Alabama Baseball to Meet with No. 18 Auburn on Tuesday in Annual MAX Capital City Classic
3/27/2017 4:46:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Tigers will meet for the ninth time in the history of the Montgomery matchup
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama closes out its five-game roadtrip with a Tuesday matchup against the No. 18 Auburn Tigers at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, home of the Montgomery Biscuits. The Crimson Tide and Tigers are scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT start on Tuesday evening at the Double-A ballpark. The game will air live on ESPNU with Dave Neal on the play-by-play and Gabe Gross providing the color for the midweek, non-conference matchup (result does not count towards SEC record).
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow the Tuesday game via the below outlets:
Watch: ESPNU
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
LEADING OFF
• Auburn arrives in Montgomery with a 20-6 overall record, including a 5-1 mark in SEC play. The Tigers took two of three games from Georgia in Athens this past weekend, suffering their lone conference loss in Saturday's second game of the series at UGA. AU has won 10 of its last 11 games and are 5-2 in midweek contests thus far.
• Alabama and Auburn will meet for the 287th time on Tuesday evening in a series that dates back to 1896. The pairing will be the ninth all-time in the history of the MAX Capital City Classic. The Crimson Tide holds a 157-129 advantage all-time, with UA out front by a slight 24-23 margin in neutral site games. The Tigers have maintained a 7-1 advantage in the series at Riverwalk Stadium and have won two in a row.
• The Crimson Tide looks to freshman left-hander Garret Rukes in Tuesday's matchup. Rukes has made three starts on the season as part of his six total appearances. In the starting role, the southpaw is 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA (2 ER/16.1 IP) and has allowed 10 hits, while issuing two walks compared to nine strikeouts.
• The Tigers will throw freshman right-hander Christian Camacho on Tuesday evening. Camacho has made four appearances on the season, including three starts, and owns a 1-1 record with a 2.51 (4 ER/14.1 IP).
• Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on behalf of Alabama will be former Alabama baseball standout G.W. Keller (1997-99) and former Crimson Tide football great O.J. Howard (2013-16).
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
UA – Garret Rukes (Fr., LHP) vs. AU – Christian Camacho (Fr., RHP)
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• The Crimson Tide finished last week at 2-2, first taking down UAB at Regions Field on Tuesday before falling in two out of three games to seventh-ranked South Carolina in Columbia this past weekend. Alabama claimed a 4-2 victory in the series opener before falling in the final two games of the series with the Gamecocks.
• Alabama used a standout pitching performance paired with two home runs to secure the 4-2, series-opening win over South Carolina on Friday night. The Tide pitching duo of Jake Walters and Garrett Suchey tag-teamed for the win, while Cody Henry and Chandler Taylor each homered in the game to provide three of the Tide's four runs by game's end.
• SC recorded just two hits over the final eight innings after notching four to start the day in the first. Walters grinded through 5.1 innings of two-run baseball for the win, allowing four of five hits and both of his runs in the first inning without recording an out before giving up just one hit the rest of the night. Suchey followed with 3.2 scoreless innings to collect his second save of the season.
• Henry notched a solo homer while Taylor recorded two RBI with his shot to right to put Alabama in front 3-2. The Tide would add one more by game's end for the 4-2 win.
• The Tide suffered a 6-5, extra-innings loss to the Gamecocks on Saturday. SC staked itself to a four-run lead through six innings, scoring three in the fourth and one in the sixth, but UA did not sit idly by. Alabama scored two in the seventh, one in the eighth and two in the ninth to take the lead into the bottom of nine. In the final half inning of regulation, South Carolina scored one run to even things up before plating the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th.
• Alabama fell short on Sunday, suffering a 4-2 loss to the Gamecocks in the series finale. The two teams broke even twice on the afternoon before the Gamecocks plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win and the series victory.
• The Tide got an impressive performance from starter Nick Eicholtz, as the senior kept the ball down in the zone to collect three double plays and ground ball outs for 14 of his 17 outs on the day. Eicholtz tossed 104 pitches in the start, his longest outing of the season and the second-longest of his career.
