The Crimson Tide and Gators will face off for the 110th time when they match up on Thursday evening
March 25, 2015
TUSCALOOSA, AL - Alabama continues its four-game roadtrip, heading to Gainesville for a three-game set with fourth-ranked Florida. The Tide and Gators will begin the series on Thursday night with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch on the SEC Network. Friday's second game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT start as well, with the series wrapping up at Noon CT on Saturday afternoon.
Thursday's game on the SEC Network will be the Tide's first nationally televised contest of the 2015 season. It will be the first of eight games on the SEC Network and 10 overall airing on regular television.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can watch/follow the three-game series via the outlets below:
Gametracker: RollTide.com
Listen: 99.1 FM (Tuscaloosa) / CTSN / TuneIn App
Watch: SEC Network (Thursday)
Web: SECN+
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
THURSDAY: UA - Taylor Guilbeau (Sr., LHP) vs. UF - Aaron Rhodes (Jr., RHP)
FRIDAY: UA - Will Carter (Jr. RHP) vs. UF - A.J. Puk (So., LHP)
SATURDAY: UA - Geoffrey Bramblett (So., RHP) vs. UF - Dane Dunning (So., RHP)
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Florida will meet for the 110th time in program history when the two teams square off for Thursday's series opener. The Crimson Tide own the all-time series, 55-54, bur the Gators swept the Tide, 3-0, when the two met last year in Tuscaloosa
• Florida is coming off a weekend that saw the Gators fall in two-of-three games at Ole Miss. The Rebels claimed the Friday opener and also took the first game of Saturday's doubleheader before Florida avoided the sweep with a victory in the series finale. Following the 1-2 weekend, UF bounced back by beating Stetson, 9-6, on Tuesday evening.
• Alabama will keep with its usual weekend rotation, starting senior left-hander Taylor Guilbeau in Thursday's first game and tossing junior righty Will Carter on Friday evening. UA will wrap up the series against the Gators on Saturday with sophomore right-hander Geoffrey Bramblett.
• Florida will feature a junior and a duo of sophomores for the three of games. Right-handed junior Aaron Rhodes will make his first start of the season on Friday, and he will be followed by A.J. Puk, a southpaw. The Gators will close out the series with right-hander Dane Dunning on Saturday.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• The Crimson Tide come into Thursday's game with Florida after falling to South Alabama, 3-0, on Tuesday. Prior to the midweek contest, Alabama took 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 fell behind 1-0 to USA in the third inning and would never come back against the Jaguars, falling by a final of 3-0. The Tide had a rally going in the sixth inning with loaded bases and none down, but were unable to capitalize on the situation.
• UA 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 is led offensively by Casey Hughston and Mikey White, both team leaders in almost all statistical categories.
• Hughston ranks second in the SEC in doubles (10), third in RBI (26) and total bases (61), fourth in slugging (.701) and seventh in batting (.402). The junior is also the UA's leader in doubles, homers, RBI 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 fourth in average (.410), fifth in on-base (.485) and slugging (.699) and sixth in runs (25) and total bases (58).
• 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 FLORIDA
• Florida welcomes Alabama after claiming a 9-6 victory on Tuesday over Stetson. Prior to the midweek win, the Gators fell in two of three games at Ole Miss this past weekend.
• On Tuesday, UF got out to an early four-run lead, but would fall behind in the sixth inning. The Gators used an eighth-inning rally to regain their lead and take the eventual win, 9-6.
• The series opener between Ole Miss and Florida saw the Rebels score two apiece in the first and sixth innings to build a lead that proved too much for UF.
• Saturday featured a doubleheader between the two SEC schools. In game one, Ole Miss was able to put up a three spot in the first inning which would prove more than enough. The Rebels went on to a 5-2 win to claim the first game of Saturday's double dip, while claiming the series victory at the same time.
• The Gators avoided the series sweep by claiming an 8-4 win in the finale with the Rebels. Florida moved out to a 2-0 advantage early and then traded runs with Ole Miss the rest of the game before pulling away in the seventh inning.
