Tuesday Matchup for Baseball Brings Jacksonville State to Town - Alabama Athletics
No. 20 Alabama baseball will host Jacksonville State on Tuesday for a midweek matchup.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 20 Alabama baseball will host Jacksonville State on Tuesday for a midweek matchup. The in-state contest is set for a 3 p.m. CT first pitch at Sewell-Thomas Stadium with the game airing on SEC Network+.
The game was moved up a day due to the potential for severe weather on Wednesday afternoon. Fans with tickets for the originally scheduled contest can now use them on Tuesday. The Tuesday matchup will continue the Crimson Tide's '$2 Tuesday' promotion. The deal is one of Alabama's season-long promotions at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The game will feature $2 reserved tickets for all fans in attendance.
Follow the Tide
Fans can follow the midweek matchup via the below outlets:Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com
Probable Starting Pitching Matchup
TUESDAY: UA – Luke Holman (So., RHP) vs. JSU – Will Baker (Jr., LHP)Leading Off
• Alabama and Jacksonville State will meet for the 46th time in history when the two teams square off on Tuesday afternoon in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time series advantage, 35-10, including a 28-7 mark at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.• The two teams met for a home-and-home series last season with UA claiming wins in each contest. The first matchup came on Feb. 22 in Tuscaloosa, resulting in a 6-3 Tide win, with the trip to Jacksonville finishing 13-6 in Alabama's favor. The two wins are part of UA's current seven-game winning streak in the series.
• Alabama will look to right-hander Luke Holman in the midweek start. The sophomore will be making his second start of the season and third appearance overall.
• Jacksonville State calls on junior Will Baker for Tuesday's matchup. The righty has appeared in four games this season and will be making his first start of the 2023 campaign.
About Alabama
• Alabama finished last week a perfect 5-0 as part of the Tide's 8-0 start to the new season. The 8-0 start ties for the 10th-longest winning streak to start a new year in program history. UA batted .319 across the five games and maintained a 2.30 ERA as a staff.• The Crimson Tide came away with a 7-4 win over Tennessee Tech on Tuesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• Both teams traded runs in the first before a two-run third gave UA the lead. Tech added one in the fourth, but Alabama answered with a pair in the fifth thanks to a two-run shot from Drew Williamson.
• The Crimson Tide added one in the sixth, but TTU would not go away quietly. The Golden Eagles scored a pair in the seventh before Braylon Myers was able to get Alabama out the jam. The sophomore stranded the tying runs on base and was helped out with an insurance run in the seventh on a Will Hodo solo homer.
• Myers finished his day with 2.2 innings of scoreless work, giving up one hit and recording one strikeout for the save.
• The offense was led by the Tide's 3-4 hitters in Andrew Pinckney and Williamson. Pinckney reached base in all five plate appearances, finishing a perfect 2-for-2 with a triple, two runs scored, a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch. Williamson led the team in hits and RBI as part of a 3-for-4 effort that included his second home run in as many games, four RBI, one run and a walk.
• Alabama blanked UT Martin for a 10-0 victory on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa.
• The Tide used a pair of big innings for the midweek win, first putting up a three-spot in the third before crossing six runs in the sixth inning. An RBI-single in the seventh gave Alabama a 10-run lead to secure the run-rule victory.
• Alabama's offense accumulated 12 hits, including a pair of home runs from Mac Guscette and Williamson.
• The trio of Jackson Reynolds, Kade Woods and Riley Quick combined for the seven-inning shutout.
• Reynolds got the start, tossing 3.0 frames with three strikeouts before handing the ball to Woods. The redshirt freshman picked up the win with 3.0 innings that included one walk and five strikeouts. Quick took on the final frame, striking out a pair to secure the shutout win.
• Consistent offense and a solid showing from the bullpen helped UA to a 9-4 win over High Point on Friday at The Joe.
• Both teams got on the board with one run in the first. The Tide then took the lead with another tally in the second before a two-run top of the fourth put the Panthers back in front. Alabama answered again, scoring two apiece in the fourth and fifth to go with three in seventh for the series-opening win.
• The Tide's offense totaled double-digit hits for a sixth straight game, finishing with 12 by day's end. The bats were led by Ed Johnson, who homered twice and tallied a team-high five RBI to go with two runs scored. Guscette also homered in the game, finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
• Brock Blatter picked up the first win of his career, entering out of the bullpen for 2.2 innings of one-run baseball. The freshman gave up two hits and walked one while striking out six in a row at one point – all swinging.
• Despite falling behind, the Tide continued to battle on the way to a 10-6 comeback victory over High Point on Saturday.
• High Point got out front with a six-run third inning. The Crimson Tide was blanked in each of the next two frames before a seven-run fifth gave UA the advantage. Alabama maintained the lead from that point on, adding three more insurance runs in the eighth to secure the win.
• The fifth was highlighted by a go-ahead three-run home run from Dominic Tamez with Williamson adding a three-run homer in the seventh.
• Alabama's bullpen was solid once again. The trio of Connor Ball, Zane Probst and Myers kept the HPU offense at bay, limiting the Panthers to just three hits and three walks over the final 6.0 scoreless frames. Ball picked up the win with 2.1 innings while Myers earned his second save in as many chances with 2.1 innings to close out the game.
• The Crimson Tide completed the series sweep of High Point with a 4-2 win on Sunday afternoon.
• A low-scoring affair saw the Tide get on the board first with a run in the third. Alabama added two more in the fourth with High Point countering for two of their own in the top of the fifth. The Tide then returned the lead to two with a single tally in the home half of the fifth for the eventual 4-2 final.
• Jacob McNairy picked up the win on Sunday, tossing 5.0 innings and allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts. The bullpen then took over, with Hagan Banks, Woods and Quick blanking the Panthers the rest of the way. Woods struck out five of the six batters he faced with Quick earning the save thanks to a scoreless ninth.
• The Tide offense was highlighted by Colby Shelton who recorded a solo home run, one RBI, a run scored and one walk from the leadoff spot.
About Jacksonville State
• Jim Case is in his 22nd year at the helm of the Jacksonville State program. Case entered the 2023 season with a 646-538 career mark, all at JSU. A 1983 graduate of Louisiana Tech, Case is assisted by Mike Murphree and Evan Bush along with volunteer assistant Kyle Cameron. Both Bush (2003-06) and Cameron (2016, 2018-20) are Alabama graduates and put together impressive careers for the Crimson Tide.• Jacksonville State finished the 2022 campaign at 27-28 overall, including a 19-11 mark in A-SUN play.
• The Gamecocks were selected to finish seventh in the ASUN in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