• Three freshmen in Deacon Medders, Garret Rukes and Davis Vainer combined to limit the Blazers to only one unearned run on Tuesday evening, helping Alabama earn the 4-1 over UAB in Birmingham. Medders made his first career start, tossing 4.0 scoreless innings and allowing three hits and two walks while striking out three batters across his 53 pitches of work. Rukes followed with 3.1 scoreless frames to earn his second win of the season. The Tide's closer in Vainer entered for the final 1.2 innings to earn his third save of the year.
• UA's offense was led by Gene Wood's perfect 3-for-3 night that included one walk, an RBI and one run scored. Another multi-hit performance for the Tide came from Hunter Alexander, who finished 2-for-4 with a double and a team-leading two RBI. Connor Short extended his hitting streak to six games with a 1-for-3 night, collecting his second home run of the season, and contributing one RBI and a run scored.
• Wood led the Tide in hitting for the week, finishing with a .429 (6-14) average that included his first career home run, two RBI, three runs scored, a walk and one stolen base in as many attempts. Cody Henry contributed five hits, finishing 5-of-13 (.385) with two home runs, three RBI, three runs scored and three walks.
• Also highlighting the week was Connor Short, who batted .333 (4-12) with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. He collected at least one hit in all four games to extend his hitting streak to a team-long nine games.
• 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 – AUBURN
• Alabama and Auburn will meet for the 287th time when the two teams meet on Tuesday evening. The series between in-state rivals dates back to 1896, with the Crimson Tide holding the 157-129 all-time advantage.
• The Crimson Tide holds a slight 24-23 advantage in neutral site games, but is only 1-7 in the Capital City Classic. Auburn won the first five games before Alabama came away with a 4-3 win in 2014, but the Tigers have won the last two since.
• In 2016, the two teams split 2-2 across the four pairings. The Tigers first claimed a 10-1 victory on March 29 in the MAX Capital City Classic, before the Crimson Tide took two of three games from AU in Tuscaloosa from May 6-8.
• Alabama and Auburn will meet later this season from May 5-7 for three games at Plainsman Park in Auburn.
CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC SERIES HISTORY
• Alabama and Auburn will meet again in the Capital City Classic, the ninth time in the history of the event.
• Auburn owns the all-time CCC record, going 7-1 across the first eight contests. Below is a recap of all eight games:
+ 2016: Auburn 10, Alabama 1
                    Alabama had run scoring opportunities in each of the first three innings, but could not hold off the AU offense from building a 7-1 lead over that time.                     The Tigers notched single tallies in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings for the win.
      + 2015: Auburn 5, Alabama 3
                    The Tigers received a solid start from Keegan Thompson, with the righty tossing 7.1 frames and allowing three runs with 12 strikeouts. UA rallied in the                     ninth, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate but could not score.
      + 2014: Alabama 4, Auburn 3
                    The Tide scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth on a bunt from Ben Moore that led to an errant throw to first. Alabama's Thomas Burrows                     was named MVP for his 3.0 scoreless innings pitched.
       + 2013: Auburn 6, Alabama 3
                    Alabama committed three errors, leading to four unearned runs for Auburn.
       + 2012: Auburn 8, Alabama 3
                    Auburn put the game out of reach with three runs in the eighth inning to move ahead by five for the eventual 8-3 final.
      + 2011: Auburn 2, Alabama 1
                    The Tigers and Tide were knotted up at 1-1 until a two-out double in the second inning gave Auburn the final lead.
       + 2010: Auburn 8, Alabama 6
                    The score stayed at 5-4 from the fourth inning until the seventh, when an RBI single to center widened the gap for AU.
       + 2009: Auburn 8, Alabama 7
                    Auburn scored two runs in the ninth inning to erase a one-run deficit en route to an 8-7 win over Alabama.
ON DECK
Alabama returns home this weekend for its third SEC series of the 2017 season, as the Arkansas Razorbacks make their way to Tuscaloosa from March 31-April 2. The two teams will meet for a trio of games, first on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, followed by a 7 p.m. CT first pitch on Saturday. The Sunday series finale is slated for a 3 p.m. CT start. The series opener can be seen on SEC Network+, while the final two games of the weekend will air nationally on SEC Network.