• Florida is batting .302 as a team and has seven starters batting above the .300 mark. The Gators have eight players contributing double-digit RBI totals and nine players with 10-plus runs added to the team total.
• National player of the year candidate Harrison Bader leads the Gator offensive attack. The junior outfielder is the team's leader in home runs (7), RBI (31), walks (19), slugging (.747) and on-base percentage (.495). Freshman infielder Dalton Guthrie has put together a strong effort early, batting .328 with 11 doubles and 10 RBI across his team-leading 26 starts this season.
• The pitching staff owns a conference-leading 2.77 ERA (71 ER/231.0 IP) and is limiting opposing hitters to a .211 average. The Gator staff has collected 208 strikeouts on the season compared to just 69 total walks. Junior closer Taylor Lewis highlights the bullpen, contributing a 1.20 ERA (2 ER/15.0 IP) across 12 appearances to account for six saves and a 1-0 record.
• Florida welcomes back 22 lettermen, including six positional starters and 13 pitchers, from last season's team that finished 40-23 and finished 18th in the final Baseball America poll. The Gators welcome in 10 newcomers including nine freshmen and one junior.
• UF had four players named to the Preseason All-SEC Team, including first-team honorees in Friday starter A.J. Puk and sophomore starter Logan Shore. Third baseman Josh Tobias and the aforementioned Bader were recognized as second-team members.
• The Gators were selected to finish second in the SEC Eastern Division and third overall in the preseason poll.
SERIES HISTORY
• Alabama and Florida will meet for the 110th, 111th and 112th times in the history of the series that dates back to 1920. In that inaugural game, the Crimson Tide came out on top, 11-4.
• Most recently, the two teams faced off in Tuscaloosa for a three-game series from May 2-4 of last season. The Gators came to the Capstone ranked as the No. 5 team in the nation and left with a sweep of the Crimson Tide.
• Under the tutelage of Mitch Gaspard, Alabama has never squared off with Florida when the Gators rank any lower than fifth in the nation. Gaspard owns a 2-9 all-time record against UF with his last win coming in the third round of the 2012 SEC Tournament when UA claimed a 5-2 win on its way to a runner-up finish in the tournament.
• Alabama has not won a series against Florida since 2008 and has not claimed a series victory in Gainesville since 1999 when the Tide swept the Gators. The Crimson Tide would go on to become SEC Tournament Champions and finish in third place at the College World Series to conclude the 1999 season.
TOUGH STRETCH AHEAD FOR THE TIDE
• Alabama will have no easy road, facing off with numerous teams in Baseball America's weekly top-25 poll.
• By season's end, the Crimson Tide are scheduled to face four of the top five teams in this week's poll, including top-ranked LSU, No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Texas A&M and fourth-ranked Florida.
• According to D1Baseball.com, Alabama ranks 31st in RPI and has the fifth-toughest schedule in the NCAA.
• UA finished its series at then-No. 3 Houston from Feb. 20-22, going 1-2 against the Cougars.
• Alabama went to Starkville and took two of three from then-No. 15 Mississippi State to kick off SEC play with a winning record.
• The Crimson Tide then fell in two of three games against TAMU this past weekend, but avoided the sweep thanks to a standout performance from Geoffrey Bramblett in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
• With last weekend's three-game series with Texas A&M, Alabama began one of the toughest stretches in all of college baseball. This upcoming weekend, Alabama will head to Gainesville for three games with No. 4 Florida. The Tide will finally wrap up the four-weekend gauntlet with a home series against LSU.
