Midweeks with UT-Martin, Troy Begin 10-Game Homestand for Baseball

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball will open a 10-game homestand with a midweek matchup against UT-Martin on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide will then host in-state foe Troy on Wednesday. Both games are scheduled for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch at Sewell-Thomas Stadium and can be seen live on SEC Network+.

Follow the Tide

Fans can follow the midweek games via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

TUESDAY: UA – Hagan Banks (Fr., RHP) vs. UTM – Noah Walters (Fr., RHP)
WEDNESDAY: UA – Jacob McNairy (Sr., RHP) vs. TROY – Grayson Stewart (R-Fr., RHP)

Leading Off

Alabama and UT-Martin will meet for the third time in series history when the two teams square off on Tuesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide and Skyhawks are split at one win apiece in the series.
The two teams last met on Feb. 24 of last season with UT-Martin claiming a 9-4 win in Tuscaloosa. The first pairing between the two schools came on Feb. 25, 2020, with UA earning a 10-5 victory in the initial meeting.
Alabama and Troy will meet for the first of two games this season and the 38th time in series history when the in-state foes meet on Wednesday afternoon at The Joe. The Crimson Tide holds a 25-12 all-time advantage, including a 20-5 mark in Tuscaloosa.
The Tide and Trojans were scheduled for a home-and-home series in 2021 but rain canceled the matchup in Troy. The Tuscaloosa meeting finished in favor of Alabama, 9-1, on March 3.
Alabama will call on freshman right-hander Hagan Banks in Tuesday's contest with UT-Martin. The Crimson Tide will then look to senior righty Jacob McNairy on Wednesday against Troy.
UT-Martin is set to match Banks with a freshman right-hander of their own on Tuesday, calling on Noah Walters.
Troy is scheduled to send redshirt freshman Grayson Stewart to the hill on Wednesday. The right-hander is making his fourth appearance overall and first start of the season.

About Alabama

Alabama closed out last week at 2-3. The Crimson Tide first downed Jacksonville State and Alabama State in the midweek before falling in three games at top-ranked Texas, two of which were decided by two runs or less.
The Tide scored in each of the first four innings and five of the eight innings overall on the way to a 6-3 win over Jacksonville State on Tuesday.
Alabama got on the board with one in the first and proceeded to score two in the second and then one apiece in the third and fourth. Jacksonville State plated a run in the top of the fourth and two in the sixth, but the Tide came back with a run in the home half of the sixth to help ensure the 6-3 win.
Jacob McNairy tossed 5.0 innings of one-run baseball for the win last Tuesday. The senior issued two walks and struck out three while inducing three double plays, part of the Tide's program record-tying five in the game.
Alabama paired consistent pressure on offense with a solid pitching performance to cruise to a 9-2 win over Alabama State on Wednesday.
The Tide bats combined for a season-high 14 hits and scored in five of the eight innings, posting two runs apiece in the second, third, sixth and seventh frames to go with a single tally in the fourth.
UA was led by Jim Jarvis who finished 2-for-4, including his first career home run, to go with a career-high three runs scored and team-high tying two RBI. Also homering in the game was Drew Williamson with the senior matching Jarvis in RBI and adding a run and a walk to his totals.
Six Tide pitchers combined to allow just two runs on the day, only one of which was earned. The group struck out seven and was highlighted by Hunter Ruth, who was credited with the win. The redshirt senior tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless baseball and struck out three.
On a blistery Friday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Alabama and No. 1 Texas each received dominant performances from their pitching staffs. In the end, the Longhorns came out on top, 1-0.
The Crimson Tide reached a baserunner in eight of the nine innings and had runners in scoring position six times but was unable to break through for a run. Texas got a man aboard in six frames and moved runners into scoring position in three innings, with the Longhorns getting their lone run in the seventh on a wild pitch.
Alabama starter Garrett McMillan went toe-to-toe with the nation's No. 1 team, holding the Longhorns scoreless across 6.0 frames. The junior allowed just three hits and walked a pair while striking out three batters on 87 total pitches. Dylan Ray followed with 2.0 relief innings, allowing one unearned run with four strikeouts.
The Tide came up short on Saturday against Texas despite another strong performance on the mound, with UT claiming a 2-0 win.
Hits were tough to come by for both teams once again, with the Tide out-hitting the Longhorns for a second straight afternoon. Alabama tallied five hits and a walk and was able to reach the leadoff man in the final two innings but could not get on the board.
The Tide's starter was solid for a second straight game, with Antoine Jean suffering the hard-luck loss. Jean allowed two runs on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work. Hunter Furtado followed with 3.0 relief frames, sitting down all nine batters in order, including one punchout.
Sunday's series finale finished in favor of the Longhorns, 6-1. Texas was first to strike with one run in the fourth, but UA countered with a run of its' own in the top of the fifth on an Owen Diodati solo home run. The Longhorns came right back to post a three-spot in the sixth and add two more in the eighth to regain and hold onto the lead for the 6-1 win.

About UT-Martin

Ryan Jenkins is in his fifth season as head coach of the Skyhawks and owned a 60-111 career mark entering the 2022 campaign. A 2013 graduate of Auburn, Jenkins is assisted by Bill White and Pat Cottrell along with volunteer assistant coach Rawlins Cleveland.
The Skyhawks were selected to finish ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches and communications directors.

About Troy

Skylar Meade is in his first season as the head coach at Troy after spending the 2018-21 seasons as an assistant coach at South Carolina. A 2007 graduate of Louisville, Meade is joined on staff by assistants Ben Wolgamot, Adam Godwin and Riley McCauley.
The Trojans were selected to finish sixth the Sun Belt in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference head coaches.

On Deck

Following the pair of midweeks, Alabama will remain at home, this time for a weekend series with Murray State. The Crimson Tide and Racers are scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch in the opener on Friday followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday. Things wrap up on Sunday at 1 p.m. with all three games of the series airing live on SEC Network+.

University of Alabama Athletics