SEC Tournament Time – Baseball Heads to Hoover for Matchup with South Carolina
5/20/2024 5:26:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Gamecocks will meet for the 74th time in series history on Monday
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama travels to Hoover for the 2024 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament. The seventh-seeded Crimson Tide will square off with 10th-seeded South Carolina in game two of the morning session on Tuesday. Fans can catch all the action on SEC Network.
Follow the Tide
Fans can follow the game via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Probable Starting Pitching Matchup
TUESDAY: UA – Greg Farone (Sr., LHP) vs. SC – Dylan Eskew (Jr., RHP)
Leading Off
• Alabama and South Carolina will meet for the 74th time overall and fourth time this year when the two teams square off on Tuesday at the Hoover Met. The Gamecocks hold the all-time advantage in the series, 41-32, but the Tide leads, 5-2, in neutral site pairings including a 3-1 mark in the SEC Tournament.
• The two teams met earlier this season from March 28-30 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium with the Crimson Tide claiming a 2-1 series win over the Gamecocks. Alabama earned a 4-3 in the opener on Thursday before clinching the series with a 13-6 win on Friday. SC rallied for a 9-8 win on getaway day to avoid the sweep.
• Alabama and South Carolina last met in Hoover on Tuesday, May 25 as part of the 2021 edition of the SEC Tournament. That game finished 9-3 in favor of the Crimson Tide to advance UA to the double-elimination portion of the bracket.
About Alabama
• Alabama heads to Hoover after a 1-2 series at Auburn to close out regular season play.
• A pitchers' duel went in favor of Auburn, 4-2, last Thursday evening at Plainsman Park.
• The low-scoring affair saw the Tigers plate single runs in the first and third before Alabama got on the board with a run in the fourth. The Tigers added one more in the sixth but were countered by a Tide run in the seventh. A solo homer in the AU eighth moved the lead to 4-2, the eventual final.
• Greg Farone suffered the loss despite another solid start in the series opener, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work.
• Alabama battled back late at Auburn on Friday but was unable to complete the comeback in a 12-11 loss.
• The Tide scored one apiece in the first and fourth innings, but the Tigers were able to take the lead with a six-run fourth followed by a six-run fifth to make it a 12-2 affair.
• In the seventh, the Crimson Tide was down to its final out before an AU error kept the game alive. That error proved costly, opening the door for a late comeback attempt by Alabama. The Tide plated four in the seventh and added four more in the eighth to make it a two-run ballgame entering the ninth. In the ninth, Alabama was able to score one and had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, but a strikeout ended things at 12-11.
• Alabama earned a 12-5 win over Auburn on Saturday night.
• The series finale began at 5 p.m. CT and lasted just over six hours due to a 2:36 weather delay that began in the top of the ninth. Despite the wait, the Crimson Tide was able to finish off the Tigers and earn the No. 7 seed in the 2024 SEC Baseball Tournament.
• Both teams got on the board with single tallies in the first before the Tigers built a 4-1 advantage after four innings of play with one run in the second and two in the fourth.
• Alabama tied it up with a three-run fourth and regained the lead with a four-spot in the sixth. Auburn countered for one in the seventh but would get no closer as the Tide widened the gap with four runs in the ninth prior to the delay, highlighted by a three-run homer from Ian Petrutz.
• All nine starters recorded at least one hit on Saturday, led by a 4-for-6 showing from Gage Miller that included a double, five RBI and three runs scored. Will Hodo matched Miller with three runs, part of his 2-for-4 effort with a walk, while Petrutz finished 1-for-1 with the homer, three RBI, two runs, three walks and a hit-by-pitch.
• Ben Hess earned the win with another solid start on Saturday. The junior allowed five runs (three earned) on 10 hits with no walks and nine strikeouts across a career-high tying 6.2 innings of work. He was followed by the tandem of Alton Davis II and Braylon Myers, who tossed 2.1 scoreless frames with one hit and two strikeouts.
About South Carolina
• Mark Kingston is in his seventh season as the head coach at South Carolina in 2024. He entered the new year with a 180-130 mark at SC, part of a career 453-310-1 record across his 14 seasons as a college head coach with stops at Illinois State and South Florida. A 1995 graduate of North Carolina, Kingston is joined on staff by associate head coach Monte Lee along with assistant coaches Joey Holcomb and Matt Williams.
• The Gamecocks finished the 2023 campaign at 42-21 overall, including a 16-13 mark in league play. SC laid claim to the NCAA Columbia Regional crown before seeing their season come to a close the following weekend in NCAA Super Regional play at second-ranked Florida.
• South Carolina was selected to finish fourth in the Eastern Division and eighth overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
On Deck
With a win, Alabama will advance to the double-elimination portion of the SEC Tournament and square off No. 2 seed Arkansas on Wednesday. A loss would end the Tide's run in Hoover.
