Regular Season Slate for Baseball Wraps with Ole Miss
5/17/2023 5:30:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Rebels will meet for the 371st time in series history on Thursday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball wraps up regular season play this Thursday through Saturday when the Tide hosts Ole Miss at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide and Rebels are slated for a pair of 6 p.m. CT starts in games one and two followed by a 2 p.m. first pitch in the series finale. All three contests will air on SEC Network+.
The series with Ole Miss will feature numerous promotions across the final two games of the 2023 regular season. On Friday, the Tide will be handing out red Alabama baseball cups to the first 500 fans through the gates. The cup is the final of five 'SEC Cup Series' giveaways. Fans should also be sure to show up early on Friday as Alabama will host 'Senior Night' at The Joe, recognizing the program's 13 senior student-athletes and one manager. Friday will also serve as staff appreciation day for all Alabama Athletics staff.
The regular season finale on Saturday will be the final 'Kids' Day at The Joe' of 2023. All kids 18-and-under can purchase a $5 general admission ticket. Children will also have the chance to run the bases postgame. Additionally, Saturday will be the Tide's fifth baseball card giveaway of the 2023 season. The trading cards are part of a season-long promotion highlighting the 2023 roster. Kids can get their fifth and final pack of cards and stay after the game to get autographs from the group of players featured in Saturday's group.
Follow the TideÂÂ
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
THURSDAY: UA – Luke Holman (So., RHP) vs. OM – Xavier Rivas (Jr., LHP)
FRIDAY: UA – Garrett McMillan (Sr., RHP) vs. OM – JT Quinn (Fr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jacob McNairy (Gr., RHP) vs. OM – TBA
Leading Off
- Alabama and Ole Miss will meet for the 371st time in history when the two teams open the final series of the 2023 regular season on Thursday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time advantage, 214-154-2, including a 129-80-1 mark at home.
- The Crimson Tide and Rebels last met from April 8-10 of last season in Oxford. That series resulted in a sweep, with UA winning by scores of 7-4, 12-10 and 7-3.
- Alabama last hosted Ole Miss from March 26-27, 2021. The Rebels came away with a sweep in that series, first downing the Tide 9-6 and 2-0 in a doubleheader on the 26 before an 11-6 victory in the finale.
- The Rebels are the Tide's second-oldest SEC opponent and the third-most played opponent in program history.
About Alabama
- Alabama posted a 3-1 record last week, spending all four games away from home. The Crimson Tide first downed Troy in Montgomery on Tuesday before taking two games from Texas A&M in Bryan-College Station over the weekend.
- The Tide bats played a key role in last week's success. Alabama batted .321 (45-140) with nine home runs while racking up 22 free passes that included 18 walks and four hit-by-pitch. UA produced double-digit hits in three of the four contests while recording two-or-more home runs in three games.
- Andrew Pinckney and Tommy Seidl highlighted the offense. Pinckney batted a team-best .474 (9-19) with a double, three home runs, nine RBI, four runs and a stolen base. The redshirt junior led UA in hits, RBI and total bases (19) while tying for the team lead in home runs (3). Seidl finished his week with a .467 (7-15) average that included a double, a grand slam, seven RBI, five runs, a walk, two hit-by-pitch and a stolen base.
- Alabama wrapped up midweek play with a 7-2 win over Troy last Tuesday evening at Riverwalk Stadium.
- The Trojans were first on the board with one in the second and one in the fourth before UA got its first run with a single tally in the home half of that fourth. The Tide then went on to score six runs over the next three innings with two in the fifth, three in the sixth and one in the seventh to put the game out of reach.
- Alabama's offense produced 11 hits with four players contributing multi-hit efforts. Bryce Eblin led the way with a 3-for-4 night that included a double, one RBI and a run scored. Seidl, Drew Williamson and Pinckney all tallied two hits apiece with Seidl and Pinckney each doubling while Williamson homered.
- The win last Tuesday went to Aidan Moza, who tossed 2.1 scoreless frames with a hit, one walk and three strikeouts.
