| BSB/SB 10-Game Homestand for Baseball- 12-6 win Weds. over Middle TN State

[UA Press Release]

Consecutive Midweeks Begin 10-Game Homestand for Baseball - University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama baseball begins a 10-game homestand this week when the Crimson Tide plays host to UT-Martin on Tuesday before welcoming Middle Tennessee to Sewell-Thomas

rolltide.com

The Crimson Tide will host UT-Martin on Tuesday before welcoming Middle Tennessee on Wednesday

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball begins a 10-game homestand this week when the Crimson Tide plays host to UT-Martin on Tuesday before welcoming Middle Tennessee to Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Wednesday. Both contests are set for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch and will air live on SEC Network+.

The Tuesday matchup with UT-Martin will feature the Crimson Tide's "$2 Tuesday" promotion. The deal is one of Alabama's season-long promotions at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The "$2 Tuesday" promotion allows fans to purchase $2 general admission tickets at the gates or online. Once inside The Joe, those in attendance can take advantage of $2 hot dogs at all concession stands.

Follow the Tide
Fans can follow the midweek matchups via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
TUESDAY: UA – Dylan Smith (So., RHP) vs. UTM – Austin Kasick (Fr., LHP)
WEDNESDAY: UA – William Freeman (Sr., RHP) vs. MTSU – Zach Keenan (Jr., RHP)

Leading Off
• Alabama and UT-Martin will meet for the first time in series history when the two teams square off on Tuesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• The Tide has squared off with nine of the 11 member teams from the Ohio Valley Conference, missing only SIUE and UT-Martin. Alabama holds a 71-19 all-time record against the current OVC teams and has a winning record against each of those nine schools. The most commonly played OVC team is Jacksonville State with UA holding a 31-10 mark against the Gamecocks.
• Alabama and Middle Tennessee will meet for the 29th time in series history when the two teams square off on Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time series advantage, 19-9, as well as a 15-7 lead in games played in Tuscaloosa.
• The Tide and Blue Raiders last met on March 12, 2019 at The Joe. Alabama secured a 2-0 win in the midweek affair, using a combination of five arms in the shutout effort.
• Alabama will utilize a pair of righties in the midweeks. The Crimson Tide will first look to sophomore Dylan Smith on Tuesday against the Skyhawks before calling on senior William Freeman in Wednesday's pairing with the Blue Raiders.
• Tennessee-Martin will send freshman left-hander Austin Kasick to the mound on Tuesday. Kasick will be making his first career start and has appeared just once this season.
• Middle Tennessee looks to junior Zach Keenan, a right-hander, in Wednesday's contest. Keenan is 1-1 on the year and will be making his second start for the Blue Raiders.

About Alabama
• Alabama went 4-0 on the week to continue its undefeated start to the season. The Crimson Tide first started with a 10-3 win over Alabama State on Wednesday, before sweeping UNLV in Las Vegas over the weekend.
• A pair of four-run innings helped Alabama secure the 10-3 win over Alabama State on Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama jumped out to a four-run lead after one inning, added two in the third and then piled on four more in the bottom of the eighth to lock down the midweek victory.
• The offense combined to score a season-high tying 10 runs on eight hits and six walks, led by the Tide's 5-6-7 hitters in junior Tyler Gentry and freshmen Owen Diodati and Zane Denton. The group combined for five of UA's eight hits in addition to contributing five RBI and three runs scored.
• Alabama baseball finished Friday's doubleheader with a two-game sweep and clinched the series win over UNLV. The Tide took game one by a score of 8-0 before a late-game comeback helped UA to a 5-4 victory in the nightcap.
• Connor Prielipp shined once again on Friday, striking out a season-high eight and walking just one while retiring 14 straight before allowing the free pass. The left-hander worked 5.0 frames and then handed it over to the duo of sophomore Tyler Ras and junior Ryan O'Connell.
• Alabama's bats produced nine hits, including three solo home runs. Two of the solo homers came from redshirt sophomore Sam Praytor. The Tide catcher finished a perfect 3-for-3 with two roundtrippers, two RBI, a pair of runs scored and an intentional walk. The other solo home run came from Brett Auerbach. The senior went 1-for-4 with two RBI, a pair of runs and his team-leading fourth stolen base of the season.
• A ninth-inning, game-winning home run from junior Jackson Tate completed the comeback as the Tide came away with a 5-4 win in the day's second game. Alabama took a 1-0 lead after one but was matched in the home half by UNLV. The Tide added single tallies in the second and third but were countered once again by the Rebels, making it a 3-3 contest after three full. In the fourth, UNLV took a one-run lead before both teams went quiet until the eighth. In that eighth inning, Alabama was able to tie things up and then used the Tate homer in the ninth to move ahead for good.
• The bullpen kept the Tide in the game. Casey Cobb was first to enter, working 2.0 innings of scoreless baseball with four strikeouts. The senior was followed by junior Brock Guffey who picked up his first win of the season with 1.0 scoreless frame, using just 10 pitches to get out of the inning. Chase Lee entered for the save as the sophomore recorded a strikeout and two groundouts to send the Tide home with a Friday sweep.
• A trio of home runs led Alabama baseball to a 5-1 victory over UNLV on Sunday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. Gentry homered twice on Sunday, finishing 2-for-4 with a career-high tying four RBI and two runs scored. Also homering was Praytor, who went 1-for-3 with a solo shot. The home run for Praytor was his third of the weekend following a two-homer performance in game one of Friday's doubleheader with the Rebels.
• The Tide arms were good once again. Freshman Antoine Jean picked up his second win of the season with 4.0 innings of one-run baseball. He was followed by sophomore Jacob McNairy and redshirt freshman Landon Green. The duo combined for 5.0 scoreless frames, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out three UNLV batters.
• Alabama returns 20 letterwinners while losing 13 from the 2019 squad. The 2020 Crimson Tide welcomes back six positional starters and 11 total pitchers while hosting 16 newcomers.

