Second Consecutive SEC Roadtrip Sends Baseball to College Station for Series with Texas A&M
4/11/2018 1:05:00 PM | Baseball
The Crimson Tide and Aggies will meet for the 19th time in series history when the teams square off on Thursday evening
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball returns to the road for a second consecutive weekend in SEC play, traveling to College Station to square off with Texas A&M. The series will begin on Thursday evening with an 8 p.m. CT first pitch on ESPNU. Games two and three will both air on SEC Network+ with Friday's matchup set for 6:30 p.m. and the series finale on Saturday slated to begin at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow the series via the below outlets:
Watch: ESPNU (Thursday) / SEC Network+ (Friday and Saturday)
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: 12thMan.com
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LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Texas A&M will meet for the 19th, 20th and 21st time in series history when the teams square off this weekend in College Station. The series matchup serves as the Crimson Tide's second of back-to-back SEC road series.Â
• The Aggies own the all-time advantage, 12-6, and are 6-3 when hosting the Crimson Tide in College Station. Following the Aggies' entrance into the SEC in 2012, Alabama won the first two series between the squads on April 26-27, 2013, in Tuscaloosa, and April 4-6, 2014, in College Station, but have fallen in the three most recent three-game sets between the schools.
• The last pairing between the two schools came in 2017, when Texas traveled to Tuscaloosa for a three-game series from April 13-15. The Aggies swept the Crimson Tide at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• Alabama last traveled to College Station from April 22-24, 2016, winning one of the weekend's three games. The Crimson Tide was walked off in the bookend games of the series by the third-ranked Aggies despite standout pitching performances from the UA starters.
• Texas A&M welcomes the Tide to College Station at 24-9 overall, including a 5-7 conference record and a solid 18-4 mark at Blue Bell Park to earn the nation's No. 19 ranking in the latest USA Today Coaches poll. Last weekend, Texas A&M hosted then-No. 20 LSU, winning the final two games of the three-game matchup to claim the series win.Â
• Last time out, the Aggies defeated Texas, 6-5, on Tuesday evening in College Station. The Aggies totaled six runs on nine hits and six walks to hold on and secure the victory over the rival Longhorns.Â
• Alabama continues its regular rotation for the three-game set. Junior right-hander Sam Finnerty will get the start in the series opener on Thursday and will be followed by senior righty Jake Walters on Friday. Redshirt-freshman Garret Rukes will get the call on Saturday, with the left-hander scheduled to close out the three-game set.
• Texas A&M will send sophomore left-hander John Doxakis to the mound to start the three-game set on Thursday, and he will be followed by junior Mitchell Kilkenny, a right-hander, on Friday. The Saturday starter for the Aggies is still to be announced.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
THURSDAY: UA – Sam Finnerty (Jr., RHP) vs. A&M – John Doxakis (So., LHP)
FRIDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Sr., RHP) vs. A&M – Mitchell Kilkenny (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Garret Rukes (R-Fr., LHP) vs. A&M – TBA
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama travels to College Station with a 3-1 mark over the last four games. The Crimson Tide claimed a series victory over a ranked Missouri Team last weekend, winning the bookend games of the three-game matchup to earn its second consecutive SEC series win over a ranked opponent. Most recently, Alabama took down UAB, 12-2, on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• Nine extra-base hits and three big innings powered Alabama to a 12-3 victory over UAB on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide offense recorded three big innings, highlighted by a six-run fourth. Alabama added three-run frames in the second and fifth innings to secure the victory.
• The Tide offense totaled 11 hits – the 14th time this season has registered double-digit hit totals – with nine of those knocks going for extra bases to set a new season-high mark. Seven of the Tide's extra-base hits were doubles, also registering a new season high for UA.
• Twelve of the 13 Tide batters reached base safely against the Blazers, including all nine starters. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit, with junior Matt Malkin leading the offensive effort thanks to a 3-for-6 night that included two doubles and a home run. Malkin added an Alabama season-high six RBI and collected three runs to go with a walk. Also contributing a multi-hit effort was Cobie Vance, with the junior finishing 2-for-4 with one double, a home run, two RBI and a run scored.
