Rivalry Weekend On Deck for Baseball against 25th-Ranked Auburn
4/19/2018 7:03:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Tigers will meet for the 292nd time in series history on Friday night
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball continues its six-game homestand this weekend with a three-game series against the 25th-ranked Auburn Tigers. First pitch of game one on Friday is set for 6 p.m. CT followed by a 7 p.m. start on Saturday. The series finale on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. The bookend games of the series will air on SEC Network+, while the Saturday contest is scheduled to air nationally on SEC Network with Steve Lenox and Mike Rooney on the call.
This weekend's three-game series with the rival Tigers will feature numerous promotions for fans of all ages at The Joe. Prior to first pitch on Friday, the Tide will be giving away koozies and Alabama baseball T-shirts to the first 1,000 fans through the gates. Whataburger will also provide students in the Right Field Terrace seating with free food in the series-opener (first 300 fans). Friday's opener will also feature a postgame fireworks show. The display will mark the second time the Tide has hosted a fireworks show in the history of the newly renovated Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The Crimson Tide will honor the 1968 and 1988 Alabama baseball teams on Saturday evening. The 1968 squad, coached by Joe Sewell, finished as SEC Champions with a 24-14 overall record and advanced to the NCAA South District III Playoffs. In honor of the 1968 team, replica T-shirt jerseys will be given away to the first 500 fans through the gates.
Sunday will be "Kid's Day" at The Joe. Following the final out, kids 12-and-under can head to the field to run the bases and get autographs from the 2018 Crimson Tide roster. Tickets for Sunday's contest are also discounted at $7 for all standing room only seating.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow this weekend's games via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+ (Friday and Sunday) / SEC Network (Saturday)
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY: UA – Sam Finnerty (Jr., RHP) vs. AU – Casey Mize (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Sr., RHP) vs. AU – Tanner Burns (Fr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Garret Rukes (R-Fr., LHP) vs. AU – TBA
ÂÂLEADING OFF
• Alabama and Auburn will meet for the 292nd time in series history when the two teams square off on Friday night. The series will mark the second time this season the two in-state rivals have met after also pairing for the MAX Capital City Classic in Montgomery earlier this season on March 27.
• The Crimson Tide holds the all-time series advantage at 160-131 and is 81-44 overall at home against the Tigers.
• UA has won six consecutive series against Auburn and have not lost a series at home against AU since 2004, a streak that spans six home series for the Crimson Tide. Auburn's last series win came in 2011 on the Plains, with the Tigers winning the first two games of the series before the Tide rallied for a 7-6 win on getaway day to avoid the sweep.
• Alabama and Auburn last met on March 27, 2018, with the then-ninth-ranked Tigers recording a 5-2 win at Riverwalk Stadium. In that game, AU put up four runs in the second to put the game out of reach early. The Crimson Tide battled for one run in the sixth but was matched by the Tigers' one tally in the seventh. Alabama scored one more in the top of the eighth and had the tying run at the plate but was unable to come away with the win.
• Auburn travels to Tuscaloosa with a 26-12 overall record and a 6-9 mark in SEC play to earn the nation's No. 25 ranking in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll. The Tigers have traveled away from Plainsman Park 11 times this season, going 4-7 in those contests. In conference play, AU is 2-3 in weekend series thus far, including a 2-1 series win over Mississippi State last weekend. Most recently, AU defeated UAB in Auburn, 12-2, on Tuesday evening.
• Alabama continues its regular SEC weekend rotation for the three-game set. Junior right-hander Sam Finnerty will get the start in the series opener on Friday and will be followed by senior righty Jake Walters on Saturday. Redshirt-freshman Garret Rukes will get the call on Sunday, with the left-hander scheduled to close out the three-game set.
• Auburn will send junior right-hander Casey Mize to the mound on Friday, followed by freshman Tanner Burns, a righty, on Saturday. The Sunday starter for the Tigers is still to be announced.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama is 1-4 over its last five games leading into this weekend's series with the rival Tigers. The Crimson Tide was swept last weekend by Texas A&M at Blue Bell Park. Most recently, the Tide fell to Samford on Tuesday before breaking its four-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Alcorn State on Wednesday evening.
• The Crimson Tide used four pitchers to combine for a 3-0 shutout win over Alcorn State on Wednesday evening. Tyler Adams earned the win, throwing a career-long 3.2 innings in relief. Starter Dylan Duarte, along with relievers Brady Greene and Connor Stutts joined Adams in the shutout effort, limiting the Braves to only two hits on the night.
• Tuesday's matchup resulted in a 6-0 loss to Samford for the Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs used three arms to blank Alabama, highlighted by their starting pitcher who spun 5.0 scoreless frames.
• 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.
• Cobie 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).
ABOUT AUBURN
• Auburn returned 15 letterwinners, including six positional starters and eight pitchers, from the 2017 team that finished 37-26 overall and 16-14 in SEC play. AU finished ranked 25th in the final Baseball America poll after advancing to the Tallahassee Regional and coming within one pitch of advancing deeper into the playoffs. The 2018 roster is without 12 letterwinners from a season ago, a number that includes three positional starters and nine pitchers, while the Auburn welcomes 18 newcomers.
• The Tigers were selected to finish sixth in the West and 11th overall in the Southeastern Conference in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
• Butch Thompson is in his third year leading the Auburn program and his fourth campaign overall as a head coach. A graduate of Birmingham-Southern, Thompson is assisted by Karl Nonemaker and Gabe Gross along with volunteer assistant Steve Smith.
• Auburn baseball held a 2,008-1,366-6 record entering the 2018 campaign. The Tigers have made 20 NCAA Tournament appearances and have advanced to four College World Series, with the most recent coming in 1997.
• A public research university, Auburn is located in the same city as its namesake, and sports an enrollment of 29,776 students. Founded on Oct. 1, 1856 as East Alabama Male College under the guidance of the Methodist Church, the University was renamed to Auburn University in 1960.
ON DECK
Alabama will wrap up its six-game homestand with a midweek contest against Troy on Tuesday, April 24 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide and Trojans are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network+.
