Final Non-Conference Matchup for Baseball Comes against Jacksonville State on Tuesday
5/7/2018 5:04:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Gamecocks will meet for the 39th time in series history on Tuesday night
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball will host Jacksonville State on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in the Crimson Tide's final non-conference matchup of the 2018 season. The two teams are set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network+ with the tandem of Eli Gold and Scott McClanahan on the call.
Tuesday at The Joe will be the Crimson Tide's final "$2 Tuesdays" promotion of the 2018 campaign. 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 – Mason Duke (Jr., RHP) vs. JSU – Andrew Naismith (So., LHP)
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Jacksonville State will square off for the 39th time in series history when the two teams meet in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday evening. Both games of the 2018 pairing will have been played at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• The Crimson Tide leads the all-time series 28-10, with UA holding a 24-7 record in games played in Tuscaloosa. Alabama was riding an 11-game winning streak over Jacksonville State going into last season's pair of games in Tuscaloosa. The Gamecocks won each of the two meetings a season ago, marking the third time in the history of the series that JSU has won back-to-back contests against the Tide. Jacksonville State then defeated the Tide, 4-0, on April 3 of this season for the first three-game winning streak over UA in the history of the series.
• In that matchup earlier this season, JSU shut out the Tide, 4-0. Jacksonville State used four arms to combine for the shutout win. The Gamecocks put up four runs in the fifth, the game's only scoring of the night.
• Jacksonville State comes to Tuscaloosa with a 24-20 overall record and a 13-11 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Gamecocks are coming off a weekend that saw the Gamecocks drop the bookend matchups of their three-game set at Morehead State. Prior to the weekend series, JSU fell, 8-2, at Troy in a midweek matchup a week ago.
• Alabama will send junior right-hander Mason Duke to the hill on Tuesday evening. Duke is 2-2 with a 2.83 ERA (9 ER/28.2 IP) on the season across 14 appearances, four of which have come in the starter's role. The righty appeared against the Gamecocks in the April 3 matchup, tossing 2.1 scoreless frames and allowed four hits with three strikeouts.
• Jacksonville State calls on sophomore left-hander Andrew Naismith for the midweek start. The southpaw is 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA (2 ER/7.0 IP) on the season and has made two appearances, both starts.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama took the work week off for finals before hosting the Mississippi State Bulldogs for three games over the weekend. The Tide won the middle game of the series to register win No. 6 of the SEC slate, surpassing last season's win total of five games in conference play. Also on that Saturday, the Crimson Tide saw seniors Cody Henry and Jake Walters graduate from The University of Alabama.
• The Crimson Tide offense was led on the weekend by Joe Breaux. The junior batted .545 (6-11) with a double, two RBI and four runs scored while walking three times. Also finishing above the .500 mark for UA was Keith Holcombe, who batted .538 (7-13) and tallied at least one hit in all three contests to extend his hitting streak to eight games and his conference hitting streak to seven. The junior's seven hits, two doubles and six RBI paced the Tide hitters and he added two walks and a hit-by-pitch to his series totals.
• Alabama dropped a back-and-forth battle with State, 14-12, in 10 innings on Friday night. The two teams traded runs in a contest that featured five lead changes. The Tide carried an 11-5 lead into the eighth inning, but the Bulldogs rallied for seven runs in the top of the eighth to gain a 12-11 advantage. Alabama responded, scoring one in the bottom the eighth to tie things up at 12 apiece and a scoreless ninth sent the game into extras. State took back the lead on a two-run home run to go up 14-12, the eventual final.
• The Alabama offense was led by Sam Praytor, who contributed a season-high four hits along with a pair of runs scored, an RBI and one walk. Chandler Taylor led the team in RBI, finishing with four as part of his 1-for-3 night with a grand slam, two walks and one run. Juniors Cobie Vance and Holcombe each added three RBI apiece as part of their two-hit efforts, with Vance adding a home run and two runs scored while Holcombe tallied a double and a walk.
• With runners on first and second and two down, Holcombe lined a single through the right side to cross the winning run and help Alabama walk off Mississippi State, 4-3, in 10 innings on Saturday. The Crimson Tide trailed 3-2 and was down to its final two outs in the ninth, but a solo home run from John Trousdale sent the game to extras.
• In the 10th, Breaux led things off with a single and advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. An intentional walk in the next at-bat placed runners on first and second before a Tide strikeout brought Holcombe to the dish with two down. With the count even at 2-2, the junior knocked a single through the right side, allowing Breaux to score from second and giving the Crimson Tide the walkoff win.
• Alabama kept things close late thanks to a standout relief performance from Sam Gardner, who worked 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball to earn his second win of the season. After entering in the top of the eighth with the Tide facing a 3-2 deficit, Gardner halted the MSU offense, holding them hitless while collecting a season-high six strikeouts in his effort.
• The Tide suffered a 6-4 loss in the series finale with Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs used five runs across the fifth and sixth innings to claim the series victory on Sunday. Alabama carried a 3-0 lead into the top of the fifth, but Mississippi State countered for five runs across the fifth and sixth innings to gain the advantage. The Crimson Tide responded with a run of its own in the sixth, but the Bulldogs added an insurance run in the seventh to make it a 6-4 game, the eventual final. Alabama reached one in the ninth with one down to bring the tying run to the plate, but a pair of flyouts ended things in favor of State.
• The Alabama offense received multi-hit games from the junior trio of Holcombe, Vance and Breaux on Sunday. Holcombe led the offensive attack, finishing a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, team-high two RBI and one walk. The four-hit performance was Holcombe's third of the season, with the junior finishing a perfect 4-for-4 in all four instances.
• 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 JACKSONVILLE STATE
• Jacksonville State returned 18 letterwinners, including eight positional starters and 10 pitchers, from a 2017 team that finished 30-26 overall and 17-13 in OVC play to wrap up ranked third in the conference. The 2018 roster is without seven lettermen from a season ago, a number that includes four positional starters and five pitchers.
• The Gamecocks were selected to finish third overall in the Ohio Valley Conference in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
• Jim Case is in his 17th year at the helm of the Jacksonville State program. A 1983 graduate of Louisiana Tech, Case is assisted by Mike Murphree and Evan Bush, a former Alabama standout infielder. Bush played for the Crimson Tide from 2003-06, earning Third Team All-SEC honors from SEBaseball.com in 2004. In his senior season, Bush helped lead Alabama to the Southeastern Conference championship as well as a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Jacksonville State baseball came into the new season in 2018 with a 1,737-1,008 all-time record. The Gamecocks have been successful under the direction of Case, appearing in four NCAA Tournaments during his tenure, most recently in 2014.
• A regional public co-educational university, Jacksonville State is located in the same city that it holds its namesake from. Founded in 1882, JSU boasts an enrollment of 8,514 students. Originally named Jacksonville State Normal School, JSU changed its name to Jacksonville State Teachers College in 1930 and Jacksonville State College in 1957 before operating as Jacksonville State University beginning in 1967.
ON DECK
The Crimson Tide will hit the road for the final time this season, traveling to Baton Rouge to take on LSU from May 11-13 at Alex Box Stadium. The first two games of the weekend are set for a 7 p.m. CT first pitch with the series finale scheduled for a 2 p.m. start. Games one and three will air on SEC Network+ with the middle contest showing nationally on SEC Network.
