Rivalry Weekend Starts on Friday as Baseball Travels to 20th-Ranked Auburn

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball travels to the Plains to take on 20^th-ranked Auburn for a weekend series. Game one is set for 7:30 p.m. CT followed by a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 3 p.m. start on Sunday. The Friday and Sunday matchups will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network with Saturday's contest airing on SEC Network+.

Follow the Tide

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

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

FRIDAY: UA – Garrett McMillan (Jr., RHP) vs. AU – Mason Barnett (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jacob McNairy (Sr., RHP) vs. AU – Trace Bright (Jr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Grayson Hitt (So., LHP) vs. AU – Joseph Gonzalez (So., RHP)

Leading Off

Alabama and Auburn will meet for the 303rd time in series history when the two teams square off on Friday evening at Plainsman Park. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time series advantage, 165-137, but trail in games on the Plains, 56-61.
The two teams met last season in Tuscaloosa from April 15-17. All three games were decided by one run, with the Tide walking off the Tigers twice, first by a score of 8-7 in 10 innings on Thursday and then again on Saturday with a 10-9 final. Auburn claimed a 5-4 win in game two to avoid the sweep.
The last pairing at Plainsman Park came from May 3-5, 2019. The Tigers recorded a 5-1 win in game one with the Tide evening the series up with a 7-6 victory in game two. Auburn would clinch the series with a 17-7 win in the finale. The in-state rivals also met for the Capital City Classic earlier in the 2019 campaign with Alabama claiming a 6-3 win in Montgomery on March 26.
Alabama will send Tuscaloosa native Garrett McMillan to the hill in Friday's series opener. The right-hander will be followed by Jacob McNairy, also a righty, on Saturday with lefty Grayson Hitt getting the starting nod on Sunday.
Auburn calls on three right-handers for the weekend series. First up is Mason Barnett on Friday followed Trace Bright on Saturday. Joseph Gonzalez will take the hill on Sunday for the finale.

About Alabama

Alabama heads to Auburn having gone 2-2 over the latest four-game stretch. The Crimson Tide finished 1-2 at home against 19th-ranked LSU last weekend. UA fell in game one before bouncing back with a win on Saturday. The Tigers took the rubber match on Sunday to clinch the series. Most recently, Alabama wrapped up its regular season non-conference schedule with a dominant 13-6 win over Jacksonville State on Tuesday.
The Tide offense erupted for a season-high 18 hits on the way to a 13-6 win at Jacksonville State on Tuesday.
Alabama scored in five of the nine innings in the midweek, highlighted by a five-run fifth. UA jumped ahead with two in the first and one in the fourth in addition to the five-run fifth. The Tide then plated two in the sixth before JSU got on the board with a three-run seventh. Alabama came right back with three in the eighth, before a three-run ninth by the Gamecocks capped the scoring at 13-6.
All nine starters for UA recorded at least one hit, led by a 3-for-5 effort from Zane Denton. The junior hit his team-leading 12th home run of the season - a grand slam - and added two runs scored to go with a career-high five RBI.
Andrew Pinckney also homered on Tuesday, finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, a walk and a team-high tying three runs. Tommy Seidl matched Pinckney with three runs and a home run while going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI.
Antoine Jean picked up the win over JSU in his first appearance since April 2. The junior tossed 2.1 scoreless innings with three hits and a walk in the midweek start.
The Tide came up short, 6-5, against LSU in last Friday's matchup.
Alabama posted single tallies in the first and third frames for the early 2-0 lead, keeping LSU off the board until the fifth. That fifth saw the Tigers score five runs – only one earned – to gain a 5-2 advantage. The Tide countered in the home half of the fifth with a three-spot to knot things up, before LSU crossed one run in the top of the sixth to retake the lead. That run would prove the difference as both teams were held scoreless the rest of the way for the 6-5 final.
The Crimson Tide offense totaled 11 hits on the night, highlighted by a three-hit effort from Jim Jarvis. Jarvis finished 3-for-5 with a stolen base and a team-high tying two runs. Also posting two runs was Caden Rose, with the sophomore going 2-for-4 with a double. Pinckney led UA in RBI with two as part of a 2-for-4 showing that included a double, a walk and one run.
Garrett McMillan was solid once again, allowing five runs (one earned) on eight hits and a walk with six strikeouts in his 5.0 innings of work.
UA used early offense and a strong start from Jacob McNairy to get the 8-3 win over the Tigers last Saturday.
LSU recorded a solo homer in the first but was held off the board until the seventh. Alabama used that time to score a pair in the home half of the first before adding three in the second and two in the fourth for the 7-1 advantage. The Tigers posted two in the seventh on another homer but an insurance run in the eighth for UA ensured the 8-3 win in game two.
McNairy picked up his team-high fifth win of the season on graduation day. The senior was impressive against the high-powered Tiger offense, allowing just one run on four hits and three walks with a career-high tying seven strikeouts in his 5.2 innings of work.
He handed the ball over to the duo of Jake Leger and Dylan Ray with the pair limiting LSU to two hits and two runs while combining for five strikeouts.
The Tide suffered a 12-3 loss last Sunday afternoon.
LSU gained the early advantage with a three-run first. The Tide countered with one run in the first before both teams went scoreless until the fifth. The Tigers added three in that fifth to go with three apiece in the seventh and eighth to put the game out of reach.
The Crimson Tide plated one in the seventh on a Rose solo home run and added one more in the ninth on a pinch-hit homer from Eric Foggo for the 12-3 final.
Alabama's arms struck out 15 in Sunday's matchup with the Tigers. The 15 punchouts tied UA's season-high total for Ks, matching the 15 against Binghamton on March 13.
UA's 15 strikeouts were the most by the Tide in a nine-inning conference matchup since April 4, 2009, when Alabama's arms combined for 15 strikeouts against Tennessee.

About Auburn

Butch Thompson is in his eighth season as a collegiate head coach and his seventh at Auburn. Thompson entered 2022 with a 218-163 career mark, including a 179-142 record at AU. A graduate of Birmingham-Southern, Thompson is joined on staff by Gabe Gross and Karl Nonemaker along with volunteer assistant Tim Hudson.
Auburn finished the 2021 season at 25-27 overall and 10-20 in Southeastern Conference play.
The Tigers were selected to finish seventh in the Western Division and 13th overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

On Deck

Alabama will have the midweek off before the fourth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks come to town for a three-game series from Thursday through Saturday. The series opener is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start followed by a 7 p.m. first pitch on Friday. Saturday's regular-season finale is set for 1 p.m. The bookend games of the series will air on SEC Network+ with SEC Network airing Friday's matchup.

University of Alabama Athletics