Baseball Welcomes Alabama A&M to Tuscaloosa for Pair of Midweek Contests
3/12/2018 5:41:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs will meet for the sixth and seventh time in the history of the two programs on Tuesday and Wednesday evening
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball welcomes in-state foe Alabama A&M to Sewell-Thomas Stadium this week for back-to-back midweek contests on Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Both games are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network+.
Tuesday's first game of the series with the Bulldogs will be a "$2 Tuesday" at The Joe. All tickets are $2 for fans of all ages and can be purchased online or at the Alabama ticket office. The first 300 fans through the gates can also collect a Taco Mama coupon.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow this week's matchups via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Alabama A&M will meet for the sixth and seventh time in series history when the teams square off this week.
• The Crimson Tide leads the all-time series, 5-0. The first time the two programs met was for a three-game series from March 17-18, 2009, with Alabama sweeping A&M. The Tide won game one, 24-0, on Tuesday before a 6-1 and 12-0 victory in both games of the doubleheader on Wednesday.
• The most recent contest between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs came in a Tuesday doubleheader in Hoover on May 5, 2015. Alabama was victorious in each contest on the day with both wins coming by a 7-2 tally.
• Alabama A&M visits Tuscaloosa with a 5-10 overall mark, including a 2-4 record in SWAC play. The Bulldogs began the season splitting a pair of home games against Fort Wayne. A&M followed with a midweek win over Murray State, 4-1, before suffering a series sweep by Morehead State. The Bulldogs then traveled to Columbia to take on Missouri, falling in both games of the midweek pairing with the Tigers. Jackson State then visited Huntsville, sweeping A&M in a weekend series.
•The Bulldogs are coming off a series win over Alabama State this past weekend. The Hornets claimed the win in the opener, 5-4, before A&M rallied for a 7-6 and 3-0 win in the final two games of the series.
• Alabama will call on junior right-hander Mason Duke for the start on Tuesday. Duke has started one game this season, working 5.0 innings and striking out seven against Alabama State on Feb. 28 for his first career win as a member of the Crimson Tide. Wednesday's starter is to be determined.
• Alabama A&M has not announced a starter for both of the midweek pairings.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
TUESDAY: UA – Mason Duke (Jr., RHP) vs. AAMU – TBA
WEDNESDAY: UA – TBA vs. AAMU – TBA
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama wrapped up last week at 3-1 overall. The Crimson Tide kicked things off with a 3-0 shutout win over 15th-ranked Southern Miss on Wednesday before clinching its weekend series with New Mexico State, 2-1.
• Five Crimson Tide pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout win over No. 15 Southern Miss by a score of 3-0 on Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa. Alabama's pitching shut down the powerful Golden Eagles offense, beginning with Garrett Rukes throwing 3.0 innings of scoreless baseball in the start.
• Rukes was replaced by Brock Love, who worked 2.0 no-hit frames, striking out a team-high three batters en route to earning his first win of the season. Left-hander Dylan Duarte closed out the game with his first save of the season, as the junior pitched the final inning to secure the win for the Tide.
• Alabama and New Mexico State split the Friday doubleheader at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Aggies came away with a 3-0 shutout win in the series opener before the Crimson Tide answered with a 3-1 victory in the nightcap of the twinbill.
• UA fell to New Mexico State, 3-0, in the first game of the doubleheader for its first loss at home this season.
• The Crimson Tide used a gutsy performance from starter Jake Walters followed by a scoreless outing from the Tide bullpen in UA's 3-1 win over NMSU in game two. Walters grinded out 5.1 innings of one-run baseball, allowing four hits and five walks while punching out five.
• Walters was followed by Brock Guffey and Deacon Medders, with the duo tossing the final 3.2 innings and holding the Aggies scoreless. Medders earned his second save of the season thanks to 3.0 frames. The bullpen's standout effort marked the seventh game this season that the Tide relievers have not given up a run.
• Five runs across the final four innings, highlighted by a three-run seventh, helped Alabama clinch the 5-2 victory and series win over New Mexico State on Saturday. Alabama's offense was paced by Chandler Avant's 3-for-4 day that included a career-high three doubles to go along with his team-leading two runs scored and two RBI. Jett Manning also contributed a pair of RBI as part of his 1-for-3 outing with one walk.
• On the hill, Davis Vainer earned his second win of the season thanks to a career-long 4.0 innings of work. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits and a walk while striking out three Aggie hitters. Duarte tallied his second save of the week and season, throwing the final inning.
• Alabama returned 21 letterwinners while losing 11 from the 2017 squad. The 2018 Crimson Tide welcomed back eight positional starters and three starting pitchers while hosting 11 newcomers (including one transfer who sat out last season).
SCOUTING ALABAMA A&M
• Alabama A&M finished 2017 at 12-45 overall and third in the SWAC Eastern Division standings with a 9-15 mark.
• The Bulldogs were selected to finish fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Eastern Division in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the league coaches and sports information directors.
• Mitch Hill is in his fourth year as head coach of the Bulldogs after spending the 2013 season as an assistant at A&M. A 2007 graduate of North Alabama, Hill is assisted by Manny Lora and Rick Bragg.
• Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical (Alabama A&M) University is a public university located in Huntsville, Ala., and boasts an enrollment of 4,605 students. Opened on May 1, 1875, the name Alabama A&M College was officially adopted in 1958 before renaming itself as the current Alabama A&M University in June 1969.
ALABAMA VS. THE SWAC
• The Crimson Tide will face Alabama A&M for the sixth and seventh time in series history. Alabama is a perfect 5-0 all-time against AAMU with the last meeting coming in 2015 for a doubleheader in Hoover.
• Alabama has squared off with eight of the 10 current SWAC member teams, holding an 81-6 mark against those programs. The only two teams UA has not played are Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern.
• Mississippi Valley State has paired with the Tide the most, with Alabama holding a 22-1 advantage in the series. Closely behind is Alcorn State, who the Tide has a 21-1 mark against. UA is perfect against Alabama A&M (5-0), Alabama State (7-0), Grambling (1-0) and Southern (4-0). The Tide is 6-1 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and 15-3 vs. Jackson State to round out the current conference members.
• The last time Alabama paired with a SWAC school was on Wednesday, Feb. 28 of this season against Alabama State in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide came away with an 11-1 midweek victory. UA collected 14 hits and scored eight runs across the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to secure the victory. Junior Mason Duke made his first career start, tossing 5.0 scoreless innings of one-hit baseball, striking out seven across 60 pitches of work on the way to his first career win at Alabama.
ON DECK
Following the Crimson Tide's midweek pairing with A&M, Alabama will welcome Georgia to Sewell-Thomas Stadium to kick off Southeastern Conference play this weekend. Friday's matchup is slated for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch with Saturday's contest scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday's series finale is set for a 2 p.m. start. All three games of the weekend with the Bulldogs will air nationally on the SEC Network.
