Final Midweek Prior to SEC Play Sends Baseball to Southern Miss

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a midweek contest with Southern Miss on Tuesday evening. The 12^th-ranked Crimson Tide and Golden Eagles are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch at Pete Taylor Park with the game airing on ESPN+.

Follow the Tide

Fans can follow the midweek via the below outlets:
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: SouthernMiss.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchup

TUESDAY: UA – Zane Adams (Fr., LHP) vs. USM – Cole Boswell (Sr., RHP)

Leading Off

Alabama and Southern Miss will square off for the 109th time in series history when the two teams meet on Tuesday evening at Pete Taylor Park. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time advantage, 75-33, including a 26-18 mark in Hattiesburg.
The most recent matchup between the two teams came last season in Tuscaloosa on April 11 with UA claiming a 13-0 win. The last pairing in Hattiesburg occurred on March 16, 2022, with the Golden Eagles earning a 3-2 victory. Alabama's last win in Hattiesburg was on April 24, 2013, a 7-4 victory for the Tide.

About Alabama

Alabama wrapped up the week at a perfect 4-0. The Crimson Tide first downed Troy on Wednesday, before sweeping Lipscomb over the weekend – all in Tuscaloosa.
The Tide offense batted .348 on the week, totaling 47 hits, including 11 doubles and six homers, on the way to 48 total runs. The offense also drew 35 walks and had 12 hit-by-pitch to post a .500 team on-base mark across the four games.
Alabama used a three-run seventh inning to defeat Troy, 8-7, last Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
UA was first on the board, crossing a run in the second, but Troy answered in the top of the third with one run of their own. After the Crimson Tide plated single tallies in the third and fourth, the Trojans tied the game at three a piece with a two-run fifth.
Troy took its first lead of the game with one in the sixth, but the Alabama answered with a pair of runs in the home half to regain the advantage. A two-run top of the seventh shifted the lead back to the Trojans, but a three-spot following the stretch put Alabama in front for good.
That seventh was highlighted by a three-run homer off the bat of Gage Miller. Troy added one in the eighth but would get no closer for the 8-7 final.
Bryce Eblin led the Crimson Tide offense, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, one RBI and a run scored. Also recording a multi-hit day was TJ McCants, who finished 2-for-5 while also contributing one run and two stolen bases. Miller rounded out the offense with the homer.
Zane Adams was solid in his start on Wednesday, tossing 4.1 innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He then turned the ball over to the bullpen, with four arms combining for the final 4.2 frames.
The relief effort was highlighted by Braylon Myers, who picked up his first win of the season, along with Alton Davis II who notched the save.
A long day for Alabama finished with a pair of wins over the Lipscomb Bisons on Saturday. The 13th-ranked Crimson Tide took game one of the doubleheader, 20-13, before a 10-1 victory in the nightcap.
The offense totaled 27 hits across the two games, including seven doubles and five homers, on to the way to 30 runs.
Miller led the way with a 7-for-10 day that included three doubles, two home runs, four RBI five runs and one walk. Close behind was Will Hodo, who finished 3-for-5 with two home runs – including a grand slam – seven RBI, five runs scored and five walks.
Alabama and Lipscomb traded runs in a high-scoring affair for game one with the Crimson Tide coming out on top in the end, 20-13.
Seven of the nine starters recorded at least one hit in game one, led by Miller's 3-for-4 effort. The junior recorded two homers, three RBI, three runs and a walk. Hodo joined Miller with a two-homer outing and finished 2-for-2 in game one. Hodo recorded a grand slam to go with three runs and his team-high four walks and seven RBI. Evan Sleight led in runs with four as part of a 2-for-4 effort that also included a double and two walks.
Tyler Fay picked up the win with 2.0 relief innings and was followed by Davis II, who tossed the final 1.1 frames with two strikeouts for his third save of the year and second of the week.
The highly productive offense carried over to the nightcap, with the Crimson Tide earning a 10-1 victory to secure the doubleheader sweep.
Alabama racked up 13 total hits in game two with eight of the nine starters contributing at least one knock. The offense was led by Miller, who went 4-for-6 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Close behind was Eblin, who put together a 3-for-5 game two that included one RBI and a pair of runs.
Greg Farone was solid in his start, tossing 5.0 scoreless innings and allowing only three hits while striking out six.
Alabama completed the sweep of Lipscomb on Sunday with a 10-5 victory.
UA scored in each of the first five innings, plating two apiece in the first and second, single tallies in the third and fourth and adding four in the fifth to put the game out of reach. Lipscomb was able to answer with one in the second, two in the third and one apiece again in the fourth and sixth but went scoreless the rest of the way for the 10-5 final.
The Crimson Tide offense produced 11 hits on the day, led by Ian Petrutz who went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI and three runs scored. Sleight matched him in RBI as part of his 1-for-3 showing that included one walk as well.
Coulson Buchanan picked up the Sunday win with 1.1 scoreless frames that included two hits and two strikeouts.

About Southern Miss

Christian Ostrander is in first season at Southern Miss in 2024 and has been a part of the Golden Eagles' program for seven years. Prior to his time as an assistant at the Division I level, Ostrander was the head coach at Jones County Junior College where he finished with a 255-109 career record. A 1996 graduate of Delta State, Ostrander is joined on staff by assistant coaches Keller Bradford, Ben Brewer, Travis Creel and Ladd Rhodes.
Southern Miss finished the 2023 campaign at 46-20, claiming the Sun Belt Tournament title to earn a spot in the NCAA Auburn Regional. USM won that Regional to earn the right to host an NCAA Super Regional, where the Golden Eagles fell one game short of Omaha to the Tennessee Volunteers.
The Golden Eagles were selected to finish second in the Sun Belt's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

On Deck

Alabama will return to Tuscaloosa to begin Southeastern Conference play this weekend. The Crimson Tide will host the sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers from Friday through Sunday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Friday's series opener is set for a 6 p.m. first pitch followed by a 7 p.m. start on Saturday. The three-game set will wrap up on Sunday at 1 p.m. Game one will air on SEC Network+ with the final two contests receiving a national audience on SEC Network.

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