About UT-Martin
• Ryan Jenkins is in his third season as head coach for the Skyhawks with an overall record of 36-71 coming into the 2020 campaign. A 2013 graduate of Auburn, Jenkins is joined by associate head coach Matt Heath, assistant coach Hunter Morris and volunteer assistant Caleb Brewer.
• The Skyhawks returns 18 letterwinners from the 2019 team that finished 25-31 overall and 12-18 in OVC action to finish eighth in the conference. The 2020 roster is without 16 lettermen from and features 21 newcomers.
• UT-Martin was selected to finish 10th overall in the Ohio Valley Conference in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

About Middle Tennessee
• Jim Toman is starting his second season with the Blue Raiders in 2020 and went 18-37 in his first season in Murfreesboro. Toman is joined by associate head coach Kyle Bunn, assistant coach Blake Hunt and volunteer assistant coach John Panchella. Bunn spent one season as the pitching coach for the Crimson Tide in 2010 under Mitch Gaspard, helping UA to an NCAA Regional appearance.
• The Blue Raiders were selected to finish 12th overall in Conference USA in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.



On Deck
The Crimson Tide will continue its long homestand this weekend when Alabama hosts Harvard for a three-game set. The series kicks off on Friday at 3 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday. The two teams are set for a 10:30 a.m. first pitch in the finale on Sunday. All three games can be seen live on SEC Network+.

 

[UA Press Release]

Bullpen, Late Runs Help Baseball Pull Away from UT-Martin for 10-5 Win on Tuesday - University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama baseball picked up a 10-5 win over UT-Martin on Tuesday, using a pair of two-run innings in the fourth and sixth innings to pull away. With the victory,

rolltide.com

Tide jumped out front early and used a pair of two-run innings in the fourth and sixth to secure the win

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Tennessee-Martin	0	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	5	12	1
Alabama	1	4	1	2	0	2	0	0	X	10	11	0

W: Garret Rukes (1-0) L: KASICK, Austin (0-1)


TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball picked up a 10-5 win over UT-Martin on Tuesday, using a pair of two-run innings in the fourth and sixth innings to pull away. With the victory, the Crimson Tide is now 8-0 to start the season.

Alabama got up 5-1 after two innings but a three-run third by UT-Martin made things close. The Tide countered with one in the home half of the third and used two in the fourth and a pair in the sixth to secure the midweek win. The Crimson Tide was able to hang on thanks to 6.2 solid innings from its bullpen. Leading the way was redshirt junior Garret Rukes (1-0), who contributed 3.2 innings of shutout baseball, allowing just one hit and a walk while striking out a career-high six batters for the win.

The Tide's bats continued to stay hot, producing 10 runs on 11 hits. Pacing the offense was Owen Diodati. The freshman finished 2-for-5 with his team-leading fourth home run of the season. He also added two RBI and a run scored. Matching him in hits was senior Brett Auerbach, who finished 2-for-3 with a team-high tying two runs and a stolen base. Rounding out the multi-hit efforts was catcher Sam Praytor. The redshirt sophomore went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon
"I'm really glad to get the win today. I thought UT-Martin was a really competitive group. I'm really proud of our offense – we scored in five different innings which has kind of been a consistent theme as of late. Obviously, the story of the game was (Garret) Rukes and the bullpen giving us 6.2 innings with one walk and one run. We've pitched really well in the bullpen up to this point this year, and if we continue to do that, then we will continue to win our share of games. This was a good win for us."

