Diamond Notes : Alabama Heads to 14th-Ranked Missouri for a Weekend Series

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The Crimson Tide and Tigers will meet for the fourth, fifth and sixth times

April 16, 2015

TUSCALOOSA, AL -
Alabama will hit the road for a three-game, weekend series with the 14th-ranked Missouri Tigers. The trip to Columbia will be the Crimson Tide's first in the program's 123-year history. The Tide and Tigers are scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on Friday with the game airing on SECN+. The SEC Network will carry the final two contests, with Saturday's game set for a 7 p.m. first pitch and Sunday's finale starting at Noon CT.

FOLLOW THE TIDE

Fans can watch/follow this weekend's game via the below outlets:


Gametracker: RollTide.com
Listen: 99.1 FM (Tuscaloosa) / TuneIn app (mobile devices)
Television: SEC Network (Saturday & Sunday)
Web: SECN+ (Friday)
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

FRIDAY: UA -- Taylor Guilbeau (Sr., LHP) vs. MU -- Reggie McClain (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA -- Jake Walters (Fr., RHP) vs. MU -- Tanner Houck (Fr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA --Geoffrey Bramblett (So., RHP) vs. MU -- Peter Fairbanks (Jr., RHP)

LEADING OFF

· Alabama and Missouri will meet for the fourth, fifth and sixth times in program history. The series was birthed in 2013, when the Tigers officially joined the Southeastern Conference. In that three-game set, the Tide took the bookend games to claim the series win in Tuscaloosa.
· Missouri is coming off a loss to Arkansas-Little Rock by a score of 4-3 on Tuesday. Prior to the midweek contest, the Tigers took the final two games of a three-game series at Tennessee. The Volunteers won the first game, 5-2, but Mizzou bounced back to win 8-3 on Saturday and 10-1 in Sunday's finale to claim the series win.
· Alabama will insert a new Saturday arm but remains with the usual starters in games one and three. The Crimson Tide will begin the weekend with senior left-hander Taylor Guilbeau on the bump. Saturday's new starter will be freshman righty Jake Walters, making his first career start in conference play. On Sunday, the Tide will send the team leader in wins, sophomore right-hander Geoffrey Bramblett to the mound.
· Missouri will send its usual lineup of three right-handed starters to the hill across the three-game set. The Tigers will kick off the weekend with junior Reggie McClain and then use freshman Tanner Houck in game two on Saturday. Sunday will see junior Peter Fairbanks take the mound to round out the series for the Tigers.
· The Crimson Tide is 1-1 in SEC road series this season, and 3-3 overall in games played. Alabama took two of three from then-No. 15 Mississippi State in Starkville from March 14-15. The Tide was able to win games one and three on the weekend to clinch the series victory. Alabama went 1-2 at then-fourth-ranked Florida, claiming the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, 12-9, in 10 innings of play, before falling in the final two contests.

SCOUTING ALABAMA

· The Crimson Tide enters this weekend after a midweek victory over UAB. Prior to the Tuesday game with the Blazers, Alabama took two of three games from Georgia in SEC action this past weekend.
· On Tuesday, six Tide arms combined to help the Crimson Tide claim a 5-1 victory over in-state foe UAB. A string of five relievers combined to hold the Blazers hitless across the final 5.1 innings of the game following a five-strikeout start from sophomore Nick Eicholtz. Will Haynie's three-run homer in the second gave the Tide all the runs it would need, but UA was able to add another two in the fifth inning to ensure the victory.
· Alabama took the first game of the series with UGA thanks to an 11th-inning, walk-off hit from Mikey White. The two teams went to extras, with each side matching the other with a pair of runs in the 10th before the Tide was able to score Georgie Salem from second on the White single. UA would have not been able to advance to the 11th had it not been for an amazing leap over the catcher on a play at home by Riley Colburn to tie the game up.
· The Tide fell in Saturday's contest, 8-1, as Georgia's starter limited Alabama to one earned run on four hits with 11 punchouts across his 7.0 innings of work.
· UA would bounce back for the 5-2 win on Sunday to claim the series over Georgia. Alabama was aided by a solid start from Geoffrey Bramblett, with the sophomore tossing 7.0 IP and recording a career-high tying nine Ks on the way to his team-leading fifth win of the season.
· UA is led offensively by Mikey White and Casey Hughston, both team leaders in a combined 10 statistical categories. In recognition of their efforts this season, both were named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List last Thursday. The two Tide players make up the national list of 60 players.
· White ranks second in the SEC in triples (5), third in doubles (13) seventh in slugging percentage (.636), eighth in total bases (84), tied for eighth in runs (34) and ninth in average (.371). He leads the Crimson Tide in average, doubles, triples, total bases, slugging percentage and runs scored, while also collecting a team-high 18 multi-hit efforts so far this season.
· Hughston currently leads the Crimson Tide in hits (51) and is tied for the team lead in RBI (27), walks (15) and home runs (4). The sophomore has also added a team-high five outfield assists from right field.
· Freshman Cody Henry has heated up as of late. For his efforts last week, the first-year player was named SEC Freshman of the Week. He currently owns an eight-game hitting streak and has started the last 11 games at first.
· Ray Castillo highlights the Crimson Tide bullpen, making 16 relief appearances across a team-high 33.1 innings out of the pen. He leads relievers in wins with a perfect 3-0 record and has maintained a 2.16 ERA (8 ER/33.1 IP).
· The Tide has collected 19 multi-hit efforts this season and is 13-6 when doing so, with eight of those double-digit performances coming in SEC play. Alabama has collected 10 or more hits in nine of its last 12 games.
· 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 MISSOURI