- Alabama fell, 11-5, to Texas A&M last Friday at Blue Bell Park.
- On a night where the ball was flying, the two teams combined for nine home runs. The Aggies registered six of those longballs, four of which were two-run home runs. Alabama had three homers on the night with Colby Shelton providing two solo homers and Eblin adding a two-run shot.
- Texas A&M led 4-1 after three innings of play but the Tide was able to even things up at four apiece with a three-run top of the fifth. The Aggies came right back with two in the home half of the fifth and added one in the sixth along with a pair of two-run frames in the seventh and eighth. Alabama was able to cross one in the eighth but would get no closer.
- An eight-run fifth inning propelled Alabama to a 12-1 win over A&M in seven innings last Saturday.
- The Tide jumped out front early, using a three-run homer from Pinckney to take a 3-0 lead after one inning of play. Alabama added one more in the third before the huge eight-run fifth.
- In that fifth, the Tide recorded six hits, including a pair of home runs – Pinckney's second three-run shot of the day along with a two-run homer from Shelton. The Aggies broke up the shutout with a solo homer in the sixth but would get no closer, with the game ending after seven innings due to the run rule.
- Pinckney led the Alabama offense with a 3-for-5 day that included his two homers, two runs and a career-high and team-best six RBI. Shelton also contributed two RBI as part of a 2-for-4 effort with a walk and one run scored. Jim Jarvis matched Shelton's RBI total and finished 2-for-4 with two runs and a hit-by-pitch.
- The huge offensive day allowed Garrett McMillan to settle in for the win. The senior allowed just one run on six hits and a walk with a season-high seven strikeouts across 6.0 innings of work.
- After an extended rain delay to start Sunday, UA cruised to an 11-0 shutout win to clinch the series over the Aggies.
- Jacob McNairy was dominant in the series finale, tossing a career-high tying 7.0 scoreless frames and allowing six hits and a walk to go with a career-best nine punchouts for the win. He then turned the ball over to Alton Davis II who worked the final 2.0 innings to secure the shutout.
- Alabama put the game out of reach early on the power of two home runs. The first came off the bat of Pinckney in the first inning before a grand slam in the second from Seidl made it a 5-0 ballgame and provided McNairy with all the run support he would need. The Tide added one more run in the seventh and five in the ninth for the 11-0 win.
About Ole Miss
- Mike Bianco is now in his 23rd season at Ole Miss and 25th year overall as a collegiate head coach. He entered 2023 with a 954-556-1 career record that included an 854-485-1 mark while in Oxford. A 1989 graduate of LSU, Bianco is joined on staff by assistants Mike Clement and Carl Lafferty along with volunteer assistant Chris Cleary.
- Ole Miss finished the 2022 season as the national champions of college baseball. The Rebels owned a 42-23 mark at season's end, including a 14-16 record in Southeastern Conference play. One of the last teams selected to the NCAA Tournament, the Rebels first won the Coral Gables Regional before clinching the Hattiesburg Super Regional to advance to Omaha. Ole Miss won five of its six games at the CWS, earning a national title with back-to-back wins over Oklahoma.
- The Rebels were selected to finish fourth in the Western Division and tied for sixth overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
Senior Night
- Friday's matchup with Ole Miss will be Alabama's 'Senior Night' to celebrate the Tide's senior class. The group will be honored prior to first pitch of game two and is made up of 13 student-athletes along with one student manager.
- Alabama will recognize 13 student-athletes including Brayden Gainey, Ryan Guardino, William Hamiter, Hunter Hoopes, Jim Jarvis, Antoine Jean, Ed Johnson, Jake Leger, Garrett McMillan, Andrew Pinckney, Jackson Reynolds, Tommy Seidl and Dominic Tamez in their final series at The Joe.
- The Crimson Tide will also honor student manager Trace Beasley.
On Deck
Alabama will head to Hoover for the 2023 SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The Crimson Tide's seeding, opponent and game time are still to be determined.