How It Happened

• B1 | Auerbach led the game off with a walk. A single moved him to third before a sacrifice fly from junior Tyler Gentry brought in the Tide's first run. (1-0, Alabama)
• T2 | With a runner on, a two-out single to left got UT-Martin on the board. (1-1)
• B2 | T.J. Reeves walked to start the second and moved into scoring position when freshman Jim Jarvis was hit by a pitch. The duo moved up 90 feet on a double steal before Kolby Robinson delivered a two-RBI double. Robinson, a senior, would come home one out later when Diodati went deep for a two-run shot. (5-1, Alabama)
• T3 | UT-Martin began the frame with a solo home run. After a double and a walk, another double, this one with one down, scored one more. Following an Alabama pitching change, the Skyhawks grounded into a 4-3 fielder's choice for the inning's second out, but another UTM run. (5-4, Alabama)
• B3 | A two-out double from freshman Myles Austin kept the inning alive. Jarvis joined his fellow freshman with a hit, this one to center to score Austin and make it a two-run lead. (6-4, Alabama)
• B4 | Auerbach led things off with a walk before stealing second to move into scoring position. One out later, Gentry was hit by a pitch before Praytor drew a walk. Following a pitching change and the inning's second out, Reeves grounded to third but an errant throw by the UTM third baseman brought in a pair to extend the Tide advantage. (8-4, Alabama)
• B6 | Gentry began the inning with a walk and moved to third on a double from Praytor. A single up the middle from freshman Zane Denton brought across the two runners and widened the gap for the Crimson Tide. (10-4, Alabama)
• T7 | A solo home run from the Skyhawks led off the inning and capped the night's scoring. (10-5, Alabama)

Postgame Notes

• Alabama is 8-0 to start the year. That is the Crimson Tide's second-best start to a season under Brad Bohannon. The 2018 squad began the year 9-0 in Bohannon's first season at the helm.
• Garret Rukes worked 3.2 innings, his longest outing since March 19, 2017, when he tossed 3.2 against Missouri.
• Rukes also struck out a career-high six batters on the night. His previous high for punchouts was five, which he had on two occasions, most recently at Samford on May 14, 2019.
• The win for Rukes was his first since April 16, 2019.
• Alabama has now recorded double-digit hits in five games this season, including four of the five matchups at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• The Crimson Tide hitters have now recorded at least one home run in seven of eight games with multiple homers in four of those contests.
• All but one starter recorded a hit on the night.
• Eight of nine starters totaled at least one run scored.
• Owen Diodati tallied his team-leading fourth home run of the season.
• Kolby Robinson's 1-for-4 day extended his hitting streak to seven games, the longest by any member of the Crimson Tide this season. Across those seven games, Robinson is batting .346 (9-26) with four doubles, five RBI, three runs scored, two hit-by-pitch and a stolen base.
• Tyler Gentry finished his day a perfect 1-for-1 with two walks, a hit-by-pitch and a sac fly.
• ATTENDANCE: 2,398

The Crimson Tide returns to The Joe tomorrow afternoon for a matchup with the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. First pitch of the midweek is set for 3 p.m. CT with the game airing live on SEC Network+.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabmaBSB on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook at Alabama Baseball. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.

 

[UA Press Release]

Ten Runs in the Middle Innings Help Baseball Cruise to the 12-6 Win over Middle Tennessee on Wednesday - University of Alabama Athletics

Despite falling behind early, Alabama baseball posted 10 runs across the middle innings to cruise to an eventual 12-6 win over Middle Tennessee on Wednesday afternoon

rolltide.com

The Tide scored in five consecutive innings, including 10 runs across the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to secure the win

Score By Periods

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Middle Tennessee	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	6	10	2
Alabama	0	0	1	1	5	1	4	0	X	12	15	2

W: Casey Cobb (1-0) L: Austin Cheeley (0-1)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Despite falling behind early, Alabama baseball posted 10 runs across the middle innings to cruise to an eventual 12-6 win over Middle Tennessee on Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The win over the Blue Raiders moved UA to a perfect 9-0 on the year, tying for the fourth-best start to a season in program history.

Middle Tennessee got in front 3-0 in the top of the second, but Alabama steadily chipped away before eventually moving forward in the fifth. The Tide gained its lead by scoring in five consecutive innings, starting in the third. UA put up one apiece in the third and fourth but MTSU countered with one in the fifth. Trailing by two, Alabama exploded for a five-run fifth while adding one in the sixth and four in the seventh to secure the win. The Blue Raiders would add two more in the ninth, but it was not enough, as the Tide finished off the 12-6 midweek victory.

The offense posted season-high marks in hits and runs, with 15 and 12, respectively. Alabama was led at the plate by freshman Peyton Wilson. The Tide catcher finished a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base. Trailing closely behind was junior Tyler Gentry and sophomore Drew Williamson, who each posted three-hit efforts and contributed two runs apiece.

Casey Cobb (1-0) picked up the win on Wednesday night. The Alabama senior entered in a tough spot in the second but worked a career-long 4.1 frames, allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out three. The win was Cobb's first of the season and second of his Crimson Tide career.