COMING UP
The Crimson Tide will next face off with UAB on Tuesday. The two teams will meet inside Regions Field, home to the Double-A Birmingham Barons with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. It will be the 66th meeting in series history, with Alabama owning the all-time record, 44-21. Last year the two teams split 1-1, but the Crimson Tide claimed a 5-2 win over the Blazers on April 16, in the most recent meeting.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
March 25, 2015
TUSCALOOSA, AL - Alabama continues its four-game roadtrip, heading to Gainesville for a three-game set with fourth-ranked Florida. The Tide and Gators will begin the series on Thursday night with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch on the SEC Network. Friday's second game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT start as well, with the series wrapping up at Noon CT on Saturday afternoon.
Thursday's game on the SEC Network will be the Tide's first nationally televised contest of the 2015 season. It will be the first of eight games on the SEC Network and 10 overall airing on regular television.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can watch/follow the three-game series via the outlets below:
Gametracker: RollTide.com
Listen: 99.1 FM (Tuscaloosa) / CTSN / TuneIn App
Watch: SEC Network (Thursday)
Web: SECN+
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
THURSDAY: UA - Taylor Guilbeau (Sr., LHP) vs. UF - Aaron Rhodes (Jr., RHP)
FRIDAY: UA - Will Carter (Jr. RHP) vs. UF - A.J. Puk (So., LHP)
SATURDAY: UA - Geoffrey Bramblett (So., RHP) vs. UF - Dane Dunning (So., RHP)
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Florida will meet for the 110th time in program history when the two teams square off for Thursday's series opener. The Crimson Tide own the all-time series, 55-54, bur the Gators swept the Tide, 3-0, when the two met last year in Tuscaloosa
• Florida is coming off a weekend that saw the Gators fall in two-of-three games at Ole Miss. The Rebels claimed the Friday opener and also took the first game of Saturday's doubleheader before Florida avoided the sweep with a victory in the series finale. Following the 1-2 weekend, UF bounced back by beating Stetson, 9-6, on Tuesday evening.
• Alabama will keep with its usual weekend rotation, starting senior left-hander Taylor Guilbeau in Thursday's first game and tossing junior righty Will Carter on Friday evening. UA will wrap up the series against the Gators on Saturday with sophomore right-hander Geoffrey Bramblett.
• Florida will feature a junior and a duo of sophomores for the three of games. Right-handed junior Aaron Rhodes will make his first start of the season on Friday, and he will be followed by A.J. Puk, a southpaw. The Gators will close out the series with right-hander Dane Dunning on Saturday.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• The Crimson Tide come into Thursday's game with Florida after falling to South Alabama, 3-0, on Tuesday. Prior to the midweek contest, Alabama took 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 fell behind 1-0 to USA in the third inning and would never come back against the Jaguars, falling by a final of 3-0. The Tide had a rally going in the sixth inning with loaded bases and none down, but were unable to capitalize on the situation.
• UA 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 is led offensively by Casey Hughston and Mikey White, both team leaders in almost all statistical categories.
• Hughston ranks second in the SEC in doubles (10), third in RBI (26) and total bases (61), fourth in slugging (.701) and seventh in batting (.402). The junior is also the UA's leader in doubles, homers, RBI 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 fourth in average (.410), fifth in on-base (.485) and slugging (.699) and sixth in runs (25) and total bases (58).
• 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 FLORIDA
• Florida welcomes Alabama after claiming a 9-6 victory on Tuesday over Stetson. Prior to the midweek win, the Gators fell in two of three games at Ole Miss this past weekend.
• On Tuesday, UF got out to an early four-run lead, but would fall behind in the sixth inning. The Gators used an eighth-inning rally to regain their lead and take the eventual win, 9-6.
• The series opener between Ole Miss and Florida saw the Rebels score two apiece in the first and sixth innings to build a lead that proved too much for UF.
• Saturday featured a doubleheader between the two SEC schools. In game one, Ole Miss was able to put up a three spot in the first inning which would prove more than enough. The Rebels went on to a 5-2 win to claim the first game of Saturday's double dip, while claiming the series victory at the same time.
• The Gators avoided the series sweep by claiming an 8-4 win in the finale with the Rebels. Florida moved out to a 2-0 advantage early and then traded runs with Ole Miss the rest of the game before pulling away in the seventh inning.
