Baseball Makes Quick Stop in Tuscaloosa to Host UAB on Tuesday Evening
4/9/2018 3:12:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Blazers will meet for the 76th time in series history and second time this season when the two teams square off on Tuesday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After a weekend on the road, Alabama baseball returns home for a pit stop to host UAB on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The contest between the two in-state foes is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch with the game airing live on SEC Network+.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow Tuesday's matchup via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
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LEADING OFF
• Alabama and UAB will meet for the 76th time in series history when the teams square off on Tuesday evening. The matchup will complete this season's home-and-home pairing between the two schools.
• The Crimson Tide leads the all-time series 50-25, including a 28-9 mark at home. The series began on April 10, 1974, with the Tide winning the first five games in the series before the Blazers came away with a 3-2 win in Birmingham on March 4, 1979. The teams have played home-and-homes with one game apiece in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa since 2001.
• The Crimson has won seven of the last 10 games but suffered a loss in the first meeting between the two teams this season. In the last 10 series, Alabama holds a slight 3-2 advantage with five of the yearly pairings splitting even with each time at one win apiece.
• UAB came away with a 6-4 win in Birmingham at Regions Field earlier this season on March 20 for game one of the two-game set between the schools. Alabama won both games of last season's home-and-home. The Crimson Tide first secured a 4-1 win on March 21 in Birmingham before welcoming UAB to The Joe on April 11 with Alabama earning the 6-4 win in game two of the year.
• The Blazers travel to Tuscaloosa holding a 14-16 overall mark, including a 6-6 record in Conference USA play. The Blazers are coming off a week that saw them go 2-2. UAB fell in two of its three games against FIU in Birmingham this past weekend and took down Alabama A&M last Wednesday. Included in their last week of games was an exhibition against the Birmingham Barons, which saw the Double-A team earn a 5-1 win in seven innings of play.
• Alabama calls on junior right-hander Sam Gardner in the start against the Blazers. Gardner has appeared in eight games this season with six starts to his name and sports a 1-2 record.
• UAB will look to senior Ryan Ruggles. The left-hander has appeared in nine games this season with five starts and is 0-1 overall.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
UA – Sam Gardner (Jr., RHP) vs. UAB – Ryan Ruggles (Sr., LHP)
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama wrapped up the week at 2-2 once again, first falling to Jacksonville State on Tuesday before defeating a ranked Missouri team, 2-1, in Columbia this past weekend. The series win over the Tigers marked the Crimson Tide's second consecutive SEC series victory over a ranked opponent. The victory in game two of Sunday's contest was also the Crimson Tide's 20th of the season, surpassing last year's win total (19) and matching last season's SEC wins total (5).
• With the lone loss in Columbia, Alabama has now fallen by one run in five of its seven conference losses and has lost by a combined 11 runs in its seven losses overall.
• The Tide suffered a 4-0 shutout loss to Jacksonville State on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Jacksonville State used four arms to combine for the shutout win. After four scoreless innings to start, Jacksonville State put up a four-spot in the fifth. Alabama had its chances to get on the board, placing runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings and in the eighth, but was unable to capitalize on the opportunities.
• On Friday in Columbia, Alabama combined a standout pitching performance, solid defense behind the arms and timely hitting for the 2-1 win over Missouri on a blistery afternoon at Taylor Stadium. Tide starter Sam Finnerty allowed only one earned run in 7.0 innings to collect his team-leading fourth win of the season. The right-hander gave up 10 hits and issued a walk while striking out one Tiger hitter across his season-high tying 102 pitches of work.
• Finnerty handed the ball over to Deacon Medders, with the sophomore earning his team-high fifth save of the season thanks to 2.0 scoreless frames. The pitchers were complemented by a clean effort behind them in the field, with the defense turning a season-high three double plays and not committing an error on the day. The defensive performance allowed the Tide to get out of some tough situations, stranding a combined eight Missouri runners. Chandler Avant paced the Crimson Tide in hits, going 2-for-4 for his team-high 16th multi-hit effort of the season.
• The Saturday doubleheader between Alabama baseball and Missouri was split as the Tigers won game one, 1-0, before the Crimson Tide bounced back for a 5-1 victory in game two. With a Friday victory already in hand, the Tide earned the series win by day's end.
• The Crimson Tide suffered a 1-0 shutout loss to the Tigers in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. The two teams went scoreless until the eighth, when a Tide miscue in the outfield allowed the leadoff hitter for Missouri to reach before eventually coming around to score the game-winning run.
• Jake Walters was brilliant in game one. The senior worked 6.1 scoreless innings of four-hit baseball to keep the Tide even with the Tigers. Walters struck out a season-high 12, including the first eight hitters he faced, and issued only two walks. The 12 punchouts fell one short of matching his career-high mark for a single game and were his most in an SEC start for his career. Walters was one-upped by Missouri starter Scott Plassmeyer, who earned the win with a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits and striking out seven.
• Alabama took down Missouri, 5-1, in game two of Saturday's twinbill to secure the series win over the Tigers. The Crimson Tide used two hits and an error to cross three runs in the third and put the game out of reach early. Missouri answered with one run in the sixth, but the Alabama bullpen was able to limit the damage. The Tide bats added two more insurance runs in the ninth to ensure the series-clinching win in the nightcap.
• Kyle Cameron got the win, providing the Tide with a career-long 5.0 innings of one-run baseball. The right-hander gave up three hits and a walk while striking out a career-high tying three batters in the effort. Medders tallied his second save of the weekend and his sixth of the season. The sophomore right-hander shut the door over the final 1.1 innings, allowing a hit and striking out one Tiger batter. On offense, Cobie Vance led the way with a career-high tying four hits as part of his 4-for-5 game that included an RBI, one run and a stolen base.
• 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 UAB
• UAB returned 21 letterwinners, including six positional starters and nine pitchers, from the 2017 team that went 24-31 overall and 9-21 in Conference USA. The 2018 roster is without 13 letterwinners from a season ago, a number that includes three positional starters and six pitchers, while UAB welcomes 13 newcomers.
• The Blazers were selected to finish 11th overall in Conference USA in the conference's preseason poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
• Brian Shoop is in his 12th year leading the UAB program and his 29th season overall as a head coach. A 1980 graduate of Malone University (Ohio), Shoop is assisted by Perry Roth and Josh Hooper along with the legendary Ron Polk serving as the Blazers' volunteer assistant coach.
• UAB baseball was founded in 1979 with the program holding a 1,082-1,044-1 record entering the 2018 season. The Blazers have won one Conference USA title, coming in the 2012 season, and have made two NCAA postseason appearances with the most recent one coming in that 2012 campaign.
• The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public university located in Birmingham, Ala., and boasts an enrollment of 20,902 students. Founded in 1966, it is one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System, joining Alabama-Huntsville and UA in Tuscaloosa.
ON DECK
Following the quick touch down in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide will return to the road with a three-game series in College Station against Texas A&M from Thursday through Saturday. The series opener with the Aggies is set for an 8 p.m. CT first pitch on ESPNU on Thursday evening. The final two games of the series will air on SEC Network+ with Friday's matchup slated for 6:30 p.m. and Saturday's finale scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