· Missouri is coming off a 4-3 loss to Arkansas-Little Rock on Tuesday evening. Prior to the midweek contest, the Tigers took the final two games of a three-game series with Tennessee in Knoxville. The Vols won the first matchup, 5-2, but Mizzou bounced back to win 8-3 on Saturday and 10-1 in Sunday's finale to claim the series win.
· Missouri and Arkansas-Little Rock went into the eighth tied, but a pair of singles by the Trojans pushed UALR ahead, 4-3. The Tigers were unable to start a rally in the eighth and ninth innings to fall in the midweek contest.
· MU fell behind in Friday's contest in Knoxville, with the Vols using the fifth inning to build a 4-0 lead, highlighted by a two-run home run. By game's end Tennessee built a 5-2 advantage for the series-opening win.
· A six-run fifth inning rallied the Tigers past Tennessee in Saturday's second game. Missouri fell behind early, 2-0, but a six spot in the fifth followed by another two runs helped Mizzou claim game two of the series, 8-3.
· Missouri starter Peter Fairbanks recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts and allowed just five hits on the way to a 10-1 win on Sunday to claim the series with the Vols. The offenses provided Fairbanks with two huge four-run innings in the fifth and eighth innings to ensure the blowout victory.
· The Tigers rank near the bottom of the conference in hitting, batting .256 to rank 12th in the SEC. They feature two starters batting above .275 on the year.
· The offense is highlighted by freshman Brett Bond and sophomore Jake Ring. Bond is batting a team-leading .315 (35-111) with a team-high four home runs on the season. Ring ranks second on the team in average at .293 (41-140), but leads the team in hits, doubles (12), total bases (61), slugging (.436) and on-base percentage (.400). Senior Brett Peel leads the team in stolen bases with 17, which ranks him third in the conference.
· The Tiger pitching staff is Missouri's strength, ranking second in the conference with a 2.76 ERA (101 ER/329.0 IP) and has limited opposing hitters to a .227 average against. Junior lefty Austin Tribby leads the conference in appearances with 22 on the season. Tiger closer Breckin Williams ranks second in the conference in saves with eight on the year, and sports a 2.08 ERA (5 ER/21.2 IP) with 25 strikeouts compared to four walks across his 15 appearances. Andrew Schwaab ranks second on the team in appearances with 16 (two starts), and owns a 2.84 ERA (10 ER/21.2 IP) with 28 strikeouts.
· Mizzou's defense ranks second in the conference with a .980 fielding percentage and 29 errors.
· The Tigers have been hot in conference play with their only series loss coming at Texas A&M from March 27-29. MU fell in two of three games, but have claimed at least two wins in every other SEC series thus far.
· The Tigers welcome back 18 lettermen, including four positional starters and 10 pitchers from last season's team that finished 20-33. Missouri welcomes 16 newcomers to the 2015 squad.
· Missouri was selected to finish seventh in the SEC Eastern Division, as voted on by league coaches.

SERIES HISTORY

· Alabama and Missouri will meet for just the fourth time when the two teams square off on Friday.
· The series began in 2013 during Missouri's inaugural year in the SEC. From May 10-12, the two teams took part in a weekend set, with UA claiming games one and three from the Tigers to collect the series win in Tuscaloosa.
· In game one of the weekend, Alabama scored a 9-7 victory before falling, 7-3 in Saturday's contest. The Crimson Tide bounced back in the rubber match between the two, claiming a 7-6 victory for the series win.
· Alabama's trip to Columbia will be the first ever in program history.

COMING UP

Next up for Alabama is a Tuesday doubleheader with Mississippi Valley State. The Crimson Tide and Delta Devils are scheduled for a 2 p.m. CT first pitch for game one, with the second contest starting 30 minutes after the final out of the first game. Alabama owns the all-time advantage, 20-1, and most recently swept MVSU in a three-game series last season from March 7-9. In that meeting, the Tide pitchers tossed three shutouts in a row to complete the weekend sweep.


-UA-



RTR,

Diamond Tide
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