Pair of Midweek Games Pits Alabama Baseball against In-State Foes UAB, Troy

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A pair of midweeks are on-deck for Alabama baseball as the Crimson Tide travels to Birmingham to take on UAB on Tuesday followed by a home matchup with Troy on WednesdayTuesday’s pairing with the Blazers is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start at Regions Field, home to the Double A Birmingham Barons. The Crimson Tide and Trojans are then scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Fans can catch Tuesday’s matchup on Conference USA TV with the Wednesday game airing live on SEC Network+.

Follow the Tide

Fans can follow the midweek games via the below outlets:

Watch: Conference USA TV ($) (Tuesday) | SEC Network+ (Wednesday)

Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App

Twitter: @AlabamaBSB

Live Stats: RollTide.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

TUESDAY: UA – William Freeman (R-Sr., RHP) vs. UAB – Austin Bohannon (Sr., LHP)

WEDNESDAY: UA – Connor Shamblin (Jr., RHP) vs. TROY – Kyle Gamble (So., LHP)

Leading Off

  • Alabama and UAB will meet for the 80th time in series history when the two teams square off on Tuesday night at Regions Field to start this season’s home-and-home split. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time series advantage, 54-25, including a 19-10 mark in Birmingham. That total includes the Tide’s 5-2 record at Regions Field.
  • The two in-state foes last met on March 10 of the 2020 season with the Tide claiming a 13-7 win at Regions. It was both teams’ final game before the season was canceled due to the pandemic.
  • Alabama and Troy will meet for the 37th time in series history when the two teams square off for a midweek matchup on Wednesday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time series advantage, 24-12, including a 19-5 mark in Tuscaloosa.
  • The two in-state foes last met on May 8, 2019, with Alabama picking up a 7-3 victory at Riddle-Pace Field. That game saw the Tide offense post seven runs on 12 hits while the bullpen contributed 7.0 innings of one-run baseball.
  • Alabama will look to William Freeman for the start on Tuesday in Birmingham with Connor Shamblin set to follow on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa. The pair of righties will be making their second starts of the 2021 season.
  • UAB calls on senior Austin Bohannon, a left-hander, in the Tuesday contest. Bohannon has appeared in two games this season with one start and owns a 1.59 ERA (1 ER/5.2 IP).
  • Troy is scheduled to throw lefty Kyle Gamble in the Wednesday matchup at The Joe. The sophomore is in-line for his second start of the season and threw 5.0 frames in his first outing of the year.

About Alabama

  • Alabama wrapped up its week at 4-1 overall. The Crimson Tide first traveled to Jacksonville State on Tuesday and picked up a 5-2 win before falling to UT-Martin a day later at home. UA bounced back on the weekend, sweeping Wright State across a three-game series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
  • The Crimson Tide leaned on the long ball early and used a seventh-inning two-RBI single from William Hamiter to put the game out of reach as the Crimson Tide downed Jacksonville State, 5-2, at Rudy Abbott Field on Tuesday. • Peyton Wilson got UA on the board first, leading off the game with a home run. The Gamecocks answered in the second with things staying even at one until the fifth when Sam Praytor sent a two-run home run over the wall in left, giving UA the lead once again. JSU came within one, scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth but would come no closer as Hamiter’s two-RBI single in the seventh put things out of reach.
  • The Crimson Tide’s arms were solid on Tuesday, first with William Freeman. The Tide starter tossed 4.0 innings, allowing a run on four hits while striking out five. He was followed by Landon Green who worked 2.2 frames and struck out three for the win. Chase Lee came in to close it out, tossing the final 2.1 with four punchouts to pick up the save.
  • Alabama baseball suffered its first loss of the 2021 season, falling to the UT-Martin Skyhawks by a score of 9-4 on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa. Alabama received a solid outing from starter Connor Shamblin. The junior tossed 4.0 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just two hits while striking out three. The Crimson Tide was led at the plate by Hamiter and Owen Diodati, who each posted two hits on the day.
  • Tyler Ras put together an impressive start on Friday and the Tide paired his performance with three home runs to down Wright State, 8-4, in the series opener. Ras made the start in place of Connor Prielipp and didn’t skip a beat. The junior tossed a career-long 6.0 innings, allowing only one run on one hit with two walks and five strikeouts. He retired 13 of the final 15 batters he faced before exiting the game after the sixth.
  • The offense gave Ras a cushion early with Wilson homering to lead off Friday’s game. The bats then added two in the second and three in the fourth to widen the gap. Wilson was joined by Zane Denton and T.J. Reeves, who each added a homer of their own.
  • Alabama completed the sweep of Wright State thanks to two wins in Saturday’s doubleheader. The Crimson Tide won game one, 8-7, in 11 innings before coming away with a 1-0 victory in the nightcap to complete the sweep.
  • Hamiter sent a single over the head of the WSU left fielder to help Alabama walk off the Raiders, 8-7, in 11 innings in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader.
  • Alabama got out front early with two runs in the first and another pair in the third, but the Raiders did not lay down, chipping away at the lead and eventually taking a two-run advantage. The Tide then posted two runs in the home half of the eighth to tie things up and eventually send the game to extras. The offense was able to load the bases in the 11th with Hamiter delivering the walkoff single for UA.
  • The Tide’s arms were solid despite what the scoreboard said as Antoine Jean, Jacob McNairy and Lee combined to allow just two earned runs across 11.0 innings of work. Jean, who started, tossed 4.2 innings allowing five runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks with five punchouts. McNairy then contributed 4.1 frames of two-run baseball (none earned) with four strikeouts while Lee worked the final 2.0 innings, using the strikeout to record four of his six outs for the win.
  • Praytor’s RBI-double in the bottom of the sixth was all the Crimson Tide needed as UA completed the sweep of the Raiders with a 1-0 win in game two of the day.
  • The nightcap featured strong pitching performances from both sides. Alabama’s starter Dylan Smith was electric in game two, striking out a career-high seven across 5.2 scoreless frames. He was followed by Green, who tossed 1.1 innings with three strikeouts for his second win of the season.

About UAB

  • Perry Roth is in his first season as the head coach of the Blazers. Previously an assistant at UAB, Roth is joined on the coaching staff by assistants Adam Revelette and Daniel Furuto along with volunteer assistant Thomas Lowery.
  • The Blazers were selected to finish 12th overall in Conference USA in the league’s preseason poll, as voted on by the conference’s head coaches.

About Troy

  • Mark Smartt is in his sixth season with the Trojans in 2021. A former player at Troy, Smartt is assisted by Shane Gierke and Matt Hancock along with volunteer assistant coach Peyton Fuller.
  • The Trojans were selected to finish seventh in the Sun Belt in the league’s preseason poll, as voted on by the conference’s head coaches.

On Deck

Alabama will hit the road for its first weekend roadtrip of the 2021 campaign, heading to Charleston, S.C., for a three-game series with the College of Charleston. The Crimson Tide and Cougars begin the series on Friday, March 5, with a 5 p.m. CT first pitch. Things get started at 1 p.m. on Saturday with Sunday scheduled for 12 p.m. on getaway day. All three games in Charleston can be seen on FloSports.

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