Diamond Notes : Final Road Series of 2018 Sends Alabama to Baton Rouge to Face LSU

Diamond Tide

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The Crimson Tide and Tigers will meet for the 370th time in series history on Friday night to kick off the series

5/10/2018

TUSCALOOSA, AL –
Alabama baseball takes to the road for the final time in 2018, traveling to Baton Rouge for a three-game series with LSU. The first two games of the weekend are set for 7 p.m. CT starts with the finale on Sunday scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch. The bookend games of the series will air on SEC Network+ with the Saturday contest showing nationally on SEC Network.

FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow this weekend's games via the below outlets:


Watch: SEC Network+ (Friday and Sunday) / SEC Network (Saturday)
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: LSUsports.net

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS


FRIDAY: UA – Sam Finnerty (Jr., RHP) vs. LSU – Zack Hess (So., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Sr., RHP) vs. LSU – Ma'Khail Hilliard (Fr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Garret Rukes (R-Fr., LHP) vs. LSU – TBA

LEADING OFF

• Alabama and LSU will meet for the 370th time in series history when the two teams square off on Friday night to open the weekend. The first matchup between the two schools came in 1906 with the teams meeting twice a year in 1907 and 1908. Following a seven-year break, Alabama and LSU paired up once again in 1915 and have met nearly every season since, including every year starting in 1946 when the Tide baseball program began once again following World War II.
• The Crimson Tide leads the all-time series 201-165-3, but trails in Baton Rouge, 81-84-3. The Tigers have been dominant in the series as of late, holding a 10-3-2 series advantage across the last 15 seasons (including postseason matchups).
• Last time the two met, LSU came away with a three-game sweep at Sewell-Thomas Stadium from April 27-29. Alabama's last trip to Baton Rouge from March 19-20, 2016, went in favor of the Crimson Tide, 2-1, for the first series win at Alex Box for the Tide since 1996.
• LSU welcomes the Crimson Tide to Baton Rouge with a 29-20 overall record and a 12-12 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers are coming off a series win over then-No. 4 Arkansas last weekend in Baton Rouge. Arkansas won the opener, 5-4, but LSU rallied back for a 6-4 win in game two to even things and a 7-5 win on Sunday to claim the series. The Tigers are 4-4 overall in their eight SEC series this season.
• Most recently, the Tigers defeated McNeese State by a score of 13-3 on Wednesday night at Alex Box Stadium. The game last seven innings with the 10-run rule in effect.
• Alabama continues its regular SEC weekend rotation for the three-game series in Baton Rouge. Junior right-hander Sam Finnerty will get the start on Friday to open the series and will be followed by senior righty Jake Walters on Saturday. Redshirt-freshman Garret Rukes will get the call on Sunday, with the left-hander scheduled to close out the weekend.
• LSU will open the series with sophomore right-hander Zack Hess on the hill on Friday night. Freshman Ma'Khail Hilliard, also a right-hander, will get the call on Saturday with the Tigers starter for Sunday still to be announced.

ABOUT LSU

• LSU returned 16 letterwinners, including eight positional starters and eight pitchers, from the 2017 team that finished 52-20 overall and atop the Southeastern Conference as the league and tournament champions. The Tigers closed out last season as the national runner-up, falling to Florida in the College World Series. The 2018 roster is without 16 lettermen from a season ago, a number that includes eight positional starters and eight pitchers, while LSU welcomed 17 newcomers made up of 11 freshmen and six junior college transfers.
• The Tigers were selected to finish fourth the Western Division and seventh overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
• Paul Mainieri is in his 12th year at LSU and his 36th season overall as a collegiate head coach. A 1980 graduate of Florida International, Mainieri's staff is made up of associate head coach Alan Dunn along with assistants Nolan Cain and Sean Ochinko.
• Founded in 1893, the LSU baseball program began the 2018 season with an all-time record of 2,550-1,572-31. The Tigers have claimed 17 SEC Championships and 12 SEC Tournament Championships, including the 2017 regular-season and postseason league title. LSU has advanced to 30 NCAA postseasons in program history, including 18 appearances in Omaha at the College World Series, winning the national title on six occasions, most recently in 2009.
• The Louisiana State University (officially named Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College) is a public co-educational university located in Baton Rouge, La. Founded in 1853 in Pineville, La., under the name Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy, the current main campus was dedicated in 1926. LSU boasts an enrollment of 30,099 students and is the flagship school of the state of Louisiana.

ON DECK

The Crimson Tide will return home for a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium with fifth-ranked Ole Miss to close out the 2018 regular season. The first two games of the series are set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch with the regular-season finale on Saturday slated to begin at 1 p.m. All three games will air live on SEC Network+.


-UA-



RTR,

Diamond Tide
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