Baseball Hosts Nicholls State for Single Contest on Wednesday

Feb. 23, 2016

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Crimson Tide continues a seven-game homestand, welcoming Nicholls State to Tuscaloosa for a single midweek contest on Wednesday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The two teams are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT start on SECN+. Roger Hoover will provide the play-by-play with former Crimson Tide standout and Major Leaguer Lance Cormier providing the color.

LEADING OFF

Alabama is No. 30 in the latest College Baseball News poll following a 2-1 series win over the Maryland Terrapins.
The Crimson Tide returns to Tuscaloosa after spending last season at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., while construction was on-going at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The team finished 32-28 overall with a 12-18 record in Southeastern Conference play. Alabama reached the SEC Tournament for the third straight year and fifth time in six seasons under Mitch Gaspard, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to Vanderbilt.
The Crimson Tide and Colonels will meet for the ninth time in a series that began in 1981, with the Tide owning the 6-2 all-time advantage. Alabama and Nicholls State split the initial meeting that year, a doubleheader, with the Tide winning game one, 5-3, before NSU took game two by a score of 8-6. Most recently, the two teams met in 2009, with Alabama winning both midweek contests by scores of 11-4 and 8-7 in games one and two, respectively. The Tide is currently riding a three-game winning streak against NSU.
Nicholls State heads to Tuscaloosa after sweeping Mississippi Valley State in four games last weekend. The Colonels claimed game one on Friday by a score of 6-1. The two teams squared off for a doubleheader on Saturday, with NSU winning game one, 18-2, and claiming the series win with a 15-1 victory in game two. Sunday's matchup saw the Colonels take down the Delta Devils, 13-3, to secure the sweep on opening weekend.
Alabama will call on senior right-hander Ray Castillo for the Wednesday start. Castillo finished last season ranking second in appearances out of the bullpen with 24 and owned a 3-1 record with four saves and a 3.12 ERA (17 ER/49.0 IP). Castillo collected 46 strikeouts compared to only 16 walks and set career-high marks for innings pitched, strikeouts and wins in 2015.
Nicholls State looks to redshirt junior Mike Hanchar. The left-hander missed all of 2015 with an injury, but has made one appearance in 2016, working 2.0 innings and striking out two for the win on Feb. 20. Across his junior season in 2014, Hanchar made five appearances (four starts), tossing 19.0 innings and owning a 0.95 ERA with 14 strikeouts before being sidelined by a shoulder injury.
Wednesday's matchup will be the first $5 Wednesday of the season with all grandstand tickets going for $5.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
UA - Ray Castillo (Sr., RHP) vs. NSU - Mike Hanchar (RS-Jr., LHP)

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama comes into Wednesday's game with Nicholls State after taking two of three games from Maryland last weekend. The first weekend against the Terrapins was the Crimson Tide's official grand reopening of the newly renovated Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Alabama returned home after spending the 2015 season on the road. The Tide played a total of 34 "home" games across the state of Alabama on top of the 22 road contests slotted into the schedule. Thirty of the team's home games were played at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover. The Crimson Tide also played a weekend series at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile and a single game inside Joe W. Davis Municipal Stadium in Huntsville.
In addition to the "home" contests, UA also traveled to Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery for the annual MAX Capital City Classic against Auburn, and then to Regions Field in Birmingham for an away game with UAB.
After a year away from Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide claimed its first victory inside the new "Joe", taking down Maryland, 3-1, in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,867 fans. Freshman Chandler Taylor homered in his first college at-bat to give Alabama the early 1-0 lead and would finish the season opener a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI, one run scored, one walk and a hit-by-pitch in his four plate appearances.
Game two went to the Terrapins, with Maryland putting together a six-run fourth inning powered by a trio of two-run home runs to claim the eventual 9-5 victory. Freshman Cobie Vance finished 4-for-5 with his first career homer and added two RBI and one run scored in the contest,
Alabama claimed the rubber match of the weekend, winning 5-1 on Sunday thanks to a standout start from Nick Eicholtz. The junior right-hander worked 6.0 innings of one-run baseball before turning it over to his bullpen. From there, the relievers shut the door with 3.0 scoreless frames as the Alabama offense continued to tack on runs, putting up a three-spot in the eighth to add a cushion to the 2-1 lead.
The Crimson Tide freshmen and sophomores contributed 11 of the team's 12 runs on the weekend, highlighted by Chandler Avant's team-high three RBI and three runs. Avant finished batting .308 (4-13) with a pair of doubles.
The trio of Cobie Vance, Connor Short and Chance Vincent all finished the weekend batting .500. Vance hit safely in all three games and led the team with six hits, including one double and home run, to go with his two RBI, two runs scored and one stolen base. Short saw time in all three games with two starts, wrapping up his weekend with two RBI, one run scored and a walk. Vincent only recorded six official at-bats, notching two walks and two HBP two go with his two RBI and two runs scored.
Alabama's bullpen worked a combined 6.2 scoreless innings of work in the two wins. In those late innings, the Tide relievers allowed only two hits and two walks while striking out a combined nine batters. Junior college transfer Matt Foster recorded a hold in each victory, working 2.0 IP with five of his six outs coming by way of the strikeout. Junior closer Thomas Burrows followed Foster, collecting a save each day and compiling five strikeouts across his 3.0 frames worked.
The series victory improved the Tide to 74-33-1 all-time in season-opening series, including a 5-2 mark under head coach Mitch Gaspard.
Alabama returns 21 letterwinners from last season's team that reached the quarterfinals of the 2015 SEC Tournament. The 2016 Tide returns five positional starters, and five pitchers who made five or more career starts.

