Top-15 Matchup for Alabama Pits No. 15 Tide against 10th-Ranked South Carolina

[Diamond Tide]

The Crimson Tide and Gamecocks will meet for the 71st time in series history on Thursday

3/27/2024

TUSCALOOSA, AL – Alabama baseball will square off in a top-15 series with South Carolina from Thursday through Saturday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The 15th-ranked Crimson Tide and 10th-ranked Gamecocks are set for a 7 p.m. CT first pitch on Thursday followed by a 6 p.m. and 1 p.m. start on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The series opener will air on SEC Network with the final two contests being broadcast on SEC Network+.

The upcoming series will feature numerous promotions. The theme for the top-15 matchup will be 'Boots & Baseball at The Joe'. Fans can get a themed sticker at the gates on Thursday, while the Friday matchup will feature Boots & Baseball koozies.

The series finale with the Gamecocks will continue 'Kids' Day at The Joe'. All kids 12-and-under will have the chance to run the bases postgame. Additionally, Saturday will be the Tide's second baseball card giveaway of the season. The giveaway part is part of a season-long promotion highlighting the 2024 roster. Kids can get their pack of cards and stay after the game to get autographs from the group of players featured on this Saturday's set of cards.

Follow the Tide
Fans can follow the series via the below outlets:
Watch: SEC Network (Thursday) / SEC Network+ ( Friday | Saturday)
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / The Varsity App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: RollTide.com

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
THURSDAY: UA – Zane Adams (Fr., LHP) vs. SC – Eli Jones (Jr., RHP)
FRIDAY: UA – Ben Hess (Jr., RHP) vs. SC – Dylan Eskew (R-Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Greg Farone (Sr., LHP) vs. SC – Tyler Pitzer (Fr., RHP)

Leading Off

• Alabama and South Carolina will meet for the 71st time when the two teams begin a three-game set on Thursday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Gamecocks hold the all-time advantage in the series, 40-30, but the Tide leads, 16-14, when the cross-divisional foes meet in Tuscaloosa.
• The two teams last met from April 28-30, 2022, in Columbia with South Carolina earning a series sweep.
• South Carolina last visited Tuscaloosa from April 5-6, 2019. Alabama claimed a 2-1 series victory, posting wins of 9-0 and 4-1 in a doubleheader with SC avoiding the sweep on getaway day thanks to a 5-4 win in 12 innings.

About Alabama

• Alabama enters the series with South Carolina at 1-3 over the last four games. The Crimson Tide fell in all three games of last weekend's series at Georgia before snapping the losing streak with a 6-3 win over Belmont in the midweek.
• The Crimson Tide claimed a 6-3 win over Belmont on Tuesday evening at Toyota Field in Huntsville.
• Tuesday's game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when Alabama struck for one. The Tide then added two runs apiece in the fifth and sixth to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Belmont answered by scoring three in the seventh and threatening for more before the back end of UA's bullpen took over.
• The trio of Coulson Buchanan, Aidan Moza and Alton Davis II combined to hold the Bruins scoreless over the final 2.2 frames while Alabama added one more tally in the seventh for the 6-3 final.
• Davis II nailed down his fourth save of the season while the win went to reliever Sam Mitchell, who contributed 2.0 scoreless relief frames with a hit and one strikeout.
• Kade Snell got the start on the mound while also serving as the Tide's designated hitter, finishing with a team-high two RBI as part of his 1-for-3 effort at the plate. Evan Sleight and Will Hodo each tied for the team lead in hits with two apiece, as Sleight went 2-for-3 with a triple, one walk and two runs while Hodo posted a 2-for-4 night with one RBI.
• Alabama fell in both games of a doubleheader at Georgia last Saturday.
• The two teams were tied at 5-5 from the fourth inning on before a grand slam in the ninth walked it off for the Bulldogs for the 9-5 final in game one.
• Game two was tied at 3-3 after three innings before UA moved ahead with one run in the seventh. UGA then answered with a two-run bottom of the seventh and one in the eighth to make it a two-run ballgame. The extra run would prove crucial as the Tide was able to cross one in the ninth but could get no closer for the 6-5 final.
• Georgia claimed game one of last Saturday's doubleheader, 9-5.
• The Crimson Tide struck first with a run in the top of the first before a four-spot from Georgia in the home half gave the Bulldogs the lead. Alabama was able to add one more in the third and three in the fourth to take a one-run lead, but a solo shot for UGA in bottom of the fourth tied things up.
• Both teams would go scoreless until the ninth when Kolby Branch hit a grand slam for the Bulldogs.
• Alabama's late comeback came up short as the Tide fell, 6-5, in a back-and-forth game two of the doubleheader.
• The Crimson Tide plated single tallies in the first, second and third – all on solo homers. The home runs in the first and third came off the bat of Gage Miller with Justin Lebron hitting the solo shot in the second.
• Georgia answered with a three-run third that featured two homers in the inning to knot things up at three apiece until the seventh. That seventh saw the Tide retake the lead with a solo homer from Snell, but, once again, Georgia used the longball to answer, with a two-run shot off the bat of Charlie Condon giving UGA the advantage.
• The Bulldogs added one more in the eighth, an insurance run that would prove crucial as the Tide was able to rally for one in the ninth. A one-out triple from William Hamiter followed by a Miller sacrifice fly made it a one-run affair, but a strikeout in the next at-bat brought game two to a close.
• Alabama suffered a 10-5 loss to UGA last Sunday afternoon.
• Things were even at 1-1 at the midway point of the second when Georgia began a stretch of eight unanswered runs headed to the seventh.
• In that seventh, the Tide cut into the lead with a three-run homer from Snell, but UGA came right back with one run in the eighth. Alabama was able to cross one in the ninth but could get no closer than the 10-5 final.
• The Crimson Tide totaled 11 hits and drew eight walks on Sunday but left a season-high 15 runners on base. UA reached at least one baserunner in every inning and put men in scoring position in eight of those nine frames.

About South Carolina

• Mark Kingston is in his seventh season as the head coach at South Carolina in 2024. He entered the new year with a 180-130 mark at SC, part of a career 453-310-1 record across his 14 seasons as a college head coach with stops at Illinois State and South Florida. A 1995 graduate of North Carolina, Kingston is joined on staff by associate head coach Monte Lee along with assistant coaches Joey Holcomb and Matt Williams.
• The Gamecocks finished the 2023 campaign at 42-21 overall, including a 16-13 mark in league play. SC laid claim to the NCAA Columbia Regional crown before seeing their season come to a close the following weekend in NCAA Super Regional play at second-ranked Florida.
• South Carolina was selected to finish fourth in the Eastern Division and eighth overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

On Deck
Alabama will begin a four-game stretch away from The Joe, first at Samford on Tuesday, April 2. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Fans can listen to all the action live on the Crimson Tide Sports Network.


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RTR,

Diamond Tide