The Crimson Tide and Terrapins will meet for the first time in program history
Feb. 18, 2016
TUSCALOOSA, AL - The Crimson Tide will embark on a new era of Alabama baseball, kicking off the 2016 season at the newly renovated Sewell-Thomas Stadium this weekend. The Maryland Terrapins will visit Tuscaloosa for a three-game set, the first meeting between the two programs.
The two teams are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT start in the inaugural game at "The New Joe" on Friday. Saturday's contest will start at 3:30 p.m. CT, while Sunday's finale is slated for a noon CT first pitch on getaway day. All three contests will air live on SECN+ with Mick Gillispie on the play-by-play and former Crimson Tide standout pitcher Lance Cormier providing the color.
LEADING OFF
Alabama is receiving votes in two of the five major polls, but is not ranked in any of the preseason lists. Maryland was selected as the No. 27-ranked team in the NCBWA poll and is receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Crimson Tide returns to Tuscaloosa after spending last season at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., while construction was on-going at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The team finished 32-28 overall with a 12-18 record in Southeastern Conference play. Alabama reached the SEC Tournament for the third straight year and fifth time in six seasons under Mitch Gaspard, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to Vanderbilt.
Maryland comes to Tuscaloosa a year removed from a Super Regional appearance in 2015. The Terps closed out the regular season at fourth in the Big Ten standings and then advanced to the conference championship game in the league's postseason tournament. Maryland would fall to Michigan in the Big Ten championship, but earned a spot as the three seed in the Los Angeles Regional. Three wins pushed the Terps into a Super Regional where they would fall to eventual NCAA champion Virginia in two games.
The Grand Reopening weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium is sponsored by Coca-Cola and will feature $5 grandstand tickets for fans all weekend long. On Friday prior to first pitch, fans can enjoy music by the Whiskey River Band and get their commemorative Grand Reopening Ticket. Face painting and inflatables will be available on the main concourse for kid's, along with the new playground featured in left field. Opening Night will conclude with postgame fireworks. Saturday will feature Bucket Ruckus before the game gets underway and will feature the first installment of Baseball Bingo. Inflatables will be available for children as well on Saturday. Sunday's series finale will be the first of six Family Fun Day's at the new Joe. The first 100 kids (12 and under) through the gates will receive Alabama baseball eye black with all youth receiving $3 admission to the contest. Face painting and inflatables will return, with kid's having the opportunity to run the bases and get autographs postgame.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (FRI-SAT-SUN)
UA - Geoffrey Bramblett (Jr., RHP) vs. MD - Mike Shawaryn (Jr., RHP)
UA - Jake Walters (So., RHP) vs. MD - Taylor Bloom (So., RHP)
UA - Nick Eicholtz (Jr., RHP) vs. MD - Brian Shaffer (So., RHP)
SCOUTING ALABAMA
The 2015 Crimson Tide finished the season 32-28, including reaching the quarterfinals of the 2015 Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Alabama returns home after spending the 2015 season the road. The Tide played a total of 34 "home" games across the state of Alabama on top of the 22 road contests slotted into the schedule. Thirty of the team's home games were played at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover. The Crimson Tide also played a weekend series at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile and a single game inside Joe W. Davis Municipal Stadium in Huntsville.
In addition to the "home" contests, UA also traveled to Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery for the annual MAX Capital City Classic against Auburn, and then to Regions Field in Birmingham for an away game with UAB.
The Crimson Tide enters the 2016 season returning a combined 10 starters between positional and starting pitching spots. Alabama will be without four of its top hitters and loses Friday's starter from a season ago.
Alabama returns a total of 21 letterwinners while losing nine, but welcomes in a fresh crop of talent with 18 newcomers joining the 2016 squad.
The team leader in home runs, Will Haynie, returns his eight bombs while the Tide's top baserunning threat, Georgie Salem, comes back for his senior campaign a year after swiping a career-high 17 stolen bases in 2015.