From Head Coach Brad Bohannon
"That was a really good win for us on a day that we certainly weren't perfect. It was kind of a similar story to yesterday. Casey (Cobb) was fabulous. He came in and pitched well for us, really settled the game down. The message I told our team is that we all really believe in our offensive group and don't feel like we're ever out of it. Casey did a great job giving us a chance to get back in there, and he allowed us to go on and score for five straight innings; that's hard to do. They only walked us three times today, so to score 12 runs and to score them in five straight, is pretty impressive. We need to tighten some things up, and I'm excited to have a day to practice tomorrow. We haven't been able to practice because we've been playing so much. We'll use that practice time to get some things tightened up and then play Harvard this weekend."

How It Happened

• T2 | Middle Tennessee drew a one-out walk and followed with a single. The pair moved into scoring position on a wild pitch before a triple to left-center got the Blue Raiders on the board. The man from third came home one out later on a wild pitch to put MT in front early. (3-0, Middle Tennessee)
• B3 | Wilson began the inning with a double off the top of the wall, just missing a home run. He advanced to third on an infield groundout before coming home in the next at-bat on another groundout. (3-1, Middle Tennessee)
• B4 | Williamson singled with two down to give the Tide life. Junior Jackson Tate then brought home the sophomore with a triple to left-center to narrow the gap to one. (3-2, Middle Tennessee)
• T5 | A pair of singles with an out sandwiched in between put runners on the corners for MTSU. A fielder's choice went for out number two but also brought in one more Blue Raider run. (4-2, Middle Tennessee)
• B5 | Wilson singled to start the inning with the ball going through the right fielder's legs, allowing the freshman to move to third. Fellow freshman Jim Jarvis brought him home in the next at-bat with an RBI-double to right-center. A flyout brought Owen Diodati to the plate with the freshman doubling to score Jarvis and even things up. Following a hit-by-pitch, redshirt sophomore Sam Praytor cleared the bases with a three-run, go-ahead home run. (7-4, Alabama)
• B6 | With runners on the corners, a double play cut down two but brought in one more for the Crimson Tide. (8-4, Alabama)
• B7 | Gentry led things off with a single and was followed by Praytor, who was hit by the pitch. Williamson singled to load the bases before a wild pitch moved the group one base. A balk in the same at-bat moved another run across and forced an MTSU pitching change. A pair of strikeouts followed before Wilson singled to right to score Williamson from third. The Tide catcher then stolen second and came home on a Jarvis single to center. (12-4, Alabama)
• T9 | The Blue Raiders posted two runs on three hits and a walk in the ninth but it was not enough. (12-6, Alabama)

Postgame Notes

• Alabama is 9-0 to begin the 2020 campaign, matching the 2018 squad's start to the season as the fourth-best start in school history. The 9-0 start in both seasons under Brad Bohannon are the best to a year since 2002 when Jim Wells' team began 10-0. The 10-win mark has been reached twice (also 1998) while the 1988 team won 11 straight and the 1997 squad won 15 consecutive games to start the season – the program's all-time mark.
• Casey Cobb pitched a career-long 4.1 frames. His previous career-long outing was 4.0 against Arkansas on March 22, 2019.
• Cobb's 4.1 innings of relief are the most by an Alabama pitcher out the bullpen this season. The previous long outing for a Tide reliever was 4.0 from Jacob McNairy on Feb. 23 at UNLV.
• Freshman Garret Hester made his Crimson Tide debut.
• Alabama has now recorded double-digit hits in six games this season, including five of the six matchups at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• The Crimson Tide hitters have now hit at least one home run in eight of nine games with multiple homers in four of those contests.
• Seven of the nine starters recorded at least one hit on the night.
• Peyton Wilson finished a perfect 4-for-4 on the day. The four-hit effort was the Tide's first since Tyler Ras went 4-for-5 last season at Troy on May 8.
• Wilson added four runs scored. The four runs are the second instance this season as Wilson joins Owen Diodati, who also posted four runs against Northeastern on Opening Day.
• Tyler Gentry finished his day a perfect 3-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. Combining with his 1-for-1 night last evening that included two walks, a hit-by-pitch and sac fly, Gentry has reached base safely in eight of his nine plate appearances during the midweek.
• Sam Praytor recorded his fourth home run of the season this evening, a new career-high total for the redshirt sophomore. His previous high was three during his freshman campaign that saw Praytor play in 46 games (43 starts).
• ATTENDANCE: 2,282

Alabama will take a quick break from games on Thursday before hosting Harvard from Friday through Sunday The Joe. The Crimson Tide and Crimson are scheduled for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch in the series opener followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday. The series wraps up on Sunday at 10:30 a.m., moved up from the originally scheduled start time of 11 a.m. All three games will air live on SEC Network+.