Alabama Travels to Auburn for a Weekend Series with the Fourth-Ranked Tigers
5/4/2017 12:49:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Tigers will meet for the 288th time in series history on Friday evening
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama heads to the Plains to take on fourth-ranked Auburn from Friday through Sunday as the start of a four-game roadtrip for the Tide. The Crimson Tide and Tigers are set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch in the series opener on Friday. Saturday's contest is slated for a 2 p.m. CT start while Sunday's final contest is slated for 4 p.m. CT. The first two games of the weekend will stream live on SEC Network+ with the series finale set to broadcast nationally on SEC Network.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow this weekend's games via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+ (Friday & Saturday) / SEC Network (Sunday)
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: AuburnTigers.com
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Auburn will meet for the 288th time when the series begins on Friday evening. The series dates back to 1896, with the Crimson Tide holding the all-time advantage, 157-130, but the Tigers are in front in games played in Auburn with a 62-52 mark. The two teams met back on March 28 in the annual MAX Capital City Classic at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery with Auburn claiming the 4-3 win.
• Auburn welcomes the Crimson Tide with a 32-14 overall record, including a 14-7 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers have won six of their seven SEC weekends this season, including a sweep of Florida in Auburn to start the conference slate. AU is coming off a series victory in Starkville, falling in the first game before sweeping Saturday's doubleheader to clinch the three-game set from No. 8 Mississippi State.
• The three-game set for Alabama will feature two of its regular weekend starters in the first two games, with the Sunday starter still to be announced. Friday's opener will feature senior Nick Eicholtz, a righty, who returns to the Friday night slot after spending much of the season in a Sunday role. Following Eicholtz will be junior right-hander Jake Walters on Saturday. The outcomes of the first two games will determine who will throw for UA in Sunday's series finale.
• The Tigers will call on a trio of right-handers for the weekend series. First up will be redshirt junior Keegan Thompson on Friday night, followed by sophomore Casey Mize for Saturday's matchup. The finale on Sunday will feature freshman Davis Daniel.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY: UA – Nick Eicholtz (Sr., RHP) vs. AU – Keegan Thompson (R-Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Jr., RHP) vs. AU – Casey Mize (So., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – TBA vs. AU – Davis Daniel (Fr., RHP)
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama finished last week 0-4, first suffering an 11-8 loss to Jacksonville State on Tuesday night before falling in three consecutive games to 15th-ranked LSU.
• The Tide lost, 8-2, to LSU on Thursday evening in Tuscaloosa to open the series. Tide starter Dylan Duarte suffered the loss, exiting early after working 3.0 innings. The threesome of Sam Finnerty, Zac Rogers and Mike Oczypok combined for the final 6.0 frames. Finnerty highlighted the relief effort, with the sophomore working a career-long 4.1 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out one batter across his 67 pitches.
• Alabama fell short on Friday evening, suffering a 7-4 loss to the Tigers. The Crimson Tide battled from behind all evening after LSU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead through the first three frames. The two teams went on to trade runs for the next five innings, with the Tide trimming the deficit to one-run after the fourth. The Tigers answered back, outscoring the Tide across the final five frames to secure the win and the series victory.
• Chandler Taylor highlighted the UA offense on Friday, finishing with a season-high tying three hits in four at-bats, adding a home run, one RBI and a pair of runs scored. Finnerty and Connor Short added to the team's RBI totals, each contributing one apiece, while Short notched his fourth home run of the season.
• UA came up short in a heartbreaking, 4-3 loss to LSU in 11 innings on Saturday. The two teams were close all day, as Alabama and LSU broke even twice on the afternoon and were tied for five of the 11 innings. Alabama received a solid outing from its starter Jake Walters, who tossed a career-long 7.1 innings across a 108-pitch effort. Walters allowed three earned runs on five hits and struck out five while issuing just one walk before his day closed. Davis Vainer relieved Walters in the Saturday matchup, working 3.1 innings, keeping the Tiger offense at bay, before surrendering a run in the 11th to suffer the loss.
• Alabama's offense was highlighted by two-hit efforts from the foursome of Kyle Kaufman, Cody Henry, Hunter Alexander and Alex Webb. Both Kaufman and Alexander each finished 2-for-4, with Kaufman adding one run scored. Henry and Webb each went 2-for-5 on the afternoon, with Henry adding one RBI and a run scored to his totals.
