Baseball Welcomes Southern Miss for Tuesday Contest
4/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama returns home for a Tuesday midweek contest with Southern Miss to kick off a six-game homestand at the Hoover Met. The Crimson Tide and Golden Eagles are set for a 6:30 p.m. CT start on SECN+.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can watch/follow the Tuesday game via the below outlets:
Gametracker: RollTide.com
Listen: 99.1 FM (Tuscaloosa) / TuneIn app (mobile devices)
Web: SECN+
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
UA -- Nick Eicholtz (So., RHP) vs. USM -- Cord Cockrell (Jr., RHP)
LEADING OFF
· Alabama and Southern Miss will meet for the 101st matchup in the all-time series. The Crimson Tide owns the advantage, 71-29, in a series that dates back to 1962. The Golden Eagles claimed both games last season, winning the first contest 2-1 on Feb. 26 and then taking the series with a 6-3 win in Tuscaloosa on April 22.
· Southern Miss is coming off a weekend that saw the Golden Eagles fall in two of three games to the University of Texas San Antonio. UTSA took the first two games of the series before USM claimed the 10-7 win on Sunday to avoid the series sweep. Prior to the weekend set with the Roadrunners, Southern Miss defeated Louisiana-Monroe 9-3 in a Tuesday midweek contest.
· Alabama will send sophomore Nick Eicholtz to the mound for his fourth start of the season and sixth overall appearance this year. As a starter, Eicholtz is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA (2 ER/13.2 IP). The righty has recorded 13 strikeouts with 10 walks while allowing just seven hits. He has claimed wins in each of his last two starts while also allowing three hits and striking out five in both outings.
· Southern Miss will send junior right-hander Cord Cockrell to the mound for Tuesday's matchup. Cockrell has made eight appearances this season, including four starts, and owns a 2-0 record with a 3.99 ERA (13 ER/29.1 IP). The junior has tallied 14 strikeouts compared to just two walks, but has afforded opposing hitters a .327 average against him.
· The Crimson Tide is 8-2 overall in midweek contests this season and has claimed wins in each of the last five Tuesday contests after falling at South Alabama, 3-0, on March 24. The Tide's only other midweek loss came on March 3 vs. Auburn in the Capital City Classic. In that game, Alabama fell 5-3 inside Riverwalk Stadium, home to the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. Most recently, the Crimson Tide took down Mississippi Valley State in a doubleheader last Tuesday. Alabama claimed a 3-1 victory in the first contest before blowing out the Delta Devils 16-5 in the nightcap of the twinbill.
· The single midweek game will feature the promotions fans have come to know for all midweek contests. The game with the Golden Eagles will once again be a "Two for One" Tuesday, where fans can purchase two general admission tickets for the price of one. The midweek contest with USM will also be a "Dollar Dog Night" featuring $1 hot dogs for all fans in attendance.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
· The Crimson Tide welcome Southern Miss after taking one of three games at Ole Miss this past weekend. Prior to the three games with the Rebels, Alabama claimed a pair of victories in Tuesday's doubleheader with Mississippi Valley State.
· Alabama and Ole Miss were rained out in Friday's contest to set up a Saturday doubleheader. The Crimson Tide took part in its seventh doubleheader overall, but the first in which the games were split. The first game of the twinbill was scheduled for Noon CT with the second game starting at 7 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
· The Crimson Tide allowed a season-high 17 hits and gave up double-digit runs for just the second time in conference play all season, as Ole Miss came out on top 10-2 in game one.
· Saturday's second game was a pitcher's duel, with Ole Miss coming away with the victory in game two and series win overall. Alabama starter Jake Walters tossed 7.0 innings of one-run baseball, striking out six in the process and scattering six hits. Rebel starter Brady Bramlett was slightly better, countering with 7.1 shutout frames and nine strikeouts on the way to the 4-0 win.
· Sunday's series finale went in the Tide's favor, with Alabama blowing out Ole Miss, 13-4. The offense erupted for 13 runs on 17 hits, with all but one Crimson Tide starter recording one or more hits, RBI and runs scored. Not to be overlooked was another solid start from Geoffrey Bramblett on his birthday. The sophomore tossed 7.0 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out six on the way to his team-leading sixth win.
· In game one of Tuesday's doubleheader, Nick Eicholtz' career-high 7.0 innings of work helped propel the Crimson Tide to a 3-1 win over Mississippi Valley State. The sophomore earned his third win of the season and was followed up by Ray Castillo, who earned his fourth save of the year in his team-leading 17 appearance.
· The second game of the twinbill saw the Tide claim a 16-5 blowout victory. Alabama got out to an early 10-run lead through the first two innings and would collect 14 hits by day's end. The offense was highlighted by Georgie Salem's 4-for-4 night with the junior recording a pair of triples to go with his three RBI and three runs scored.
· UA is led offensively by Mikey White and Casey Hughston, both team leaders in a combined 11 statistical categories. In recognition of their efforts this season, both were named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List on April 19. The two Tide players make up the national list of 60 players.
