Alabama Baseball Travels to Regions Field to Take on UAB on Tuesday
3/20/2017 4:20:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Blazers will meet for the 73rd time in series history on Tuesday evening
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama begins its first roadtrip of the 2017 season with a single contest at Regions Field in Birmingham against UAB. The Tide will play its next five games on the road after 20 consecutive home games to the start the new year. The Crimson Tide and Blazers are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT start on Tuesday night. The game can be seen through UAB's live stream (with log-in) on its website UABsports.com.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow Tuesday's game via the below outlets:
Watch: UABsports.com (with log-in)
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: UABsports.com (http://bit.ly/2mJdaRc)
LEADING OFF
• UAB welcomes the Tide to Regions Field holding a 13-7 overall record. The Blazers are 10-2 at home on the season, with all 12 games being played at Regions. Most recently, UAB traveled to Bowling Green, Ky., to start Conference USA play against Western Kentucky. The Blazers fell in the series opener before rallying for wins in the final two games of the weekend to claim the series victory against the Hilltoppers.
• Alabama and UAB will meet for the 73rd time on Tuesday evening in a series that dates back to 1974. The Crimson Tide holds the series advantage, 48-24, and is 16-9 when facing the Blazers in Birmingham. The Tide has taken two of the three matchups at Regions since the park was built in 2014. Last season, Alabama and UAB split the series, with the home team claiming victories in each contest. The Blazers shut out the Tide, 8-0, on March 22 in Birmingham, before Alabama came away with a 7-6 win at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on April 12.
• The Crimson Tide starter for Tuesday is still to be determined.
• The Blazers starter for the midweek matchup is to be determined.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
UA – TBA vs. UAB – TBA
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama finished this past week with a 1-4 mark after taking down Eastern Illinois on Tuesday before falling to Samford on Wednesday and then suffering three consecutive losses to Missouri to open SEC play.
• Alabama and Missouri squared off in a pitcher's duel to start the Southeastern Conference slate on Friday evening, with the Tigers claiming a 3-0 win. Tide starter Jake Walters tossed a career-high 125 pitches across his 5.0 innings of work and struck out eight Tiger hitters. Walters gave up just one hit but issued eight walks and allowed two runs by the end of his night, both of which were unearned.
• The Crimson Tide fell, 7-4, to Missouri as the Tigers' three-run sixth proved the difference in Saturday's matchup. Missouri jumped out to a two-run lead after the first inning, but Alabama answered with one run of its own in the bottom of the second. The two teams matched with two runs apiece in the top and bottom of the fourth before the Tigers' three-run sixth pushed MU out front for the win. The Tide plated one in the bottom of the eighth, but three hard-hit balls to the outfield could not find open space and ended the UA comeback effort.
• Alabama suffered a 9-5 loss to Missouri in a back-and-forth contest on Sunday afternoon. The Crimson Tide and Tigers traded runs through the early innings. MU got out to an early 3-0 lead after the first, but the Tide answered with three runs of its own across the first two frames. Both teams added one run in the fourth before a three-run fifth by Missouri and one more in the ninth sent the Tigers home with the victory.
• The Tide suffered a 10-3 loss in its Wednesday contest with Samford. The two teams were close most of the game until a five-run ninth inning by the Bulldogs put the game out of reach.
• UA shut out Eastern Illinois with a 5-0 victory on Tuesday afternoon. Freshman starter Garret Rukes tossed 8.0 innings of two-hit baseball to earn his first career win. Rukes retired the first 11 batters before issuing a walk and maintained a no-hitter through the first five full innings before giving up a single to start the sixth inning. Henry paced the Tide in hitting, finishing 2-for-2 with his third home run of the season. The junior also added a pair of RBI, two runs scored and two walks.
• The Crimson Tide returned Tuscaloosa in 2016 after spending 2015 on the road while Sewell-Thomas Stadium was undergoing renovations. Alabama finished with a 19-12 home record at The Joe compared to a 13-14 record in road and neutral-site contests in the first year of the new stadium.
• Alabama's roster features 20 letterwinners from the 2016 squad that reached the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. The 2017 Tide returns five positional starters and three starting pitchers while welcoming 16 newcomers.
SERIES HISTORY – UAB
• Alabama and UAB will meet for the 73rd time in series history on Tuesday.
• The in-state series dates back to 1974, with the Crimson Tide holding the series advantage, 48-24, and owning a 16-9 mark when facing the Blazers in Birmingham.
• UA has taken two of the three matchups at Regions Field since the park opened in 2014.
• Last season, Alabama and UAB split the series, with the home team claiming the victories in each contest. The Blazers shut out the Tide, 8-0, on March 22 in Birmingham, before Alabama returned the favor with a 7-6 win at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on April 12.
• Alabama head coach Greg Goff is 2-4 for his career against UAB.
ON DECK
Following Tuesday's matchup in Birmingham, Alabama will head to Columbia for a weekend SEC series with the seventh-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. First matchup of the series is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start at Founders Park on Friday evening followed by a 3 p.m. CT first pitch in Saturday's contest. The series finale on Sunday is set to begin at 12:30 p.m. CT. All three games between the Crimson Tide and Gamecocks can be seen live on SEC Network+.
