First SEC Roadtrip for Baseball Sends the Tide to Mississippi State

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will travel westward for the Tide's first Southeastern Conference road series of the season to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The weekend begins on Friday at 6 p.m. CT followed by a pair of 2 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday. Games one and two of the series will be broadcast on SEC Network+ with the series finale airing in front of a national audience 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: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: HailState.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

FRIDAY: UA – Garrett McMillan (Jr., RHP) vs. MSU – Preston Johnson (So., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jacob McNairy (Sr., RHP) vs. MSU – Parker Stinnett (Jr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Grayson Hitt (So., LHP) vs. MSU – Cade Smith (So., RHP)

Leading Off

Alabama and Mississippi State will meet for the 423rd time in series history when the two teams square off on Friday night to begin this weekend's series in Starkville. The Tide owns the all-time series advantage, 214-204-4, but trails in Starkville, 80-114-2.
The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs met last season from May 20-22 in Tuscaloosa to close out the 2021 regular season. Mississippi State came away with a three-game sweep.
Alabama will open the series in Starkville with right-hander Garrett McMillan on the mound in Friday's series opener. The junior will be followed by senior right-hander Jacob McNairy, who will be making his first weekend start of the season. Sunday's game will feature left-hander Grayson Hitt with the sophomore making his sixth Sunday start in as many weeks.
Mississippi State will utilize a trio of right-handed starters in the series. Sophomore Preston Johnson will get the nod on Friday followed by junior Parker Stinnett on Saturday. The Bulldogs will then look to sophomore Cade Smith in the series finale.

About Alabama

Alabama heads to Starkville with a 1-3 record over the last week. The Crimson Tide secured game three of the weekend series with ninth-ranked Florida before falling at UAB on Wednesday evening.
The Tide fell, 5-4, to UAB in a back-and-forth contest on Wednesday night at Regions Field.
UAB opened the night's scoring with two runs in the first, but the Crimson Tide came right back to take the lead with a three-spot in the top of the third. The Blazers then evened things up in the bottom of the fourth with one run.
Alabama regained the advantage in the sixth with one more run but single tallies from UAB in the seventh and eighth put the Blazers ahead for good at 5-4, the eventual final.
The Crimson Tide's comeback effort fell short in a 6-4 loss to Florida last Friday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Alabama began the ninth trailing by five but would not go quietly. A leadoff single and a hit-by-pitch put two on. After Florida got the first out of the inning, the Tide loaded them up on a single from pinch-hitter Will Hodo.
With the bases full, Owen Diodati delivered an RBI-single to second with the Gator defender making an error on the play. The miscue allowed everyone to move up 90 feet, including one more run that cut the lead down to three. A hit-by-pitch loaded them up again for Bryce Eblin with a fielder's choice crossing one more. The Tide rally was halted in the next at-bat as a double play ended the game at 6-4.
Alabama suffered a 13-6 loss to Florida last Saturday evening. The two teams traded runs early with the Gators pulling away for good in the sixth.
Florida got out to an early lead with Alabama battling back to even things up at five apiece after four. The Gators added two in the fifth and put up a four-spot in the sixth to put the game out of reach. The Tide tallied one in seventh with UF adding two in the eighth to make it a 13-6 ballgame by night's end.
Alabama hung around all afternoon in a back-and-forth contest with the Gators, eventually coming out on top 8-7 thanks to a game-winning RBI-single from Zane Denton.
The two teams traded blows all day on Sunday for a third consecutive game. Things were knotted up at four apiece after four full, with the Tide gaining a 5-4 advantage in the fifth thanks to Denton's first RBI-single of the day. The Gators pulled back in front in the eighth with a three-spot, but the Tide was able to cut the lead to one thanks to a solo homer from Denton in the home half.
Alabama's ninth-inning rally started with a one-out hit-by-pitch for Andrew Pinckney. Eblin followed with a single to put runners on the corners for Jim Jarvis. The Tide shortstop was able to get a bunt down on the third base line that stayed fair and allowed Pinckney to score to tie the ballgame.
A single from Dominic Tamez then loaded them up for Denton, who was able to single through the right side of a five-man infield to plate the game-winner. Denton led the Tide offense with a 3-for-5 day that included a home run, one run scored and a team-high three RBI.
Jacob McNairy picked up the win in the series finale against the Gators. The senior contributed 1.2 innings of one-run baseball to keep the Tide within striking distance.

About Mississippi State

Chris Lemonis is in his fourth season as head coach at Mississippi State. Lemonis entered the new year with a 114-37 record at State as part of his 255-128-2 career record split across seven seasons as a collegiate head coach. A 1992 graduate of The Citadel, the eighth-year head coach is assisted by Scott Foxhall and Jake Gautreau along with volunteer assistant Kyle Cheesebrough.
Mississippi State closed out the 2021 season as national champions. The Bulldogs finished with a 50-18 overall record, including a 20-10 mark in SEC play, on the way to hosting a Regional. State advanced to Super Regionals, where they defeated Notre Dame in Starkville to earn a spot in the College World Series. The CWS final featured MSU and Vanderbilt, with Mississippi State defeating the Commodores, 2-1, in three games to be crowned national champions.
The Bulldogs were selected to tie for second in the Western Division and third overall in the Southeastern Conference's preseason poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Mississippi State also received four first-place votes to win the league.

On Deck

Alabama returns to Tuscaloosa to begin a five-game homestand at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, first with the South Alabama Jaguars on Tuesday, March 29. First pitch between the two in-state foes is set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.

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