Final Road Series of 2018 Sends Baseball to Baton Rouge to Face LSU
5/10/2018 10:47:00 AM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Tigers will meet for the 370th time in series history on Friday night to kick off the series
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball takes to the road for the final time in 2018, traveling to Baton Rouge for a three-game series with LSU. The first two games of the weekend are set for 7 p.m. CT starts with the finale on Sunday scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch. The bookend games of the series will air on SEC Network+ with the Saturday contest showing nationally on SEC Network.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow this weekend's games via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+ (Friday and Sunday) / SEC Network (Saturday)
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: LSUsports.net
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY: UA – Sam Finnerty (Jr., RHP) vs. LSU – Zack Hess (So., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Sr., RHP) vs. LSU – Ma'Khail Hilliard (Fr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Garret Rukes (R-Fr., LHP) vs. LSU – TBA
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and LSU will meet for the 370th time in series history when the two teams square off on Friday night to open the weekend. The first matchup between the two schools came in 1906 with the teams meeting twice a year in 1907 and 1908. Following a seven-year break, Alabama and LSU paired up once again in 1915 and have met nearly every season since, including every year starting in 1946 when the Tide baseball program began once again following World War II.
• The Crimson Tide leads the all-time series 201-165-3, but trails in Baton Rouge, 81-84-3. The Tigers have been dominant in the series as of late, holding a 10-3-2 series advantage across the last 15 seasons (including postseason matchups).
• Last time the two met, LSU came away with a three-game sweep at Sewell-Thomas Stadium from April 27-29. Alabama's last trip to Baton Rouge from March 19-20, 2016, went in favor of the Crimson Tide, 2-1, for the first series win at Alex Box for the Tide since 1996.
• LSU welcomes the Crimson Tide to Baton Rouge with a 29-20 overall record and a 12-12 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers are coming off a series win over then-No. 4 Arkansas last weekend in Baton Rouge. Arkansas won the opener, 5-4, but LSU rallied back for a 6-4 win in game two to even things and a 7-5 win on Sunday to claim the series. The Tigers are 4-4 overall in their eight SEC series this season.
• Most recently, the Tigers defeated McNeese State by a score of 13-3 on Wednesday night at Alex Box Stadium. The game last seven innings with the 10-run rule in effect.
• Alabama continues its regular SEC weekend rotation for the three-game series in Baton Rouge. Junior right-hander Sam Finnerty will get the start on Friday to open the series and will be followed by senior righty Jake Walters on Saturday. Redshirt-freshman Garret Rukes will get the call on Sunday, with the left-hander scheduled to close out the weekend.
• LSU will open the series with sophomore right-hander Zack Hess on the hill on Friday night. Freshman Ma'Khail Hilliard, also a right-hander, will get the call on Saturday with the Tigers starter for Sunday still to be announced.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama is 2-2 over its last four games leading into this weekend's series with the Tigers. The Crimson Tide dropped its weekend series with Mississippi State last weekend, falling in the bookend matchups of the three-game set. Most recently, the Tide defeated Jacksonville State in a midweek contest on Tuesday evening, 9-8, winning in walkoff fashion.
• With runners on first and second and two down, freshman Sam Praytor lined a double down the third base line to plate the tying and winning runs in Alabama baseball's 9-8 walkoff victory over Jacksonville State on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• The Crimson Tide entered the ninth trailing 8-7. With one down in the inning, junior Cobie Vance singled through the left side before fellow junior Joe Breaux followed with a walk to place runners on first and second. A strikeout in the next at-bat went as the Tide's second out of the frame, bringing Praytor to the dish for the Tide's final opportunity. With the count even at 1-1, the UA backstop sent a single down the line in left to score both Vance and Breaux and secure the walkoff win for the Tide.
• Praytor led the way for the Tide offensively, finishing 3-for-5 with a double and a home run to go with a team-high three RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore John Trousdale also contributed a multi-hit outing, finishing with a pair of doubles, three RBI, a walk and one run scored.
• The duo of redshirt sophomore Davis Vainer and junior Sam Gardner shut down the JSU offense over the final three frames, holding the Gamecocks scoreless to give Alabama a chance to complete the comeback. Vainer entered in the seventh, throwing 2.0 innings of one-hit baseball while recording a career-high tying five strikeouts. Gardner (3-2) made his appearance in the ninth, earning him his third win of the season with 1.0 inning of work in which he retired the Gamecocks in order.
• 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 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 Keith 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 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 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 LSU
• LSU returned 16 letterwinners, including eight positional starters and eight pitchers, from the 2017 team that finished 52-20 overall and atop the Southeastern Conference as the league and tournament champions. The Tigers closed out last season as the national runner-up, falling to Florida in the College World Series. The 2018 roster is without 16 lettermen from a season ago, a number that includes eight positional starters and eight pitchers, while LSU welcomed 17 newcomers made up of 11 freshmen and six junior college transfers.
• The Tigers were selected to finish fourth the Western Division and seventh overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
• Paul Mainieri is in his 12th year at LSU and his 36th season overall as a collegiate head coach. A 1980 graduate of Florida International, Mainieri's staff is made up of associate head coach Alan Dunn along with assistants Nolan Cain and Sean Ochinko.
• Founded in 1893, the LSU baseball program began the 2018 season with an all-time record of 2,550-1,572-31. The Tigers have claimed 17 SEC Championships and 12 SEC Tournament Championships, including the 2017 regular-season and postseason league title. LSU has advanced to 30 NCAA postseasons in program history, including 18 appearances in Omaha at the College World Series, winning the national title on six occasions, most recently in 2009.
• The Louisiana State University (officially named Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College) is a public co-educational university located in Baton Rouge, La. Founded in 1853 in Pineville, La., under the name Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy, the current main campus was dedicated in 1926. LSU boasts an enrollment of 30,099 students and is the flagship school of the state of Louisiana.
ON DECK
The Crimson Tide will return home for a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium with fifth-ranked Ole Miss to close out the 2018 regular season. The first two games of the series are set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch with the regular-season finale on Saturday slated to begin at 1 p.m. All three games will air live on SEC Network+.
