Baseball Set for Midweek Matchup with Middle Tennessee
2/19/2018 4:04:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Blue Raiders will meet for the 27th time in the history of the two programs
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama hosts Middle Tennessee this Tuesday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium for a single midweek contest. The Crimson Tide and Blue Raiders are set for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch at The Joe with the game airing on SEC Network+.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow Tuesday's matchup via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Middle Tennessee will meet for the 27th time in the history of the two programs when the Crimson Tide and Blue Raiders match up on Tuesday afternoon. The Crimson Tide holds a 17-9 advantage in series history, including a 13-7 mark in games played at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, and is currently riding a two-game win streak. The teams will square off for the first time in 21 years after meeting every season from 1986-97.
• Middle Tennessee is coming off a weekend sweep of Western Illinois and sports a 3-0 mark on the season.
• The Crimson Tide will look to Garret Rukes, a redshirt freshman left-hander, for the start on Tuesday evening. Rukes will be making his first appearance since undergoing elbow surgery last season after making seven appearances, including four starts as a true freshman.
• The Blue Raiders are scheduled to start junior righty Carson Lester in the midday game.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
TUESDAY: UA – Garret Rukes (R-Fr., LHP) vs. MT – Carson Lester (Jr., RHP)
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama is coming off a perfect opening weekend to start the 2018 campaign, sweeping Valparaiso across a three-game series in Tuscaloosa.
• Across the first three games of 2018, the Crimson Tide accumulated 41 hits, 16 of which went for extra bases, and added 34 runs on the way to the series sweep. The 41 hits were the most across a three-game stretch by the Crimson Tide since May 8-10, 2015, when Alabama totaled 43 hits in the weekend sweep of Auburn on the Plains. The 16 extra-base hits were the most for a Tide offense spanning a three-game stretch since March 18-21, 2014, when the Tide also had 16 in two games vs. Alcorn State and the series-opener with Arkansas.
• The bullpen played a crucial role during the series sweep, tossing 11.1 scoreless innings of work after giving up one run in the first relief inning of the year. The relievers collected two of the Tide's three wins and collected one save in the process.
• Friday featured a 16-2 win in the series opener. The Crimson Tide used 17 hits to score 16 runs with each of the starters scoring at least one run and eight of the nine starters collecting at least one hit.
• Alabama's 16 runs were its most in a season-opening game since 1958 when UA took down Tulane, 20-1, at Tulane on March 28, and the run total was also the highest for the Crimson Tide in home opener since 1968 when UA defeated Livingston on March 18 by a score of 17-2.
• The 16 runs under the direction of Bohannon were the third most in a head coaching debut in program history and the most since Joseph Black's 1898 team defeated Massey's Business College, 20-3.
• Alabama's offense on Opening Day was highlighted by three-hit efforts from Cobie Vance, who went 3-for-4 with a double, RBI, walk and two runs scored, and Jett Manning, with the shortstop finishing a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run, a team-high three RBI and two runs scored. Sam Finnerty earned his first win of the season behind a strong outing that saw the junior go a career-long 6.0 innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
• With runners on first and second and two down, Joe Breaux lined a single to right field to plate the winning run and walk it off, 6-5, for Alabama on Saturday. The Crimson Tide entered the ninth with the score even at 5-5 before a hit-by-pitch and bunt single put two on for the Tide. Two outs later, a single through the right side from Breaux brought in the winning run.
• The duo of Kyle Cameron and Dylan Duarte shut down the Valpo offense over the final four frames after an early exit from the UA starter, holding the Crusaders scoreless. Duarte earned his first victory of the season with 1.1 frames of hitless work that included a strike.
• Alabama secured the series sweep with a 12-6 win on Sunday. The offense provided some late insurance runs after the Tide was forced to call on its bullpen early in the winning effort. Holcombe paced the offense, finishing a perfect 4-for-4 with a walk, coming up a double short of the cycle.
• The Crimson Tide bullpen dominated after an early exit from the starter once again, with Davis Vainer and Brock Guffey working the final 5.1 innings and allowing only two hits while striking out seven. Vainer tossed a career-high tying 3.2 frames, giving up two hits and issuing one walk while adding four strikeouts for his first career win. Guffey followed with 1.2 innings of no-hit baseball, finishing the game with three of his five outs coming by way of the strikeout for the save.
• Alabama returns 21 letterwinners while losing 11 from the 2017 squad. The 2018 Crimson Tide welcomes back eight positional starters and three starting pitchers while hosting 11 newcomers (including transfers who sat out last season).
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
• Middle Tennessee returns 20 letterwinners, including five positional starters and nine pitchers with four starting pitchers, from the 2017 squad that finished 24-31 overall and 10-20 in Conference USA play. The 2018 roster is without 13 letterwinners from a season ago, a number that is comprised of four positional starters and eight pitchers - three of which were starters, while MT welcomes 12 newcomers.
• The Blue Raiders were selected to finish ninth overall in Conference USA in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the league coaches.
• Jim McGuire is now in his sixth season with Middle Tennessee and his 10th season overall as a head coach. A 1985 graduate of Cumberland University, McGuire holds a 138-148 record at the helm of the Blue Raider program and a 358-264 record across his head coaching career.
• Middle Tennessee State University is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and boasts an enrollment of 22,050 students. It was founded in 1911 as Middle Tennessee Normal School and was advanced to university status in 1965.
ALABAMA VS. CONFERENCE USA
• The Crimson Tide will square off with Middle Tennessee for the 27th time in the history of the two programs on Tuesday.
• Alabama has faced off with 10 of the current 12 member teams, never having faced Charlotte or Texas-San Antonio.
• The Crimson Tide holds an advantage over nine of the 10 teams in C-USA which it has faced. The only team to one-up the Tide is Florida Atlantic, who are 5-4 in all-time against Alabama.
• UA has squared off with Southern Miss the most of any current member, maintaining a 73-31 (.702) mark against the Golden Eagles. The Tide also holds a 50-24 (.676) advantage over in-state foe, UAB, who has paired with Alabama the second most.
• Alabama holds a perfect record against Florida International (4-0), Marshall (3-0), Old Dominion (1-0) and Rice (2-0). The Tide is 12-2 (.857) against Louisiana Tech and 11-6 (.647) in games with Western Kentucky.
ON DECK
Alabama will wrap up its current seven-game homestand with a three-game series against the Washington State Cougars from Friday, Feb. 23 through Sunday, Feb. 25. The Crimson Tide and Cougars are set for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch on Friday with a 1 p.m. CT start to follow on Saturday afternoon. The Sunday contest is slated for a 9 a.m. CT first pitch at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. All three games will air live on SEC Network+.
