Baseball Hosts No. 4 Ole Miss from Thursday through Saturday in Final Series of 2018
5/16/2018 3:54:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Rebels will meet for the 358th time in series history in Thursday night’s opener
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The 2018 season will come to a close for Alabama baseball as the Crimson Tide welcomes the fourth-ranked Ole Miss Rebels to Tuscaloosa from Thursday through Saturday. The first two games of the series are set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch with Saturday's season finale scheduled for 1 p.m. Fans can catch all three games on SEC Network+.
The final series of 2018 with Ole Miss will feature numerous promotions for fans of all ages. On Friday, the Crimson Tide will honor the team's six seniors as part of "Senior Night" at The Joe. The seniors being honored include: Tyler Adams, Hunter Alexander, Chandler Avant, Cody Henry, Connor Short and Jake Walters.
The Tide will offer the "Family Four Pack" promotion on Friday for a final time in 2018. Fans can get four or more tickets for $5 each by going to RollTide.com. These packages also include a Domino's coupon that can be picked up at the marketing table located inside Gate 3 (packages are limited). Friday's matchup will also feature a 16 ounce Alabama glass giveaway to fans coming through Gate 2 of Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Saturday's game will be the final T-shirt jersey giveaway at The Joe. The first 300 fans can get their red "Alabama" top T-shirt jersey at the gates. The season finale on Saturday will also be "Kid's Day" at The Joe, with $5 tickets for kids. Following the final out, kids 12-and-under can head to the field to run the bases and get autographs from the Crimson Tide players. Alabama baseball will also welcome back all of its youth teams on Saturday as part of "Youth League Day".
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow the three games via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
THURSDAY: UA – Sam Finnerty (Jr., RHP) vs. OM – Ryan Rolison (So., LHP)
FRIDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Sr., RHP) vs. OM – Brady Feigl (R-Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Garret Rukes (R-Fr., LHP) vs. OM – James McArthur (Jr., RHP)
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Ole Miss will square off for the 358th time in series history when the two teams start the series on Thursday evening. The first matchup between the two schools came in 1895 and is the second-longest running SEC series in Alabama history, trailing only Vanderbilt.
• The Crimson Tide leads the all-time series 208-147-2 and is 128-75-1 in games played in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels have come to Sewell-Thomas Stadium with a top-25 ranking in the last six series between the two Western schools, with Alabama holding a 4-2 mark in those pairings including series wins in the last two (2014, 2016).
• Last time the teams met, Ole Miss came away with a three-game sweep in Oxford from April 7-9, 2017. The Rebels took game one, 7-2, and secured the series victory on day two with a 5-4 win. The finale finished at 8-2 in favor of Ole Miss to send the Tide home winless.
• Ole Miss travels to Tuscaloosa with a 40-13 overall record and a 15-12 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Rebels are coming off a series sweep of then-No. 16 Auburn last weekend at Swayze Field in Oxford. Ole Miss won the opener, 5-4, and followed with 8-3 and 10-3 victories in the final two games of the Thursday-Saturday pairings. The Rebels are 6-3 overall in their nine SEC series this season with their lone sweep coming last weekend against the Tigers.
• Most recently, the Rebels defeated Arkansas State by a score of 15-8 on Tuesday night in Jonesboro. Ole Miss recorded a season-high 17 hits and scored at least one run in seven of the nine innings on the way to the midweek win.
• Alabama continues its regular SEC rotation for the three-game set with the Rebels. Junior right-hander Sam Finnerty will get the start on Thursday and will be followed by senior righty Jake Walters on Senior Night. Walters' start will be the 52nd of his career to tie him with Mike Sodders for the Alabama all-time mark by a pitcher. Redshirt-freshman Garret Rukes will get the call on Saturday, with the left-hander scheduled to close out the series.
• Ole Miss will open the series with sophomore southpaw Ryan Rolison taking the bump on Thursday night. Redshirt junior right-hander Brady Feigl will get the call on Friday before junior righty James McArthur takes the hill on getaway day.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama is coming off a week that saw the Crimson Tide finish 2-2 overall. The Tide closed out its non-conference slate with a walkoff win over Jacksonville State on Tuesday before taking one of the three games in Baton Rouge against LSU this past weekend.
