Alabama Welcomes No. 21 Arkansas to Sewell-Thomas Stadium this Weekend
3/30/2017 4:54:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Razorbacks will meet for the 83rd time on Friday evening
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama returns home for the first time in over a week to host 21st-ranked Arkansas for a three-game weekend series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide and Razorbacks are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start on Friday night followed by a 7 p.m. CT first pitch on Saturday. The Sunday finale is set for 3 p.m. CT at The Joe. The first matchup of the weekend can be seen on SEC Network+ with the Tide's duo of Eli Gold and Lance Cormier calling the game. The final two games of the series can be seen nationally on SEC Network with Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Mike Rooney (color) in the booth.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow this weekend's games via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+ (Friday) / SEC Network (Saturday & Sunday)
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
LEADING OFF
• Arkansas comes to Tuscaloosa with a 20-5 mark, including a 5-1 record in conference play. The Razorbacks have won eight of their last 10, including a sweep of Mississippi State to start SEC play followed by Friday and Sunday wins at Missouri to claim the series victory over the Tigers last weekend. Friday's series-opening win over Mizzou snapped the Tigers' win streak at 20 games.
• Alabama and Arkansas will meet for the 83rd time on Friday with the Crimson Tide holding a 46-36 advantage in the all-time series, and a 23-12 mark at home against the Razorbacks. Last season, the Tide swept Arkansas in Fayetteville for Alabama's first sweep of the Razorbacks since the 2009 season in Tuscaloosa.
• The Crimson Tide will call on its regular SEC weekend rotation of Jake Walters, Dylan Duarte and Nick Eicholtz. Walters, a right-handed junior, will start Friday's series opener and is followed by sophomore left-hander Duarte on Saturday. Eicholtz will get the nod in Sunday's series finale against the Razorbacks.
• The Razorbacks will used a pair of right-handers in the first two games of the weekend with Sunday's starter still to be announced. Sophomore Blaine Knight will get the call on Friday followed by junior Trevor Stephan in Saturday's matchup.
• This weekend with Arkansas features numerous promotions at The Joe. Friday's series opener will feature Nike True-Fitted on-field baseball caps given away to the first 300 fans through the gate. The first 150 students to enter Sewell-Thomas will receive Chuy's tacos along with chips and salsa. The series opener will be "High Tide Night" sponsored by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). SAAC collaborated with the UA Center for Service and Leadership to host an awareness week for human trafficking in partnership with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS). The first game of the weekend will also be College of Arts & Sciences Night. Saturday's game will continue the Tide's "Saturday Entertainment Series" with Casey Thrasher performing on the main concourse prior to game time. Former Heisman Trophy winner and current Tennessee Titan, Derrick Henry, will throw out the game's first pitch on Saturday, as well. The series finale is "PARA Day" and also "Kids' Day" at The Joe. Kid's Day will once again feature inflatables before and during the game, with kids (12-and-under) having the chance to run the bases and get autographs from members of the Crimson Tide post-game.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Jr., RHP) vs. ARK – Blaine Knight (So., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Dylan Duarte (So., LHP) vs. ARK – Trevor Stephan (Jr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Nick Eicholtz (Sr., RHP) vs. ARK – TBA Â
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• The Crimson Tide is 1-3 over its last four games. Alabama came out on top in the series opener at No. 7 South Carolina before falling in the final two games of the weekend in Columbia. Most recently, UA suffered a 4-3 loss to 18th-ranked Auburn in the annual MAX Capital City Classic in Montgomery on Tuesday evening.
• Tuesday's matchup favored Auburn, as the Tigers claimed a 4-3 win over Alabama in the non-conference pairing at Riverwalk Stadium. AU took an early lead with a three-run third inning, but Alabama answered back with single tallies in the third, fourth and fifth frames to make it a 3-3 contest. One run in the top of the sixth by Auburn ended the day's scoring and helped AU improve to 8-1 in the history of the Montgomery series.
• 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.
• UA 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.
• 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 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 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 – ARKANSAS
• Alabama and Arkansas will meet for the 83rd, 84th and 85th times this weekend, with the Crimson Tide holding a 46-36 lead in the all-time series.
• The Crimson Tide owns a 23-12 advantage in home games against the Razorbacks.
• The series is split at 5-5 over the last 10 pairings, with the two clubs exchanging sweeps on each other's home field in the most recent meetings. Arkansas swept Alabama from April 30-May 2 in Hoover in 2015, before the Tide returned the favor last season, taking all three games in Fayetteville from May 13-15.
• Last time the two squared off in Tuscaloosa in 2013, the Razorbacks won the first two games of the weekend for the series victory before Alabama avoided the sweep with a 5-0, shutout win on Sunday to avoid the sweep.
• Alabama head coach Greg Goff is 1-0 for his career against Arkansas.
ON DECK
Next up for the Crimson Tide is a home-and-home with in-state foe Troy on Tuesday and Wednesday. Alabama will travel south for an away game on Tuesday, April 4, at Troy, before the Trojans travel to Tuscaloosa for a Wednesday contest at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Both games are set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch, with Wednesday's matchup airing live on SEC Network+. The Wednesday matchup was rescheduled from the original pairing that was set for March 7 but was rescheduled due to weather concerns.
