Regular Season Closes Out in Athens as Baseball Matches with Sixth-Ranked Georgia - University of Alabama Athletics
The regular season comes to a close for Alabama baseball as the Crimson Tide travels to Athens to take on sixth-ranked Georgia from Thursday through Saturday. Games
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The regular season comes to a close for Alabama baseball as the Crimson Tide travels to Athens to take on sixth-ranked Georgia from Thursday through Saturday. Games one and two of the series are set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch at Foley Field with the finale slated for a 1 p.m. CT start on getaway day. All three games will air live on SEC Network+.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow the series via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network+
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
THURSDAY: UA – Tyler Ras (Fr., RHP) vs. UGA – Cole Wilcox (Fr., RHP)
FRIDAY: UA – Brock Love (R-Jr., RHP) vs. UGA – Tony Locey (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Sam Finnerty (Sr., RHP) vs. UGA – Emerson Hancock (Jr., RHP)
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Georgia will meet for the 147th time in history when the two teams square off for the opener on Thursday night at Foley Field. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are dead even in the series at 72-72-2.
• The two teams met last season in Tuscaloosa from March 16-18 to start Southeastern Conference play. Alabama finished 1-2 across the weekend that featured three one-run games. The Crimson Tide took game one in extras thanks to a Joe Breaux walkoff single in the 13th inning to cross the game-winner and help Alabama claim the 10-9 win. Georgia rallied back for a pair of 6-5 wins in the final two pairings to clinch the series victory.
• Alabama calls on three right-handers for the series in Athens. Things will start with freshman Tyler Ras on the hill for Thursday night's opener followed by redshirt junior Brock Love in game two of the three-game set. The Crimson Tide will close things out with senior Sam Finnerty for the finale on Saturday.
• Georgia will also utilize three righties in the matchups with the Tide. First up is freshman Cole Wilcox on Thursday to open the series. Then, the Bulldogs will employ a pair of juniors, with Tony Locey on Friday followed by Emerson Hancock in Saturday's regular-season and series finale.
ABOUT ALABAMA
• Alabama heads to Athens after going 2-2 across the last four games. The Crimson Tide spent the entire week in Tuscaloosa, first for a series with 18th-ranked Texas A&M, winning the middle game of last weekend with the Aggies. All three games kept with the trend of close games in the Alabama-A&M series, with each contest being decided by one run. Most recently, the Tide completed the series sweep of Samford with a 4-2 win on Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• With the victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday, Alabama reached the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2016.
• UA fell in the series opener with Texas A&M by a score of 3-2 on Friday evening at The Joe. The scoring was kept at a minimum in game one. The Crimson Tide struck for one in the bottom of the first followed by A&M answering back with a two-spot in the second. Alabama knotted it up after the third but one unearned run in the Aggie fourth proved the difference, as the two teams went quiet the final five innings. The Tide had opportunities to tie things up, reaching a runner in four of the final five innings, but could not pull even.
• The Tide offense on Friday was led by the heart of the order with the 3-4-5 hitters combining for five hits. Three-hole hitter Morgan McCullough finished 3-for-4 to give the junior the team lead in hits. Sophomore Tyler Gentry tallied one hit and a walk to extend his hitting streak from the cleanup spot. Rounding out the group was No. 5 hitter, freshman Drew Williamson, who contributed UA's lone RBI as part of his 1-for-4 evening.
• A career-day by Brock Love, teamed with a pair of solo home runs helped UA to a 2-1 win over A&M on Saturday. The Crimson Tide received a strong pitching performance from the trio of Love, Casey Cobb and Jeremy Randolph in game two.
• Love was impressive in the start, setting new career-high marks for innings pitched (7.0), batters faced (26) and total pitches (106) on his way to the win. The redshirt junior allowed one run on six hits and a walk while striking out three before handing it over to the bullpen. Cobb followed, with the junior contributing 1.2 scoreless innings of relief. Randolph was then able to secure the win with a two-pitch save, the graduate closer's ninth of the season.
• Alabama gained its two-run advantage thanks to solo home runs from a pair of freshmen. The first solo shot of the day came from T.J. Reeves in the bottom of the first. Reeves sent an 0-1 pitch over the scoreboard in left for his ninth homer of the season. The Tide's second roundtripper came from Tyler Ras in the fourth, as the designated hitter turned on one, sending a deep fly over the wall in left for the 2-0 lead.
• After falling behind early, Alabama fought its way back into the game but came up short of completing the comeback in Sunday's 6-5 loss to A&M. The Aggies built their lead in the first with five runs to put the Tide in an early hole.
• The Crimson Tide then began chipping away at the lead, posting single tallies in the first, fourth, fifth and seventh to make it a 5-4 game. A&M added one more in the top of the eighth to set the score at 6-4, but UA would not give in. Alabama was able to plate one in the ninth and had the go-ahead run aboard but would get no closer.
• The Tide offense was led by the 2-through-5 hitters. Gentry and Williamson each finished with three hits while Gentry also added a team-high three RBI to go with one run scored. Reeves and McCullough trailed closely behind, recording two hits and a pair of runs to round out the foursome.
• A two-run home run from senior Joe Breaux powered Alabama to a 4-2 win over Samford on Tuesday. The victory helped UA complete the season sweep of the Bulldogs and finish 23-3 in non-conference pairings during 2019.
• Samford jumped out front first with a pair of solo home runs in the third to take a 2-0 lead. Alabama then got on the board after the stretch, scoring one in the seventh. An inning later a sacrifice fly from Reeves followed by the two-run homer from Breaux put the Tide in front for good.
• Randolph got the win thanks to 1.1 scoreless frame featuring three strikeouts. He followed the threesome of Cobb, freshman Jacob McNairy and redshirt junior Kyle Cameron, who combined to limit Samford to only two hits through 6.0 relief frames.
ABOUT GEORGIA
• Scott Stricklin is in his sixth season at Georgia in 2019 and entered the new campaign with a record of 143-140-1 in Athens and a 493-328-1 overall mark across his previous 14 years as a collegiate head coach. Stricklin is joined by assistant coaches Scott Daeley and Sean Kenny along with volunteer assistant coach Mitch Gaspard. Gaspard spent seven seasons at the helm of the Alabama baseball program from 2010-16, leading the Crimson Tide to four NCAA Regional appearances and one Super Regional berth in 2010.
• Georgia returned 25 letterwinners, including six positional starters and 13 pitchers, from the 2018 team that went 39-21 overall and 18-12 in SEC action to finish second in the East. The Bulldogs' postseason featured an NCAA Regional in Athens where they went 2-2. The 2019 roster is without nine lettermen from a season ago, a number that includes three positional starter and three pitchers. The 2019 Georgia squad also features 10 newcomers.
• The Bulldogs were selected to finish third the East fourth overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
ON DECK
Alabama's postseason chances and a potential spot in the SEC Tournament will be decided this weekend.
