3 contest with in-state foe UAB on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium before traveling to College Station to face Texas A&M. The 19th-ranked Aggies swept the Tide in three close games at Blue Bell Park.
• Nine extra-base hits and three big innings powered Alabama to a 12-3 victory over UAB on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide offense recorded three big innings, highlighted by a six-run fourth. Alabama added three-run frames in the second and fifth innings to secure the victory.
• The Tide offense totaled 11 hits – the 14th time this season has registered double-digit hit totals – with nine of those knocks going for extra bases to set a new season-high mark. Seven of the Tide's extra-base hits were doubles, also registering a new season high for UA.
• Twelve of the 13 Tide batters reached base safely against the Blazers, including all nine starters. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit, with junior Matt Malkin leading the offensive effort thanks to a 3-for-6 night that included two doubles and a home run. Malkin added an Alabama season-high six RBI and collected three runs to go with a walk. Also contributing a multi-hit effort was Cobie Vance, with the junior finishing 2-for-4 with one double, a home run, two RBI and a run scored. Tyler Adams earned his second win of the season, throwing 1.0 inning of scoreless baseball in his relief effort.
• Alabama suffered a 12-6 loss to Texas A&M in a back-and-forth contest on Thursday evening. The Tide jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the third, but the Aggies used two runs apiece in the third and fourth innings to gain the 4-3 advantage. The Crimson Tide recorded three runs in the sixth, but A&M answered again, this time with one run in the sixth and two in the seventh to move in front, 7-6. Texas A&M would add five more in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach at 12-6.
• The Alabama offense totaled 10 hits on the night with seven of the nine starters recording at least one knock. Keith Holcombe led the way, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Also contributing a multi-hit effort was Chandler Avant, with the senior finishing 2-for-4 with his team-high 11th double of the season while adding one walk.
• A late surge by the Crimson Tide offense was not enough, as Alabama came up short at Texas A&M, 9-6, on Friday.
• The Tide entered the ninth trailing by six, but the Tide reached a pair before freshman Sam Praytor homered with two outs to make it a 9-6 contest. A single from Jett Manning followed, but a strikeout ended the game with the tying run in the on-deck circle. The Aggies jumped out front early on Friday night with five runs in the bottom of the second which would prove the difference by night's end. The two teams matched runs with one apiece in the third, fifth and sixth innings, and A&M added one tally in the fourth. Alabama had its chances, advancing runners into scoring position in six of the nine innings, but could not overcome the early five-run deficit.
• Alabama battled back from a 2-0 deficit in the eighth to even things up and send the game to extra innings, but a walkoff single in the bottom of the 11th secured the 3-2 win for Texas A&M on Saturday.
• UA entered the eighth down 2-0, but a solo home run from Chandler Taylor cut the deficit in half. In the ninth, the Tide evened things up to send the game to extras. Down to the final out of the afternoon, Malkin singled through the right side to keep things alive. The Crimson Tide then pinch-hit a hobbled Avant, with the senior delivering in a big way by sending an RBI-double to center to even things up at 2-2. In the 11th, the Aggies reached the leadoff man on an error before a stolen base and an eventual single crossed the winning run to walk it off.
• Vance led the Tide in hits with a 2-for-6 afternoon that included a double to extend his hitting streak to six games. Taylor finished 1-for-3 with the home run, an RBI, one run scored and a team-high tying two walks.
• Alabama returned 21 letterwinners while losing 11 from the 2017 squad. The 2018 Crimson Tide welcomed back eight positional starters and three starting pitchers while hosting 11 newcomers (including one transfer who sat out last season).
ON DECK
Following the midweek pairings, Alabama will host 25th-ranked Auburn at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The rivals will meet for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch in the series opener followed by a 7 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. contest on getaway day.