• Florida is batting .302 as a team and has seven starters batting above the .300 mark. The Gators have eight players contributing double-digit RBI totals and nine players with 10-plus runs added to the team total.
• National player of the year candidate Harrison Bader leads the Gator offensive attack. The junior outfielder is the team's leader in home runs (7), RBI (31), walks (19), slugging (.747) and on-base percentage (.495). Freshman infielder Dalton Guthrie has put together a strong effort early, batting .328 with 11 doubles and 10 RBI across his team-leading 26 starts this season.
• The pitching staff owns a conference-leading 2.77 ERA (71 ER/231.0 IP) and is limiting opposing hitters to a .211 average. The Gator staff has collected 208 strikeouts on the season compared to just 69 total walks. Junior closer Taylor Lewis highlights the bullpen, contributing a 1.20 ERA (2 ER/15.0 IP) across 12 appearances to account for six saves and a 1-0 record.
• Florida welcomes back 22 lettermen, including six positional starters and 13 pitchers, from last season's team that finished 40-23 and finished 18th in the final Baseball America poll. The Gators welcome in 10 newcomers including nine freshmen and one junior.
• UF had four players named to the Preseason All-SEC Team, including first-team honorees in Friday starter A.J. Puk and sophomore starter Logan Shore. Third baseman Josh Tobias and the aforementioned Bader were recognized as second-team members.
• The Gators were selected to finish second in the SEC Eastern Division and third overall in the preseason poll.
SERIES HISTORY
• Alabama and Florida will meet for the 110th, 111th and 112th times in the history of the series that dates back to 1920. In that inaugural game, the Crimson Tide came out on top, 11-4.
• Most recently, the two teams faced off in Tuscaloosa for a three-game series from May 2-4 of last season. The Gators came to the Capstone ranked as the No. 5 team in the nation and left with a sweep of the Crimson Tide.
• Under the tutelage of Mitch Gaspard, Alabama has never squared off with Florida when the Gators rank any lower than fifth in the nation. Gaspard owns a 2-9 all-time record against UF with his last win coming in the third round of the 2012 SEC Tournament when UA claimed a 5-2 win on its way to a runner-up finish in the tournament.
• Alabama has not won a series against Florida since 2008 and has not claimed a series victory in Gainesville since 1999 when the Tide swept the Gators. The Crimson Tide would go on to become SEC Tournament Champions and finish in third place at the College World Series to conclude the 1999 season.
TOUGH STRETCH AHEAD FOR THE TIDE
• Alabama will have no easy road, facing off with numerous teams in Baseball America's weekly top-25 poll.
• By season's end, the Crimson Tide are scheduled to face four of the top five teams in this week's poll, including top-ranked LSU, No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Texas A&M and fourth-ranked Florida.
• According to D1Baseball.com, Alabama ranks 31st in RPI and has the fifth-toughest schedule in the NCAA.
• UA finished its series at then-No. 3 Houston from Feb. 20-22, going 1-2 against the Cougars.
• Alabama went to Starkville and took two of three from then-No. 15 Mississippi State to kick off SEC play with a winning record.
• The Crimson Tide then fell in two of three games against TAMU this past weekend, but avoided the sweep thanks to a standout performance from Geoffrey Bramblett in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
• With last weekend's three-game series with Texas A&M, Alabama began one of the toughest stretches in all of college baseball. This upcoming weekend, Alabama will head to Gainesville for three games with No. 4 Florida. The Tide will finally wrap up the four-weekend gauntlet with a home series against LSU.
COMING UP
The Crimson Tide will next face off with UAB on Tuesday. The two teams will meet inside Regions Field, home to the Double-A Birmingham Barons with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch. It will be the 66th meeting in series history, with Alabama owning the all-time record, 44-21. Last year the two teams split 1-1, but the Crimson Tide claimed a 5-2 win over the Blazers on April 16, in the most recent meeting.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