Senior Chance Vincent returns to the Crimson Tide after missing the final nine games of the season due to an injury suffered in the final SEC road series of the year at Auburn.
Sophomores Chandler Avant and Cody Henry are back after productive freshman campaigns that saw each earn starts in more than 75 percent of last season's matchups.
On the pitching side of things, Alabama will welcome back its team leader for wins, Geoffrey Bramblett, while also returning two-year closer Thomas Burrows and his 18 career saves.
Bramblett joins Jake Walters as the weekend starters from last year's team, while former starters Jon Keller and Mike Oczypok return from injuries that sidelined them for a majority of each of the last two years. Nick Eicholtz is also in the mix in a starting role after starting in five of his seven outings during the 2015 season.
The Crimson Tide's bullpen returns seven total arms from a season ago, including seniors Ray Castillo and Jake Hubbard. Castillo made 24 appearances last year and led the pen with a 3.12 ERA. Hubbard, a versatile veteran, has pitched in 51 total games during his four-year career, including three starts with two of those coming last year.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
The 2015 Terrapins finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten standings, finishing 42-24 overall and 14-10 in conference play. Maryland fell to Michigan in the final game of the conference tournament, but went on to advance to a Super Regional in the postseason, falling to eventual NCAA champion Virginia.
Maryland returns four positional starters and loses four, while 10 total pitchers remain from a season ago. Overall, the Terps return 18 lettermen while losing 14.
UM sports a young roster, with 24 of its 34 total players being a freshman or sophomore.
The 2016 roster will be without the team's top three hitters from a season ago, but returns First Team All-American and All-Big Ten pitcher Mike Shawaryn. The right-hander finished his junior campaign with a 13-2 record across 17 starts and owned a 1.71 ERA (22 ER/116.0 IP), while collecting 138 strikeouts and allowing only 29 walks. His wins and strikeout totals led the conference in 2015.
Maryland is coached by John Szefc, who is entering his fourth season at the helm. In his first three years in College Park, he has compiled a 112-72 record and owns a 324-209-3 record in his 10 seasons as a head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
Alabama and Maryland will meet for the first time in the history of the two programs.
The Crimson Tide owns a 56-35-3 record all-time against the 12 teams that currently make up the Big Ten Conference. Alabama has never faced Iowa or Rutgers.
UA is tied or owns a winning record against all other teams except Nebraska. The Cornhuskers own a record of 5-1 against the Tide all-time.
The most recent matchup with a Big Ten school came in 2010, Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard's first season as the head coach. Minnesota traveled to Tuscaloosa for a pair of midweek games with the Crimson Tide claiming 5-4 and 9-4 victories in consecutive days.
NO EASY START TO THE SEASON
Alabama will open the 2016 campaign with one of the toughest first months in all of college baseball.
In the first month of play, the Crimson Tide will face off with six teams who made a Regional (Maryland, Notre Dame, N.C. State, Oregon, Houston, LSU), two of which advanced to a Super Regional in 2015 (Maryland, LSU).
Seven of the 12 teams the Tide faces in the first month are receiving votes in at least one of the four major preseason polls (Baseball America, D1Baseball.com, NCBWA and USA Today Coaches), with four of those squads ranking amongst the top-15 teams in one of the respective polls.
N.C. State, Oregon, Houston and LSU are all ranked in the top-25 of all four major polls.
Maryland, Notre Dame and Southern Miss are all receiving votes in at least one of the polls, with Maryland earning a No. 27 ranking by the NCBWA.
COMING UP
Next up for Alabama is a midweek home contest against Nicholls State on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Crimson Tide owns the all-time series advantage, 6-2, and has won the last three meetings between the two teams. Most recently, UA and NSU met for a two-game, midweek series from Feb. 24-25, 2009, with the Tide winning by a score of 11-4 on Tuesday and then closing out the pair of games with an 8-7 win on Wednesday.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
Feb. 18, 2016
TUSCALOOSA, AL - The Crimson Tide will embark on a new era of Alabama baseball, kicking off the 2016 season at the newly renovated Sewell-Thomas Stadium this weekend. The Maryland Terrapins will visit Tuscaloosa for a three-game set, the first meeting between the two programs.