• With runners on first and second and two down, freshman Sam Praytor lined a double down the third base line to plate the tying and winning runs in Alabama baseball's 9-8 walkoff victory over Jacksonville State on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• The Crimson Tide entered the ninth trailing 8-7. With one down in the inning, junior Cobie Vance singled through the left side before fellow junior Joe Breaux followed with a walk to place runners on first and second. A strikeout in the next at-bat went as the Tide's second out of the frame, bringing Praytor to the dish for the Tide's final opportunity. With the count even at 1-1, the UA backstop sent a double down the line in left to score both Vance and Breaux and secure the walkoff win for the Tide.
• Praytor led the way for the Tide offensively, finishing 3-for-5 with a double and a home run to go with a team-high three RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore John Trousdale also contributed a multi-hit outing, finishing with a pair of doubles, three RBI, a walk and one run scored.
• The duo of sophomore Davis Vainer and junior Sam Gardner shut down the JSU offense over the final three frames, holding the Gamecocks scoreless to give Alabama a chance to complete the comeback. Vainer entered in the seventh, throwing 2.0 innings of one-hit baseball while recording a career-high tying five strikeouts. Gardner (3-2) made his appearance in the ninth, earning him his third win of the season with 1.0 inning of work in which he retired the Gamecocks in order.
• Alabama suffered a late 7-5 loss to LSU on Friday night at Alex Box Stadium. The Tide scored two apiece in the second and third innings and one in the top of the eighth to lead 5-1 entering the bottom of the eighth. In the home half, the Tigers used an error, three walks and four hits, including the game-winning grand slam, to take their first lead of evening at 7-5, the eventual final.
• Jake Walters spun a gem on Saturday night to help UA come away with a 6-1 win over the Tigers. Walters worked a career-long 8.0 innings, allowing only one run on four hits and three walks. The Tide starter was aided by an Alabama season-high four double plays and added three strikeouts across his 102 pitches of work before handing it over to his bullpen.
• At the plate, the Crimson Tide's 1-2-3 hitters contributed seven of the team's nine hits and four of six RBI. Breaux led the way with a 3-for-6 effort that included an RBI, one run and a pair of stolen bases. The Tide's leadoff man, Vance, finished his night at 2-for-5 with a home run and team-leading three RBI to go with a walk and a run, while the Tide's No. 3 hitter, Chandler Avant, went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.
• Alabama rallied for one run in the ninth but could not battle all the way back in a 7-3 loss to LSU on Sunday afternoon. UA and LSU traded runs in the second before the Tigers moved in front with one run in the bottom of the third. LSU added two more to their lead in the fifth followed by the teams trading runs again in the sixth – one for UA and three for LSU. In the ninth, the Crimson Tide used a leadoff triple and a double to score one. Two outs later, a walk placed runners on the corners before a flyout ended Sunday's contest with the Tigers out front.
• John Trousdale led the Crimson Tide offense, contributing a 3-for-4 day with an RBI and one run scored. The Tide first baseman finished a home run short of the cycle on Sunday. Keith Holcombe wrapped up his day at 2-for-3 with the solo homer, an RBI and one run scored.
ABOUT OLE MISS
• Ole Miss returned 20 letterwinners, including 11 positional starters and nine pitchers, from the 2017 team that finished 32-25 overall and 14-16 in SEC play to wrap up the season at sixth in the Western Division. The 2018 roster is without eight lettermen from a season ago, a number that includes five positional starters and four pitchers, while welcoming 14 newcomers.
• The Rebels were selected to finish third the Western Division and sixth overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
• Mike Bianco is in his 18th year at Ole Miss and his 21st season overall as a collegiate head coach. A 1989 graduate of LSU, Bianco is assisted by Carl Lafferty and Mike Clement along with volunteer assistant coach Marc MacMillan.
• Founded in 1893, the Ole Miss baseball program began the 2018 season with an all-time record of 2,135-1,566-20. The Rebels have claimed seven SEC Championships in 117 seasons with the most recent conference title coming in 2009. Ole Miss has advanced to 21 NCAA postseasons in history, including five College World Series appearances in Omaha.
• The University of Mississippi, known more commonly as Ole Miss, is a public university located in Oxford, Miss., and is the state's largest university with an enrollment of 23,780. Chartered by the Mississippi Legislature in 1844, the University officially opened its doors on Nov. 6, 1848. For 23 years, Ole Miss was the state's only public institution of higher learning, and for 110 years, the state's only comprehensive university.
ON DECK
The Crimson Tide's 2018 campaign will come to an end following Saturday's game.