• On Friday in Columbia, Alabama combined a standout pitching performance, solid defense behind the arms and timely hitting for the 2-1 win over Missouri on a blistery afternoon at Taylor Stadium. Tide starter Sam Finnerty allowed only one earned run in 7.0 innings to collect his team-leading fourth win of the season. The right-hander gave up 10 hits and issued a walk while striking out one Tiger hitter across his season-high tying 102 pitches of work.
• Finnerty handed the ball over to Deacon Medders, with the sophomore earning his team-high fifth save of the season thanks to 2.0 scoreless frames. The pitchers were complemented by a clean effort behind them in the field, with the defense turning a season-high three double plays and not committing an error on the day. The defensive performance allowed the Tide to get out of some tough situations, stranding a combined eight Missouri runners. Chandler Avant paced the Crimson Tide in hits, going 2-for-4 for his team-high 16th multi-hit effort of the season.
• The Saturday doubleheader between Alabama baseball and Missouri was split as the Tigers won game one, 1-0, before the Crimson Tide bounced back for a 5-1 victory in game two. With a Friday victory already in hand, the Tide earned the series win by day's end.
• The Crimson Tide suffered a 1-0 shutout loss to the Tigers in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. The two teams went scoreless until the eighth, when a Tide miscue in the outfield allowed the leadoff hitter for Missouri to reach before eventually coming around to score the game-winning run.
• Jake Walters was brilliant in game one. The senior worked 6.1 scoreless innings of four-hit baseball to keep the Tide even with the Tigers. Walters struck out a season-high 12, including the first eight hitters he faced, and issued only two walks. The 12 punchouts fell one short of matching his career-high mark for a single game and were his most in an SEC start for his career. Walters was one-upped by Missouri starter Scott Plassmeyer, who earned the win with a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits and striking out seven.
• Alabama took down Missouri, 5-1, in game two of Saturday's twinbill to secure the series win over the Tigers. The Crimson Tide used two hits and an error to cross three runs in the third and put the game out of reach early. Missouri answered with one run in the sixth, but the Alabama bullpen was able to limit the damage. The Tide bats added two more insurance runs in the ninth to ensure the series-clinching win in the nightcap.
• Kyle Cameron got the win, providing the Tide with a career-long 5.0 innings of one-run baseball. The right-hander gave up three hits and a walk while striking out a career-high tying three batters in the effort. Medders tallied his second save of the weekend and his sixth of the season. The sophomore right-hander shut the door over the final 1.1 innings, allowing a hit and striking out one Tiger batter. On offense, Vance led the way with a career-high tying four hits as part of his 4-for-5 game that included an RBI, one run and a stolen base.
• With the lone loss in Columbia, Alabama has now fallen by one run in five of its seven conference losses and has lost by a combined 11 runs in its seven losses overall.
• 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).
ABOUT TEXAS A&M
• Texas A&M returned 16 letterwinners, including five positional starters and nine pitchers, from a 2017 squad that finished 41-23 overall and 16-14 in the SEC, earning the No. 8 team national ranking in three major postseason polls. The Aggies' 2017 campaign ended in Omaha, with A&M going 0-2 at the College World Series. The 2018 roster is without 14 letterwinners from a season ago, a number that includes five positional starters and five pitchers, while A&M welcomes 17 newcomers.
• The Aggies were selected to finish tied for fourth overall and second in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
• Rob Childress is in his 13th season as the head coach of the Texas A&M baseball program. Over his career, Childress has led the Aggies to a school-record 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. A 1990 graduate of Northwood University, he is assisted by Justin Seely and Will Bolt along with volunteer assistant coach Jeff Christy.
• Aggie baseball was founded in 1894, with the program holding a 2,655-1,483-42 record entering the 2018 season. Texas A&M has made 33 NCAA postseason appearances, advancing to the College World Series six times, while owning 24 conference championships across their time in three separate conferences (SWC, Big 12 and SEC).
• Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas, and boasts an enrollment of 68,625. Founded in 1872, it is the second-largest public university by enrollment in the United States.
ON DECK
Next up for Alabama is a pair of midweek games at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide will first host Samford on Tuesday evening and then welcome Alcorn State to The Joe on Wednesday night. Both games are set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch and will air live on SEC Network+.
