Final Non-Conference Weekend for Baseball Brings Columbia to Town

Final Non-Conference Weekend for Baseball Brings Columbia to Town

3/9/2023 4:10:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes Live Stats Watch: Friday Watch: Saturday Watch: Sunday Purchase Tickets

The Crimson Tide and Lions will meet for the first time in series history on Friday

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball will play host to Columbia for a final non-conference weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The 18^th-ranked Crimson Tide and Lions open the series on Friday at 6 p.m. CT followed by a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Things wrap up on Sunday at 1 p.m. with all three games airing on SEC Network+.

Sunday's series finale will continue the Tide's season-long '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.

Follow the Tide

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

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

FRIDAY: UA – Grayson Hitt (Jr., LHP) vs. CU – Andy Leon (So., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Ben Hess (So., RHP) vs. CU – JD Ogden (Jr., LHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Jacob McNairy (Gr., RHP) vs. CU – Joe Sheets (So., RHP)

Leading Off

Alabama and Columbia will square off for the first time in history when the series begins on Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The Crimson Tide has met with five of the eight schools that make up the Ivy League, missing only Cornell, Penn and the Lions. Alabama holds a 12-3 combined advantage over the other five schools in the Ivy League, with the most recent opponent being Harvard from Feb. 28-March 1, 2020. The Tide swept that series with the Crimson, a team that featured current UA outfielder Tommy Seidl.
Alabama continues with the weekend rotation of Hitt-Hess-McNairy for the three-game set with the Lions. The left-hander of the group, Grayson Hitt will take the hill on Friday. Ben Hess is next up on Saturday with Jacob McNairy getting the ball in the series finale.
Columbia will use a pair of righties in the bookend games of the series with a lefty in the middle. Andy Leon gets the nod on Friday followed by JD Ogden in Saturday's matchup. Joe Sheets will then take the hill for CU on getaway day.

About Alabama

Alabama enters the weekend with Columbia at a perfect 14-0. That mark ties for the second-longest winning streak to start a season, matching the 2020 team, and only one game short of tying the all-time record of 15 by the 1997 squad.
The Tide's 14-game winning streak is also tied with that 2020 team for the fifth-longest winning streak at any point in a season. Included in those 14 wins are a pair of midweek victories to go with a sweep of UIC last weekend.
Alabama paired a hitless start from Luke Holman with five homers to down Samford, 11-6, on Tuesday in Birmingham.
Holman picked up his third win of the season on Tuesday, striking out a career-high and Alabama season-best 12 batters while holding the Bulldogs hitless across his 5.0 innings of work.
The start from Holman was paired with five home runs by the Tide offense. Leading the way was Colby Shelton, who homered twice on the night and totaled a team-high three RBI. Dominic Tamez added a pair of RBI with his two-run shot, while Jim Jarvis and Drew Williamson each notched solo homers.
Alabama used 15 hits and 10 walks to earn a 21-7, seven-inning win over Alabama State on Wednesday at The Joe.
The Tide scored in five of the six innings against ASU, including five-run frames in the second, fourth and sixth. The offense produced multiple home runs for a fifth straight game and the 10th time this season, with the group of Mac Guscette, Tommy Seidl, Will Hodo and Jarvis all recording a roundtripper.
Guscette led the Tide in RBI with a season-high six as part of a 3-for-3 showing that included a double and a run scored, while Seidl finished 4-for-4 with four RBI and four runs scored. Andrew Pinckney matched Seidl for the team lead in runs with four as part of a 1-for-1 night with a double, two walks and a hit-by-pitch.
The Crimson Tide used three home runs to claim an 11-1 win in seven innings over UIC last Friday evening at The Joe.
Alabama jumped out front with five runs on only one hit in the first. The lone hit was a grand slam from Seidl to stake the Tide to a big lead early. UA then added two in the second, including a solo homer from Shelton, before UIC got on the board with one in the top of the third. The Crimson Tide answered with a run of its own in the fifth followed by three in the sixth, one of which came on Shelton's second homer of the evening, to secure the 11-1 win.
Seidl finished with a career-high and UA season-high six RBI as part of a 2-for-3 night with a run. Grayson Hitt picked up his second win of the season with 5.0 frames of one-run ball, allowing four hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
Alabama blanked UIC last Saturday for the 10-0 series-clinching shutout win in seven innings.
A pitchers' duel early saw both teams go scoreless until the fifth. UA broke through for three in the home half of that frame before posting a six-spot in the sixth. The Tide then crossed one in the seventh to secure the run-rule shutout.
The offense was led once again by Shelton. The freshman stayed red-hot with a second two-homer game in as many days, including his first career grand slam. Shelton finished 2-for-4 with a team-high five RBI and two runs scored. Also homering was Pinckney, with the right fielder going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run.
Ben Hess picked up the win with a solid 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and issuing three walks to go with eight strikeouts. Alton Davis II completed the shutout and earned the save with 1.1 frames.
Alabama built a lead early and held on late to earn a 9-7 win over UIC last Sunday for the series sweep.
The Flames plated one run apiece in the first and second innings before Alabama gained the advantage thanks to a five-run second. The Tide then added a pair of runs in the third but a four-run fourth by the Flames cut the lead to one. Alabama answered with two runs in the fourth and allowed just one tally over the final 5.0 innings to secure the 9-7 win.
Zane Probst picked up the win with 1.0 scoreless inning of relief that saw the junior strike out the side. Braylon Myers earned his third save of the season, getting out of a jam in the eighth and finishing with 1.2 scoreless frames and two punchouts.
Alabama's bats were led by Shelton with the freshman recording a grand slam for a second straight day and finishing 2-for-4 with four RBI and a run scored. Guscette and Williamson ach added a home run of their own, with Guscette's going for two runs while Williamson's was a solo shot.

About Columbia

Brett Boretti is in his 18th season leading the Columbia program and his 20th season overall as a collegiate head coach. He entered the 2023 campaign with a career 442-457-1 record, including a 326-375-1 mark with the Lions. A 1994 graduate of Davidson, Boretti is joined on staff by associate head coach Dan Tischler along with assistants Tom Carty and Canyon Kyle.
Columbia finished the 2022 campaign as the Ivy League Champions. The Lions went 32-18 overall, including a 17-4 mark in conference play. CU claimed its crown as league champs with a 2-1 Ivy League Playoff Series win over Penn, earning them a spot in the NCAA Blacksburg Regional. Columbia finished 2-2 in that Regional.
The Lions were selected to win the Ivy League once again in the conference's preseason poll, as voted on by the league's sports information directors along with eight media members from around the league.

On Deck

Alabama will head south to Mobile for a midweek matchup with South Alabama on Tuesday, March 14. The Crimson Tide and Jaguars are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch at Stanky Field