The two teams are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT start in the inaugural game at "The New Joe" on Friday. Saturday's contest will start at 3:30 p.m. CT, while Sunday's finale is slated for a noon CT first pitch on getaway day. All three contests will air live on SECN+ with Mick Gillispie on the play-by-play and former Crimson Tide standout pitcher Lance Cormier providing the color.
LEADING OFF
Alabama is receiving votes in two of the five major polls, but is not ranked in any of the preseason lists. Maryland was selected as the No. 27-ranked team in the NCBWA poll and is receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Crimson Tide returns to Tuscaloosa after spending last season at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala., while construction was on-going at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The team finished 32-28 overall with a 12-18 record in Southeastern Conference play. Alabama reached the SEC Tournament for the third straight year and fifth time in six seasons under Mitch Gaspard, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to Vanderbilt.
Maryland comes to Tuscaloosa a year removed from a Super Regional appearance in 2015. The Terps closed out the regular season at fourth in the Big Ten standings and then advanced to the conference championship game in the league's postseason tournament. Maryland would fall to Michigan in the Big Ten championship, but earned a spot as the three seed in the Los Angeles Regional. Three wins pushed the Terps into a Super Regional where they would fall to eventual NCAA champion Virginia in two games.
The Grand Reopening weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium is sponsored by Coca-Cola and will feature $5 grandstand tickets for fans all weekend long. On Friday prior to first pitch, fans can enjoy music by the Whiskey River Band and get their commemorative Grand Reopening Ticket. Face painting and inflatables will be available on the main concourse for kid's, along with the new playground featured in left field. Opening Night will conclude with postgame fireworks. Saturday will feature Bucket Ruckus before the game gets underway and will feature the first installment of Baseball Bingo. Inflatables will be available for children as well on Saturday. Sunday's series finale will be the first of six Family Fun Day's at the new Joe. The first 100 kids (12 and under) through the gates will receive Alabama baseball eye black with all youth receiving $3 admission to the contest. Face painting and inflatables will return, with kid's having the opportunity to run the bases and get autographs postgame.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (FRI-SAT-SUN)
UA - Geoffrey Bramblett (Jr., RHP) vs. MD - Mike Shawaryn (Jr., RHP)
UA - Jake Walters (So., RHP) vs. MD - Taylor Bloom (So., RHP)
UA - Nick Eicholtz (Jr., RHP) vs. MD - Brian Shaffer (So., RHP)
SCOUTING ALABAMA
The 2015 Crimson Tide finished the season 32-28, including reaching the quarterfinals of the 2015 Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Alabama returns home after spending the 2015 season the road. The Tide played a total of 34 "home" games across the state of Alabama on top of the 22 road contests slotted into the schedule. Thirty of the team's home games were played at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover. The Crimson Tide also played a weekend series at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile and a single game inside Joe W. Davis Municipal Stadium in Huntsville.
In addition to the "home" contests, UA also traveled to Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery for the annual MAX Capital City Classic against Auburn, and then to Regions Field in Birmingham for an away game with UAB.
The Crimson Tide enters the 2016 season returning a combined 10 starters between positional and starting pitching spots. Alabama will be without four of its top hitters and loses Friday's starter from a season ago.
Alabama returns a total of 21 letterwinners while losing nine, but welcomes in a fresh crop of talent with 18 newcomers joining the 2016 squad.
The team leader in home runs, Will Haynie, returns his eight bombs while the Tide's top baserunning threat, Georgie Salem, comes back for his senior campaign a year after swiping a career-high 17 stolen bases in 2015.
