Cross-Divisional Series for Baseball as Tide Hosts 10th-Ranked Georgia

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball will welcome 10^th-ranked Georgia to Sewell-Thomas Stadium this weekend for a three-game set. The series between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs opens at 6 p.m. CT on Friday evening followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday. Games one and two of the weekend will air on SEC Network+ with the series finale airing nationally on ESPN2.

This weekend's series with 10th-ranked Georgia will feature numerous promotions across the three games. Friday's matchup will be Alabama's 'Bama Salute' game celebrating and honoring military members. The Crimson Tide will also be giving away rally towels to fans for the series opener with the Bulldogs.

The series finale on Sunday will continue the Tide's "Kids' Day at The Joe" promotion. All kids 18-and-under can purchase a $5 general admission ticket. Children will also have the chance to run the bases postgame. Sunday's series finale will also resume the Tide's baseball card giveaway as part of a season-long promotion highlighting the 2022 roster. Kids can get their third pack of baseball cards and stay after the game to get autographs from the group of players featured on this Sunday's set of cards.

Follow the Tide

Fans can follow this weekend's games via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+ (Friday/Saturday) | ESPN2 (Sunday)
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

FRIDAY: UA – Garrett McMillan (Jr., RHP) vs. UGA – Nolan Crisp (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jacob McNairy (Sr., RHP) vs. UGA – Jonathan Cannon (Jr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Grayson Hitt (So., LHP) vs. UGA – Liam Sullivan (So., LHP)

Leading Off

Alabama and Georgia will meet for the 150th time in series history when the teams open the weekend set on Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 75-72-2, but the Crimson Tide holds a 43-36-1 advantage at home. That home record includes a series win for UA in nine of the last 10 series between the two programs.
The most recent pairings between Alabama and Georgia came in 2019 as the two teams met for a weekend series in Athens to close out the regular-season slate. The Bulldogs claimed a series sweep at home.
Alabama and Georgia last met in Tuscaloosa from March 16-18, 2018. That series saw the Tide come away with a 10-9 win in 13 innings in the opener, before UGA bounced back for a pair of 6-5 victories in each of the final two games to claim the series win.
Alabama will continue with the weekend rotation of McMillan-McNairy-Hitt, with right-hander Garrett McMillan opening the series on Friday. The junior is followed by fellow right-hander Jacob McNairy, a senior, on Saturday, with sophomore lefty Grayson Hitt getting the nod on Sunday.
Georgia opens the series with a pair of junior right-handers on the hill. Nolan Crisp will take the hill on Friday followed by Jonathan Cannon on Saturday. The Bulldogs will wrap up the series with sophomore southpaw Liam Sullivan on Sunday.

About Alabama

Alabama heads into the weekend with Georgia at 1-3 over the last four games. The Crimson Tide earned the series-opening win over top-ranked Tennessee last Friday to break the Vols' 12-game winning streak in SEC play and finished the weekend at 1-2. UA then returned home for a Tuesday matchup with UAB that went in favor of the Blazers, 7-6.
UA suffered a 7-6 loss to UAB on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The two teams traded runs all evening. Alabama was first on the board with three runs in the bottom of the third. UAB would answer with a grand slam in the top of the fourth to take their first lead. The Tide posted single tallies in the fourth and fifth to regain the advantage, before a two-run sixth gave the Blazers the lead once again.
Alabama pulled even with one run in the seventh, but another UAB run in the eighth put the Blazers in front for good.
The Crimson Tide knocked off No. 1 Tennessee, 6-3, last Friday evening at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee plated two runs on four hits in the first inning. The Tide answered with a solo home run from Owen Diodati in the top of the second followed by a solo shot from Jim Jarvis in the third to even things up at two apiece. The lead became UA's an inning later when Alabama posted three runs in the top of the fourth, highlighted by the go-ahead solo home run from Diodati, his second of the night.
Alabama would not trail the rest of the evening. The Vols cut the lead to two with a solo homer in the sixth before both teams went scoreless until the ninth. That final inning saw Alabama add an insurance run on a two-out RBI-triple from Drew Williamson to make it a 6-3 ballgame, the eventual final.
Garrett McMillan settled in after a shaky first to pick up his fourth win of the season. The junior gave up two runs in that opening stanza but locked in to allow just three hits and one run over his final 4.1 innings. McMillan's line featured three runs on seven hits and four walks with five strikeouts across 5.1 frames.
Three Tide relievers combined for the final 3.2 scoreless innings, holding the Vols to two hits and a walk while striking out three. The relief effort was highlighted by Dylan Ray, who worked the final 1.2 frames to earn his fourth save.
Alabama's offensive effort was led by Diodati with the junior finishing 2-for-4 with two home runs, two RBI and a pair of runs. The Tide's 1-through-3 hitters also contributed two-hit efforts, as Williamson went 2-for-4 with two RBI from the two-hole, while Jarvis and Zane Denton each recorded a 2-for-5 night from the No. 1 and No. 3 spots, respectively.
UA suffered a 9-2 loss to Tennessee last Saturday. The two teams combined for four homers, leading to six of the 11 total runs on the night.
The Volunteers used a two-run home run in the first and a solo shot in the third to build a 3-0 lead early. Alabama countered with a two-run homer from Denton in the sixth to make it a one-run affair, but Tennessee came right back with a pair of solo home runs and used a throwing error to score three in the home half to put the game out of reach. Tennessee would add three more in the eighth for the 9-2 final.
Jacob McNairy suffered his first loss of the season despite another solid start. The senior tossed 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
The Tide fell in the series finale against the Vols, 15-4, last Sunday on Easter.
UA got on the board with a homer from Williamson in the top of the first. Tennessee answered with four runs in the second before a solo shot from Jarvis in the third made it a 4-2 game. The Volunteers added three in the fourth and one in the fifth, with a Denton homer in the top of the sixth bringing in a run for UA.
Tennessee then tacked on three more in the bottom of the sixth and four in the eighth. Alabama was able to cross one in the ninth but that was all for the 15-4 final.

About Georgia

Scott Stricklin is in his ninth year as head coach of the Bulldogs and entered the new season with a 234-186-1 record in Athens. Now in his 18th season as a collegiate head coach, Stricklin held a career 584-374-1 mark across his previous 17 years. A 1995 graduate of Kent State, Stricklin is joined on staff by associate head coach Scott Daeley, assistant coach Sean Kenny and volunteer assistant coach Brock Bennett.
The Bulldogs posted a 31-25 record during the 2021 season, including a 13-17 mark in conference play.
Georgia was selected to finish third in the Eastern Division and sixth overall in the Southeastern Conference in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

On Deck

Alabama takes to the road for an in-state pairing with the Samford Bulldogs on Tuesday, April 26. The matchup between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Joe Lee Griffin Field in Birmingham.

University of Alabama Athletics