Diamond Notes : Alabama Heads to Mobile for Midweek Game at South Alabama

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The Crimson Tide and Jaguars will face off for the 105th time in series history

March 23, 2015

TUSCALOOSA, AL -
Alabama heads to Mobile this Tuesday to face off with the University of South Alabama. The trip to Mobile will be the second of the season for Alabama.

The Crimson Tide and Jaguars are set for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch inside Stanky Field.

FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can watch/follow Tuesday's game via the outlets below:

Gametracker: RollTide.com
Listen: 99.1 FM (Tuscaloosa) / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
UA - Jake Walters (Fr., RHP) vs. USA - Austin Bembnowski (RS-Jr., RHP)

LEADING OFF
• Alabama and South Alabama will meet for the 105th time in the history of the series that dates back to 1967, just two years after the baseball program was created at USA. The Crimson Tide owns an all-time record of 56-48 against the Jaguars, including a 9-5 win in Mobile when the two teams last met in 2012.
• USA is coming off a week in which the Jaguars went 3-1, including a series win against Texas State this past weekend. Prior to the weekend set, South Alabama took down Alabama A&M, 9-2, in a single game on Tuesday.
• Alabama will start freshman right-hander Jake Walters. For Walters, it will be his second start of the season and his fifth appearance overall. He owns a 1.86 ERA (2 ER/9.2 IP) and has recorded 14 strikeouts compared to five walks.
• Last time out, Walters claimed an 8-6 win in the midweek contest with Samford. Making his first career start, the freshman shined, striking out nine batters to set the then-season high by an Alabama starter. He cruised through the first two innings, recording strikeouts for five of his first six outs and surrendered just two hits on the evening.
• South Alabama will counter with redshirt-junior Austin Bembnowski. The right-hander has made seven appearances with two starts for the Jaguars and owns a 3.38 ERA (8 ER/21.1 IP).
• The Tuesday game will mark Alabama's second trip down to Mobile. Earlier this season, the Crimson Tide hosted Lipscomb from March 6-8 inside Hank Aaron Stadium, home of the Double-A Mobile BayBears. Alabama came away with two victories and the series win against the Bisons.

SCOUTING ALABAMA
• The Crimson Tide come into Tuesday's game with South Alabama after taking one of three from No. 5 Texas A&M this past weekend. Alabama fell in the first two games of the series, but claimed the final contest to end TAMU's undefeated streak at 24 games. The Aggies were the final unbeaten team in college baseball before UA came out victorious in game two of Saturday's doubleheader.
• Alabama started out the weekend with a loss to Texas A&M, falling 5-2 in Friday's series opener. The Aggies used a three-run seventh inning to break the 1-1 tie and claim the victory.
• On Saturday, the teams played a doubleheader due to the threat of rain on Sunday. In game one of the twinbill, the Tide moved out to an early lead and would maintain control until the eighth inning, when TAMU put together a four-run lead to take its first lead of the night and then added three in the ninth to ensure the victory.
• In Saturday's series finale, Alabama once again got out to an early lead, scoring four in the first inning and never looking back. UA starter Geoffrey Bramblett tossed 7.0 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on the way to his team-leading fourth win of the season.
• UA ranks third in the SEC in doubles (48), including 10 from Casey Hughston and eight from Mikey White.
• Hughston highlights the UA offense. The sophomore ranks second in the SEC in doubles (10), RBI (26), total bases (61) and slugging percentage (.726), while coming in third in the conference for batting average (.417). The junior is the team leader in hits (35), doubles, RBI, total bases and slugging percentage.
• Alabama is also receiving a strong offensive effort from White. The junior shortstop is tied for the league lead in triples (5), while ranking third in runs (25), fifth in total bases (56) and slugging percentage (.700) and sixth overall in average (.400).
• UA kicked off the season with a record-setting weekend against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
• Twelve of the Crimson Tide's 40 hits were for extra bases, including 10 doubles and two triples. The Tide finished the weekend batting .360 as a team and accumulating 37 total runs, the most since Alabama scored 38 against the University of Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 26-27, 2010.
• The Alabama offense put together a 19-0 performance in Sunday's finale thanks to 15 hits, including five-RBI performances from Kyle Overstreet and Hughston. Hughston and Overstreet were the first pair of UA players to each record five RBI in the same game since Clay Jones and Brett Booth did it against UIC on Feb. 27, 2010.
• Alabama's starters limited UMES to just six total hits while striking out 19 batters across 19.0 IP for the weekend.
• Alabama returns 23 letterwinners from last season's team that reached the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. The 2015 Tide also features five positional returners, and three pitchers who made five or more starts last season.

SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA
• South Alabama enters Tuesday's contest having won three of their last four games. Overall, the Jaguars are 15-9 and 5-4 in the Sun Belt. Against SEC competition, USA is 1-1 with a 7-4 win over Auburn at home in February, and a shutout loss to Arkansas also at home, 7-0. Last weekend the Jaguars took the series by winning two of three games against Texas State.
• On Tuesday, USA fell behind 1-0 after one inning of play, but a four-run third would prove to be more than enough to take down Alabama State. The Jaguars would tack on five more runs by games end to win 9-2.
• In Friday's game, South Alabama received quality start of 8.0 IP from Kevin Hill, as he gave up no runs and two hits in the opener against Texas State to lead the Jaguars to a 7-1 win in game one.
• Saturday's win also featured outstanding pitching, as the USA bullpen combined to throw 5.2 innings of no-hit baseball, surrendering just two walks over the stretch. The Jaguars scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to extend the game into extras, then walked off in the bottom of the 11th to capture the series with a 2-1 win.
• In game three, USA fell to Texas State 8-7. The loss dropped the Jaguars to 4-3 in one-run games this year.
• South Alabama is batting .284 as a team, which is second among Sun Belt schools. USA has four starters batting above .300. The Jaguars sport a balanced offensive attack, with six of their everyday players contributing double-digit RBI totals.
• Leading off, senior third baseman Bud Collura tops USA and is second in the Sun Belt in hits, while he also leads the team total bases and is highest among starters in average, batting .324 (33-102) on the season. Collura has contributed 13 RBI and a team-high 19 runs to the Jaguar total, while his four doubles are tops on the team as well. Senior Adam Ballew leads the team in RBI, as he has driven in 21. Batting .302, Ballew has collected 23 hits in 76 plate appearances, with three doubles and two triples to account for his 30 total bases. Batting second, Cole Billingsley has tallied 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts, which is tops on the roster. Billingsley also leads the team in walks with 17 in 84 plate appearances, contributing to his team-leading .447 on-base percentage. As a team, USA is first in the Sun Belt at getting on base, with a .390 on-base percentage. The Jaguars also lead all other Sun Belt teams with 231 hits.
• The pitching staff owns a 3.36 ERA (82 ER/219.1 IP) and is limiting opposing hitters to a .248 average. The Jaguars have collected 179 strikeouts compared to just 86 walks. The staff has combined for two complete-game shutouts. USA has seen four different pitchers pick up four saves, while senior preseason All-Sun Belt pitcher Kevin Hill is 2-0 in three games started with a 0.90 ERA and 21 strikeouts.
• South Alabama welcomes back 18 lettermen, including all nine positional starters from last season's 22-33 team.
• The Jaguars were selected to finish seventh in the Sun Belt, as voted on by the league's coaches.

SERIES HISTORY
• In-state foes Alabama and South Alabama will meet for the 105th time in series history on Tuesday. Alabama holds a 56-48 lead in the series, and has won the last six games dating back to April 22, 2009. The series between the teams dates back to 1967.
• The latest meeting between the two teams came in 2012, with Alabama defeating South Alabama 9-5 in Mobile, Ala.
• The first meeting between the two teams came in 1967. Alabama took both games of the doubleheader on April 19 by an identical score of 3-2.

BIG INNINGS BECOMING THE DECIDING FACTOR
• Big innings have been a key factor in deciding the outcome of nearly every contest this season.
• In 18 of the Tide's 22 games, Alabama or its opponent has recorded at least one inning of three or more runs, and those big innings have played a major role in deciding the outcome of each game.
• Alabama has recorded 16 big innings compared to 13 by its opposition.
• In the contests where Alabama has recorded at least one big inning, the Tide is 10-2. For contrast, in the games where UA has allowed at least one big inning UA is 2-8.
• The games where both teams produce three runs or more in an inning during a contest, Alabama finishes split with a 2-2 mark.
• The Tide hitters are spreading out the big innings across all three phases of the game, whereas the opposition has increased its production as the game wears on.
• Alabama has recorded five big frames in the first through the third innings. They have followed that up with six big innings from the fourth to the sixth frame. Finally, the Tide has closed out the final three innings with big frames five times.
• Opposition heats up as the acts wear on. In the first to third inning, Alabama has allowed just one big inning. When teams move into the fourth through sixth innings, the opposing teams have collected five big innings. In the final three frames of the night, the adversaries have put up seven big innings against the Tide.

COMING UP
The Crimson Tide will head to fourth-ranked Florida for a three-game set following tonight's game. Alabama and Florida will meet for the 110th time when the two SEC teams collide on Thursday evening. The Gators swept the Tide last season in Tuscaloosa from May 2-4, but the Tide owns the all-time advantage, 55-54.

Thursday's contest in Gainesville will mark Alabama's first appearance on the SEC Network and will also be the first time the Tide is featured on national television this season.


-UA-



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