Senior Chance Vincent returns to the Crimson Tide after missing the final nine games of the season due to an injury suffered in the final SEC road series of the year at Auburn.
Sophomores Chandler Avant and Cody Henry are back after productive freshman campaigns that saw each earn starts in more than 75 percent of last season's matchups.
On the pitching side of things, Alabama will welcome back its team leader for wins, Geoffrey Bramblett, while also returning two-year closer Thomas Burrows and his 18 career saves.
Bramblett joins Jake Walters as the weekend starters from last year's team, while former starters Jon Keller and Mike Oczypok return from injuries that sidelined them for a majority of each of the last two years. Nick Eicholtz is also in the mix in a starting role after starting in five of his seven outings during the 2015 season.
The Crimson Tide's bullpen returns seven total arms from a season ago, including seniors Ray Castillo and Jake Hubbard. Castillo made 24 appearances last year and led the pen with a 3.12 ERA. Hubbard, a versatile veteran, has pitched in 51 total games during his four-year career, including three starts with two of those coming last year.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
The 2015 Terrapins finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten standings, finishing 42-24 overall and 14-10 in conference play. Maryland fell to Michigan in the final game of the conference tournament, but went on to advance to a Super Regional in the postseason, falling to eventual NCAA champion Virginia.
Maryland returns four positional starters and loses four, while 10 total pitchers remain from a season ago. Overall, the Terps return 18 lettermen while losing 14.
UM sports a young roster, with 24 of its 34 total players being a freshman or sophomore.
The 2016 roster will be without the team's top three hitters from a season ago, but returns First Team All-American and All-Big Ten pitcher Mike Shawaryn. The right-hander finished his junior campaign with a 13-2 record across 17 starts and owned a 1.71 ERA (22 ER/116.0 IP), while collecting 138 strikeouts and allowing only 29 walks. His wins and strikeout totals led the conference in 2015.
Maryland is coached by John Szefc, who is entering his fourth season at the helm. In his first three years in College Park, he has compiled a 112-72 record and owns a 324-209-3 record in his 10 seasons as a head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
Alabama and Maryland will meet for the first time in the history of the two programs.
The Crimson Tide owns a 56-35-3 record all-time against the 12 teams that currently make up the Big Ten Conference. Alabama has never faced Iowa or Rutgers.
UA is tied or owns a winning record against all other teams except Nebraska. The Cornhuskers own a record of 5-1 against the Tide all-time.
The most recent matchup with a Big Ten school came in 2010, Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard's first season as the head coach. Minnesota traveled to Tuscaloosa for a pair of midweek games with the Crimson Tide claiming 5-4 and 9-4 victories in consecutive days.
NO EASY START TO THE SEASON
Alabama will open the 2016 campaign with one of the toughest first months in all of college baseball.
In the first month of play, the Crimson Tide will face off with six teams who made a Regional (Maryland, Notre Dame, N.C. State, Oregon, Houston, LSU), two of which advanced to a Super Regional in 2015 (Maryland, LSU).
Seven of the 12 teams the Tide faces in the first month are receiving votes in at least one of the four major preseason polls (Baseball America, D1Baseball.com, NCBWA and USA Today Coaches), with four of those squads ranking amongst the top-15 teams in one of the respective polls.
N.C. State, Oregon, Houston and LSU are all ranked in the top-25 of all four major polls.
Maryland, Notre Dame and Southern Miss are all receiving votes in at least one of the polls, with Maryland earning a No. 27 ranking by the NCBWA.
COMING UP
Next up for Alabama is a midweek home contest against Nicholls State on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Crimson Tide owns the all-time series advantage, 6-2, and has won the last three meetings between the two teams. Most recently, UA and NSU met for a two-game, midweek series from Feb. 24-25, 2009, with the Tide winning by a score of 11-4 on Tuesday and then closing out the pair of games with an 8-7 win on Wednesday.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
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