SCOUTING NICHOLLS STATE

Nicholls State is coming off a four-game, weekend sweep of Mississippi Valley State from Friday through Sunday. The Colonels outscored MVSU by a 52-7 margin, including an 18-2 victory in game one of Saturday's doubleheader with the Delta Devils.
The Colonels' 2-through-4 hitters finished the season opener a combined 8-for-11 with three RBI and five runs scored to help push NSU to its first victory of the season, 6-1.
Saturday's first contest featured a five-hit performance by Ethan Valdez and a four-hit effort that included four RBI from Kyle Reese as NSU cruised to an 18-2 victory. Reese added four more RBI in game two, while Justin Holt put together three RBI in the 15-1 series-clinching win in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
Nicholls State and Reese lit up the box score once again on Sunday as the senior notched four RBI and three runs scored - both team highs - in the Colonels 13-3 win over the Delta Devils to complete the sweep.
Reese leads NSU with 12 hits and an .800 average that includes two doubles, a triple and 13 RBI. Valdez is pacing the Colonels with 10 runs scored and owns a .471 (8-17) average through four games. The Nicholls State offense features five starters currently hitting above .450.
NSU used nine total relievers over the weekend, with the bullpen allowing only two earned runs in 15.0 IP.
Nicholls State returns four positional starters and loses five, while 20 letterwinners return from last season's team that finished third in the SLC at 34-19-1 overall. The Colonels also feature 18 newcomers on the 2016 squad.
The Colonels were selected to finish fifth in the Southland Conference in the SLC preseason poll as voted on by the league's coaches.

SERIES HISTORY

Alabama and Nicholls State will meet for the ninth time in the history of the two programs, with the Crimson Tide holding the 6-2 advantage in a series that dates back to 1981.
The first matchup between the two teams came in 1981 for a doubleheader. Alabama won game one, 5-3, before Nicholls State bounced back for the 8-6 win in the day's second game to split. The two met for a pair of midweek games in February of 1998, with UA winning 5-3 and 12-3 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
The next meeting came in 2001, as the Colonels took game one, 5-3, before the Tide evened the series with a 12-2 win the very next day. The win began a current three-game win streak, as the Crimson Tide won both games in February of 2009, earning the 11-4 win on Tuesday before an 8-7 victory on Wednesday.
Head coach Mitch Gaspard owns a 14-3 career mark against Nicholls State, including a 2-0 record at Alabama. Gaspard faced the Colonels yearly during his time as the head coach at Northwestern State, a fellow member of the Southland Conference.

COMING UP

Following Wednesday's midweek contest, Alabama will wrap up its seven-game homestand with a trio of games against North Dakota this Friday through Sunday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The matchup between the two schools will be the first three in series history. Friday's game is set for a 6:30 p.m. CT start, while Saturday and Sunday are scheduled for a 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. start, respectively. All three games will air live on SECN+.

University of Alabama Athletics

Baseball Hosts Nicholls State for Single Contest on Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Chandler Avant

Thomas Burrows

Ray Castillo

Nick Eicholtz

Matt Foster

Connor Short

Chandler Taylor

Cobie Vance

Chance Vincent

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