Baseball Welcomes Troy to Tuscaloosa on Tuesday Night
4/23/2018 4:31:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Trojans will meet for the 34th time in series history on Tuesday night
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The current six-game homestand for Alabama baseball will come to a close on Tuesday evening when the Crimson Tide hosts in-state foe Troy at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The midweek matchup is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network+.
Tuesday at The Joe will resume the Crimson Tide's "$2 Tuesdays" promotion. Fans can get their tickets for just $2 and will receive a Taco mama coupon at the gate (while supplies last).
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow Tuesday's game via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
UA – Brock Love (R-So., RHP) vs. TROY – Sadler Goodwin (Jr., RHP)
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Troy will square off for the 34th time in series history when the two teams meet for the Tuesday matchup. The contest will be the 23rd meeting in Tuscaloosa between the in-state foes.
• The Crimson Tide holds the all-time series advantage at 22-11 and is 18-4 in games played at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• UA has won the last six matchups against Troy in Tuscaloosa with the last loss coming on Feb. 14, 2007. Alabama also holds an 8-2 advantage over the last 10 pairings at The Joe.
• Alabama and Troy last met on April 4, 2017 in Troy with the Trojans claiming a 12-11 win on a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth. The teams traded leads eight times and were tied up twice in the contest with a final box score that featured a combined 23 runs and 25 hits.
• Troy visits Sewell-Thomas Stadium with a 28-12 overall record and an 11-7 mark in Sun Belt play. The Trojans are currently riding a five-game winning streak following a sweep of Arkansas State last weekend. The winning streak started with a midweek win over Alabama A&M last Tuesday and was followed by a Wednesday victory over Alabama State leading into this past weekend.
• Alabama will call on redshirt sophomore Brock Love in the Tuesday matchup. The start for Love will be his first of the 2018 campaign and his first since March 12, 2017, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The right-hander is 1-0 the new season with a 0.00 ERA (7.0 IP).
• Troy will send junior right-hander Sadler Goodwin to the hill. Goodwin is 3-2 overall and has made nine appearances this season, four as a starter.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama wrapped up last week at 1-4 overall. The Crimson Tide suffered a loss to Samford on Tuesday before bouncing back with a 3-0 win over Alcorn State on Wednesday evening. Alabama then suffered a series sweep at the hands of 25th-ranked Auburn across Friday and Saturday night.
• The Tide suffered a 6-0 loss to Samford on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama then used four pitchers to combine for Alabama's 3-0 shutout win over Alcorn State on Wednesday. Senior Tyler Adams earned the win on Wednesday, throwing 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.
• Alabama fell, 19-5, to 25th-ranked Auburn on Friday night in front of a sellout crowd at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Tigers got on the board with one in the top of the first and added another run in the fourth.
• Alabama took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with three runs, but Auburn answered with five in the fifth and seventh along with a six-run sixth and one in the ninth to secure the win. The Tide plated single tallies in the seventh and eighth innings but would get no closer.
• UA fell in both games of Saturday's doubleheader with Auburn. The Tigers came away with a 5-0 win in game one before claiming a 20-5 victory in the series finale. In game one, Auburn scored a run in the third and added a pair in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. The Tigers collected single tallies in the seventh and ninth for the 5-0 win to start the twinbill. The Crimson Tide then fell, 20-5, in game two, as Auburn claimed the series sweep.
• Alabama starter Jake Walters suffered the loss in Saturday's first contest despite a strong outing that saw the senior strike out seven in 6.0 innings of work. Cobie Vance led the Tide in hitting in game one, contributing a 2-for-4 game with a double.
• The Tide then suffered a 20-5 defeat in game two of the doubleheader with Auburn. Alabama received another strong offensive performance from Vance, with the junior finishing 2-for-5 with an RBI and one run scored for his 14th multi-hit effort of the season.
• 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 TROY
• Troy returned 23 letterwinners, including six positional starters and nine pitchers, from the 2017 team that finished 31-25 overall and 16-14 in Sun Belt action to rank sixth overall in the SBC. The 2018 roster is without nine lettermen from a season ago, a number that includes three positional starters and five pitchers, while Troy welcomes 12 newcomers.
• The Trojans were selected to finish fourth in the East and seventh overall in the Sun Belt in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
• Mark Smartt is in his third year leading the Troy baseball program and his ninth season overall as a head coach. A 1988 graduate of Troy, Smartt is assisted by Shane Gierke and Brad Phillips along with volunteer assistant Peyton Fuller.
• Troy baseball entered the new season with an all-time mark of 1,693-1,056-3. The Trojans have made 20 NCAA Tournament appearances with the last coming in 2013. In its history, Troy has made seven College World Series appearances, all of which came during their time in Division II.
• A public research university that is located in the same city as its namesake, Troy currently enrolls 20,000 students. Founded on Feb. 26, 1887 as Troy State Normal School, the school's name was changed three times before becoming Troy University. The campuses are now located across four sites in Alabama, with the main campus in Troy and satellite campuses in Montgomery, Phenix City and Dothan.
ON DECK
Next up for Alabama is a trip to Fayetteville for three games against seventh-ranked Arkansas at Baum Stadium. The series will begin on Friday with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch and is followed by a 6 p.m. start on Saturday. Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. All three games will air live on SEC Network+.
