Roadtrip to Athens On Deck for Ninth-Ranked Baseball
3/21/2024 4:03:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs will meet for the 154th time in series history on Friday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball travels to Athens this weekend to square off with Georgia for its first Southeastern Conference roadtrip of the 2024 season. The ninth-ranked Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT first pitch on Friday followed by an 11 a.m. start on Saturday and a 12 p.m. open Sunday. The bookend games of the series are set to air on SEC Network+ with game two being broadcast nationally on SEC Network.
Follow the Tide
Fans can follow the series via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+ (Friday | Sunday) / SEC Network (Saturday)
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
FRIDAY: UA – Ben Hess (Jr., RHP) vs. UGA – Charlie Goldstein (Gr., LHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Greg Farone (Sr., LHP) vs. UGA – Leighton Finley (So., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Hagan Banks (Jr., RHP) vs. UGA – Christian Mracna (Gr., RHP)
Leading Off
• Alabama and Georgia will meet for the 154th time in history when the two teams begin the three-game weekend set on Friday evening at Foley Field. The Bulldogs own a 77-74-2 all-time advantage in the series, including a 37-26-1 mark in Athens.
• The cross-divisional last met in 2022 for four total games - one weekend series and a matchup in Hoover. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs squared off in Tuscaloosa from April 22-24 with UGA claiming a 2-1 series victory that weekend. Alabama evened things up at two wins apiece with a 5-3 victory on May 24 in the SEC Tournament.
• Alabama's most recent trip to Athens came from May 16-19 of 2019 to close out the regular season. Georgia earned a 3-0 series sweep in that Thursday-Saturday series.
About Alabama
• Alabama heads to Athens riding a three-game winning streak. The Crimson Tide earned victories in the final two games last weekend's series with then-No. 5 Tennessee before downing Alabama State, 15-7, on Tuesday in Montgomery.
• The Crimson Tide's win over the Volunteers was its first series victory on SEC Opening Weekend since 2016. It also marked the Tide's first series victory over a top-five team since May 4-6 of last season when UA downed then-No. 5 Vanderbilt at home in Tuscaloosa.
• Alabama used a huge night from TJ McCants to secure a 15-7 win over Alabama State on Tuesday evening at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex in Montgomery.
• McCants recorded a 4-for-4 night that included a double, three home runs, six RBI, four runs scored, a walk and one stolen base as he reached base in all five plate appearances before being pulled from the game. The senior hit a solo homer, a two-run shot and a three-run bomb for each of his roundtrippers.
• The huge effort in Montgomery saw McCants tie the Alabama single-game records for home runs and total bases (14). The last three-homer effort for UA came from G.W. Keller in 1999 while the 14-base outing matched Andy Phillips (1999) and Mick Kerns (1982) for the program record.
• Gage Miller joined McCants with production at the top of the lineup, going 2-for-6 with two RBI and three runs scored on Tuesday evening.
• The win on Tuesday went to starter Zane Adams, who allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts in his scheduled 3.0 innings of work.
• Alabama fell to Tennessee, 11-3, last Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• The Vols gained an early lead with one in the first, but the Tide answered with two runs in the home half thanks to back-to-back home runs from McCants and Ian Petrutz. The Volunteers took the lead right back with a two-run third to begin a streak of 10 unanswered runs until a Will Hodo homer in the ninth made it an 11-3 final.
• Alabama paired early offense with a solid effort on the mound to secure a 6-3 win over UT last Saturday evening.
• The Crimson Tide plated one in the first, two in the second and three in the third to build a six-run advantage after three full. Tennessee chipped away with solo homers in the fourth and seventh while adding one more run in the eighth but could get no closer.
• UA's early offense allowed Greg Farone to settle in. The senior worked 5.1 innings of one-run baseball, allowing five hits and issuing one walk while striking out four for the win in game two with the Vols. Tyler Fay and Alton Davis II combined for the final 3.2 innings, limiting the Vols to only two runs while striking out three for the victory.
• Alabama's offense was spread across the lineup, with all nine starters reaching base safely while seven of the nine starters contributed at least one hit. Justin Lebron highlighted the bats with a 2-for-3 night that included a team-high two RBI to go with a run scored.
• A three-run, go-ahead home run from Miller in the eighth powered Alabama to an eventual 7-6, series-clinching win over Tennessee last Sunday.
• The Tide took an early lead with one in the first but a four-spot in the third helped the Vols gain the advantage. Alabama came right back with two runs in the home half of the third and tied it up with one in the fourth before the two teams went scoreless until the seventh. In that seventh, UT was able to score one and regain the lead until the eighth.
• Alabama's eighth began with Mac Guscette being hit by a pitch before advancing to second on a one-out single from Lebron. After a flyout, Miller came to the plate and proceeded to send a 1-0 pitch over the playground in left for a three-run home run that put the Tide in front by two entering the final frame.
• Tennessee would not go quietly in the ninth, loading the bases with two down and drawing a walk to push across one run. With the bases still full, Aidan Moza shut the door for his first save of the season, getting three straight swinging strikes to end the ballgame in favor of Alabama.
• Matthew Heiberger got the win last Sunday, working 2.0 innings and allowing one unearned run on two hits with a strikeout. Also highlighting the pitching effort was Braylon Myers, who tossed 3.0 scoreless relief frames with one hit, a walk and two strikeouts.
About Georgia
• Wes Johnson is in his first season at Georgia in 2024 and took over the UGA program after one year as the pitching coach at LSU. Prior to his lone season in Baton Rouge, Johnson was pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2019-22. A 1994 graduate of the University of Arkansas Monticello, Johnson is assisted by Brock Bennett, Will Coggin and Josh Simpson.
• Georgia finished the 2023 season at 29-27 overall, including an 11-19 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
• The Bulldogs were selected to finish sixth in the Eastern Division and 11th overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
On Deck
Alabama will return to action on Tuesday, March 26, when the Tide travels to Huntsville for a neutral site pairing with Belmont. The Crimson Tide and Bruins are scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Toyota Field, home to the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas. Fans can tune in to the action on the Crimson Tide Sports Network.
