2/21/21 Alabama baseball vs McNeese State
Alabama's Owen Diodati (16)
Photo by Evan Pilat
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Crimson Tide takes to the road this weekend as No. 23 Alabama baseball meets with the College of Charleston for a three-game series. Things start at 5 p.m. CT on Friday with game two on Saturday set for 1 p.m. The series finale on Sunday is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start. All three games can be streamed live on FloSports.
Follow the Tide
Fans can follow this weekend’s games via the below outlets:
Watch: FloSports ($)
Listen: 100.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
FRIDAY: UA – Tyler Ras (Jr., RHP) vs. CoC – Jordan Carr (Sr., LHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Dylan Smith (Jr., RHP) vs. CoC – Ty Good (Fr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – Antoine Jean (So., LHP) vs. CoC – Caswell Smith (Fr., RHP)
Leading Off
- Alabama and the College of Charleston will meet for the fourth time in series history when the two teams square off on Friday evening to begin this weekend’s series at The Ballpark at Patriots Point.
- The Crimson Tide and Cougars squared off for a weekend series back from March 5-7, 2010, with UA claiming a 2-1 series victory. Alabama won games one and two before falling in the series finale.
- Alabama has faced four of the current nine member teams in the Colonial Athletic Association, maintaining a 7-1 record in those contests. The Tide holds a 3-0 mark against Northeastern, a 2-1 record against Charleston and is 1-0 against Elon and Towson. UA has never paired with Delaware, Hofstra, James Madison, UNC-Wilmington and William & Mary.
- Alabama returns Tyler Ras to the mound on Friday as the junior righty makes his second start of the season. Ras will be followed by Dylan Smith, a right-hander, on Saturday with sophomore lefty Antoine Jean making the Sunday start.
- College of Charleston will send a left-hander to the mound on Friday in Jordan Carr. The Cougars then look to a pair of freshmen right-handers, first with Ty Good on Saturday followed by Caswell Smith in the series finale.
About Alabama
- Alabama heads to Charleston riding a four-game winning streak. The Crimson Tide swept Wright State across a three-game series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium this past weekend before cruising past Troy on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa.
- The Crimson Tide offense posted six runs in the third inning to put the game out of reach early against Troy. Alabama’s bats produced nine runs on a season-high tying 12 hits, including three home runs.
- Alabama’s home runs came from Peyton Wilson, Sam Praytor and Zane Denton. Wilson’s homer led off the game with Praytor and Denton going back-to-back in the Tide’s huge third inning.
- Eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit against the Trojans with T.J. Reeves leading the team in that category thanks to a perfect 3-for-3 effort that included a double, one run and walk.
- Not to be outdone were the Alabama pitchers. Starter Connor Shamblin combined with William Freeman to allow only one run on five hits with no walks against the Trojans. Shamblin picked up his first win of the season with Freeman recording the save.
- 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 Denton and 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.
- William 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 asAntoine Jean, Jacob McNairy and Chase 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 College of Charleston
- College of Charleston wrapped up the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign at 12-2 in the midst of a six-game winning streak. The Cougars’ record was highlighted by series wins over Youngstown State and Xavier along with a single victory against then-No. 21 Clemson.
- The Cougars are led by former South Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook. A 1994 graduate of North Carolina, Holbrook’s staff is made up of associate head coach Kevin Nichols and assistant coach Will Dorton along with volunteer assistant Danny Wondrack.
- College of Charleston was selected to finish second in the Colonial Athletic Association in the conference’s preseason poll, as voted on by the member head coaches.
On Deck
Alabama returns home to begin a five-game homestand, first with South Alabama on Tuesday, March 9. The Crimson Tide and Jaguars are set for a 6 p.m. start on SEC Network in UA’s first nationally televised game of 2021. The Tide returns to the field the very next day for game two of the home-and-home with Jacksonville State, first pitch set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.