· White is second in the SEC in triples (6), is tied for second in doubles (15) and ranks eighth in slugging percentage (.596), ninth in total bases (96) and 10th in batting average (.354). He leads the Crimson Tide in average, runs (38), doubles, triples, total bases, slugging percentage (.596) and on-base percentage (.446). In the field, he leads the team in assists with 138 at the shortstop position.
· Hughston ranks seventh in the SEC in hits with 60 and is among the top-15 in numerous categories. The sophomore currently leads the Crimson Tide in hits (60) and home runs (6), and is tied for the team lead in RBI (33). The starting outfielder has also added a team-high five outfield assists from the right field position.
· Freshman Cody Henry has heated up as of late, especially in the month of April. He leads the team in batting average in April at .379 (22-58) and slugging percentage (.493), which can be contributed to his team-leading 11 walks in the months. For his efforts at Samford and in the three games vs. Georgia from April 7-12, the first-year player was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
· Ray Castillo highlights the Crimson Tide bullpen, making 18 relief appearances across a team-high 36.1 innings out of the pen. He leads relievers in wins with a perfect 3-0 record, is tied for the team lead in saves (4) and has maintained a 2.72 ERA (11 ER/36.1 IP). All of his saves have come across 2.0 or more innings of work.
· The Tide has collected 21 multi-hit efforts this season and is 15-6 when doing so, with nine of those double-digit performances coming in SEC play. Alabama has collected 10 or more hits in 11 of its last 20 games.
· Alabama returns 23 letterwinners from last season's team that reached the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. The 2015 Tide also features five positional returners, and three pitchers who made five or more starts last season.
· The Crimson Tide were selected to finish second in the SEC Western Division in the preseason conference poll, as voted on by league coaches.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN MISS
· Southern Miss is coming off a weekend in which the Golden Eagles fell in two of three games at Texas San Antonio. Prior to the weekend set with the Roadrunners, USM took down Louisiana-Monroe, 9-3, on Tuesday.
· Game one at UTSA saw the Roadrunners put up five runs through the first three innings, which would be all the team needed on the way to a 7-2 win over Southern Miss.
· Southern Miss got out to an early 2-0 lead in Saturday's game, but then surrendered a four-spot in the bottom of the second. USM regained the lead with three runs in the fourth, but could only add two more the rest of the way as UTSA would pile on with seven before the game's end to claim the 11-7 victory.
· Sunday's finale finished with Southern Miss claiming a 10-7 victory. The Golden Eagles scored nine of their 10 runs over the final four frames and halted a comeback in the ninth for the series closing victory.
· In Tuesday's midweek contest, Southern Miss fell behind 2-0 early, but put up four runs in the sixth and five in the eighth to build a 9-3 win, the eventual final, over Louisiana-Monroe.
· Southern Miss is batting .270 as a team and has three hitters with an average north of .300.
· The offense is highlighted freshman Taylor Braley. The infielder leads the team at .363 (41-113) with a team-high 10 doubles. Junior Tim Lynch leads the Golden Eagles in homers with eight while also leading the squad in slugging percentage (.558). Senior Connor Barron is the team's leading run producer with 28, while also recording a team-high 21 base on balls.
· The USM pitching staff owns the second-lowest ERA in Conference USA at 3.26 (127 ER/350.1 IP). The bullpen is highlighted by Luke Lowery, with the junior lefty making a team-leading 20 relief appearances. Senior Ryan Milton acts as the team's closer, recording eight saves thus far and sporting a 4.60 ERA (8 ER/15.2 IP).
· The Golden Eagles lead Conference USA in fielding percentage, owning a .974 fielding percentage.
· USM was selected to finish third in the C-USA preseason conference poll, as voted on by league's nine coaches.
SERIES HISTORY
· Alabama and Southern Miss will meet for the 101st time in series history on Tuesday evening.
· The Crimson Tide own the all-time series, 71-29, in a history that stretches back to 1962.
· Most recently, the Golden Eagles claimed both games between the two teams last season, winning the first contest 2-1 on Feb. 26 and then taking the series with a 6-3 win in Tuscaloosa on April 22.
· Alabama and Southern Miss first met in 1962, with the Crimson Tide claiming the first two games in Tuscaloosa, and then the Golden Eagles winning the final two matchups of the season in Hattiesburg.
· The Crimson Tide took the first meeting on March 18, 1962, in shutout fashion, 6-0. UA followed that up with a 5-3 win the very next day. Alabama would then travel to USM, falling in the first game on March 26 by a score of 4-2. The Golden Eagles would take game two, 8-4, to split the inaugural season series.
COMING UP
Following the lone midweek contest, Alabama will remain at home for a three-game set with Arkansas from Thursday to Saturday. All three contests will air live on national television, with games one and two airing on the SEC Network at 6 p.m. CT each day. The final game of the series is scheduled for a Noon start on ESPN2. The Crimson Tide owns the all-time series, 43-33, including a 23-9 mark vs. the Razorbacks at home. Arkansas has claimed eight of the last 10 contests between the two teams, including taking two of three from UA last season in Fayetteville.