• Jacksonville State's four-run seventh inning proved the difference in Tuesday's game, as Alabama fell, 11-8, to the Gamecocks on Tuesday night. The two teams traded runs throughout the evening. Both clubs plated a pair in the first. JSU then scored single tallies in the third and fourth, before UA matched with a two-run bottom of the fourth. The very next inning saw each squad post a three-spot, before Alabama jumped out front with one run in the bottom of the sixth. In the top of the seventh, JSU used five singles to score four runs for the win.
• The Alabama offense collected 13 total hits with eight of the nine starters recording at least one knock. The output was paced by Henry who finished 3-for-4 with a home run, a team-high four RBI and a pair of runs scored. Also homering was Taylor, who finished 1-for-4 with two RBI, a walk and one run. Rounding out the Tide's offensive performance was Kaufman, who wrapped up his night a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, a hit-by-pitch, one RBI and two runs scored, reaching base safely in all five plate appearances.
• The Crimson Tide returned to Tuscaloosa in 2016 after spending 2015 on the road while Sewell-Thomas Stadium was undergoing renovations. Alabama finished with a 19-12 home record at The Joe compared to a 13-14 record in road and neutral-site contests in the first year of the new stadium.
• Alabama's roster features 20 letterwinners from the 2016 squad that reached the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. The 2017 Tide returns five positional starters and three starting pitchers while welcoming 16 newcomers.
SERIES HISTORY – AUB URN
• Alabama and Auburn will meet for the 288th time when the two teams meet on Friday evening. The series between the in-state rivals dates back to 1896, with the Crimson Tide holding the 157-130 all-time advantage.
• Auburn is 62-52 in games played in Auburn, but has fallen in the last two series when playing UA on the Plains. The last time Alabama visited Auburn, the Crimson Tide came away with its first sweep of the Tigers at Plainsman Park since 1983.
• The two teams met earlier this season, with the Tigers claiming a 4-3 win in Montgomery in the non-conference pairing. Auburn took an early lead with a three-run third inning, but Alabama answered back with single tallies in the third, fourth and fifth frames to make it a 3-3 contest. One run by the Tigers in the top of the sixth ended the day's scoring to help AU improve to 8-1 in the history of the Montgomery series.
• Alabama and Auburn squared off in Tuscaloosa last season from May 6-8, with the Tide taking the first two games of the weekend for the series victory. The Tigers avoided the sweep with an 8-1 win on Sunday.
• Crimson Tide starter Geoffrey Bramblett and reliever Matt Foster limited a potent Auburn offense as Alabama claimed the 6-2 win over the Tigers on Friday night. Bramblett worked 5.2 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) to earn his fourth win of the season. Foster followed, tossing 3.1 innings and allowing just one hit while striking out seven batters for his second save of the year. The duo combined for 14 strikeouts - a season-high mark for punchouts by the Alabama staff in a nine-inning game - while limiting AU to only four hits, tying for the season-low total allowed in any game by the UA pitching staff.
• Alabama walked it off in the 11th for the 4-3, extra-innings victory to seal the series win in front of a sold-out crowd on Saturday night. A grounder from Georgie Salem back at the AU second baseman resulted in an error, allowing Ryan Blanchard to score the game-winning run. The Tide was able to extend the game into extras thanks to a solo homer in the ninth from Will Haynie. Thomas Burrows worked the final 2.0 innings of the contest to collect his first win of the season.
• Auburn avoided the sweep with an 8-1 win on Sunday in front of the weekend's second sellout crowd. The Tigers put up five runs in the first three innings to put the game out of reach.
• Alabama head coach Greg Goff is 0-1 for his career against Auburn.
ON DECK
Next up for Alabama is a trip to Birmingham to take on the Samford Bulldogs at Joe Lee Griffin Stadium on Tuesday, May 9. The two teams met earlier this season in Tuscaloosa, with the Bulldogs claiming a 10-3 win on March 15. Following the trip to Birmingham, the Crimson Tide will welcome the Grambling Tigers to Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Wednesday for UA's final non-conference matchup of the 2017 campaign.Â
