In Fridayās game, which begins at 6:30 p.m. CDT, the Tide will pitch junior right-hander Spencer Turnbull, who has a 1-1 record and a 0.42 earned run average, against Kentucky junior left-hander A.J. Reed (3-0, 1.38).
The Saturday matchup at 6 p.m. it will be Bama junior left-hander Kamplain (2-1, 2.45) vs. Kentucky junior right-hander Kent-Chandler Shepherd (3-0, 2.42). Alabama has announced that junior lefty Jon Keller (4-0, 0.83) will pitch the 1 p.m. Sunday game, while Kentucky has not yet named a starter.
The Alabama pitching staff has been outstanding this season, posting the fourth best ERA in the SEC and ninth best ERA in the country at 1.71. In 137 innings, Alabama has given up 32 runs (26 earned) on 78 hits with 123 strikeouts and 51 walks. Opponents are hitting just .174 against the Tide this season, which ranks second in the SEC. Alabama is second in the country, allowing 5.2 hits per game. In 60 innings this season, the Tide bullpen has allowed just 11 runs (9 earned) for a 1.35 ERA, while allowing a .218 batting average.
Kentucky is ranked No. 20 by Baseball America and No. 21 by the NCWBA, in the USA Today Coaches Poll and by Collegiate Baseball, and No. 18 by Perfect Game USA. The Wildcats are one of the most prolific hitting teams in the country, ranking first in batting average (.337), scoring (184/10.8 rpg), hits (205) and on base percentage (.449), while ranking second in slugging percentage (.499). On the mound, Kentucky has a 2.74 ERA while allowing the opposition to hit .219 against them. UK is allowing 3.9 runs and 7.3 hits per game.
