Baseball vs. Bama, Thur 3/16, 7:00 pm

Kind of a mean looking Albert..

 

If they throw a guy on Friday that threw 87 pitches Tuesday, in the first SEc series.....then that coach needs his head examined lol

 

Friday could see a double dip with a 3:00 and a 6:30 or a 4:00 and 7:30.

 

I thought that Sully pulled Cags too early last weekend with an anticipated one less day of rest on his TJ protocol arm.

Now with the possibility of a double dip on Friday he looks like a genius.

I guess that is why he gets the big bucks.

 

I'm hoping we see Abner, Slater, and Fisher out of the bullpen to lock in the win. If we only have to use two of these that's all the better. This is a very important game for Sproat to nail down the top spot and hopefully pitch like we saw coming into the season.

 

​

 

From Alabama's Baseball site
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 22 Alabama baseball begins Southeastern Conference play with a trip to Gainesville to take on the second-ranked Florida Gators. The two teams will open the series on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. CT followed by a 5:30 p.m. start on Friday and a 3 p.m. first pitch in the series finale. The Tide and Gators will be televised nationally on SEC Network for Thursday's matchup with the final two games airing on SEC Network+.

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

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
THURSDAY: UA – TBA vs. UF – Brandon Sproat (Jr., RHP)
FRIDAY: UA – Ben Hess (So., RHP) vs. UF – Hurston Waldrep (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Grayson Hitt (Jr., LHP) vs. UF – Jac Caglianone (So., LHP)

Leading Off

• Alabama and Florida will meet for the 126th time in history when the series opens on Thursday night. The Gators lead the all-time series, 67-58, including a 33-18 mark in Gainesville.
• The most recent meeting between the two teams came at the SEC Tournament on May 28 of last season with the Gators claiming an 11-6 win. It was the fourth matchup of the season as Florida traveled to Tuscaloosa for a weekend series from March 18-20. That series saw UF earn wins in games one and two before the Tide came away with an 8-7 victory in the finale.
• Alabama's last trip to Gainesville came from March 29-31, 2019. The Gators swept that series.
• Alabama's starter for the series opener will be sophomore right-hander Hagan Banks. The Crimson Tide will then look to its regular game two starter in right-hander Ben Hess on Friday night with lefty Grayson Hitt getting the call in Saturday's series finale.
• Florida will send right-hander Brandon Sproat to the mound for the series opener with fellow righty Hurston Waldrep to follow on Friday. Things wrap up on Saturday with the Gators throwing left-hander Jac Caglianone.

About Alabama

• Alabama heads to Gainesville after going 2-2 over the last four games. The Tide earned one win last weekend over Columbia before shutting out South Alabama in Mobile on Tuesday evening.
• The duo of Luke Holman and Alton Davis II combined to shut out South Alabama 4-0 on Tuesday evening at Stanky Field in Mobile.
• Holman was impressive once again, picking up his team-leading fourth win of the year. The sophomore tossed a career-high 7.0 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just three hits while striking out nine. Davis II followed with 2.0 frames that included one punchout to secure the 4-0 victory.
• Alabama's offense was powered by Will Hodo. The sophomore finished 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and a run scored. Hodo's two hits were a part of the Tide's 10 total in the contest.
• The Tide came up short in a 10-7 loss to Columbia last Friday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
• Despite trailing from the second inning on, Alabama never stopped battling. The Crimson Tide traded runs with the Lions all night and headed to the ninth down four.
• UA was able to plate one in the final frame and had the bases loaded with two down, but a difficult over the shoulder catch on the run by the Columbia shortstop went for the last out and the 10-7 final.
• Alabama split a doubleheader with Columbia on Saturday afternoon. The 18th-ranked Crimson Tide came away with a 6-2 win in game one before a 15-3 loss in the nightcap.
• The Tide used a six-run fifth to provide all its offense in game one. The Lions were first on the board with one in the third but a six-run fifth proved more than enough. That fifth included a two-run shot by Colby Shelton and a grand slam from Ed Johnson. Columbia was able to add one in the sixth but would get no closer.
• Alabama starter Ben Hess was solid in the start, picking up his third win of the season. The sophomore allowed one run on three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts across his 5.0 innings.
• The Crimson Tide fell, 15-3, in game two of the doubleheader. Columbia posted an 11-run fourth inning to put the game out of reach for the series-clinching win.

About Florida

• Kevin O'Sullivan is in his 16th season as a collegiate head coach, all coming at Florida. He entered the 2023 campaign with a 627-302 career record. A 1991 graduate of Virginia, O'Sullivan is assisted by Taylor Black and Chuck Jeroloman along with volunteer assistant coach David Kopp.
• Florida finished the 2022 season at 42-24 overall, including a 15-15 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Gators advanced to the postseason, hosting an NCAA Regional in Gainesville where UF finished 2-2, falling in the championship game to ninth-ranked Oklahoma.
• The Gators were selected to finish second in the Eastern Division and third overall in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches. Florida also received two first-place votes in the poll.

On Deck
Alabama will return home for a midweek matchup with UAB on Tuesday, March 21. The Crimson Tide and Blazers are scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Sewell-Thomas Stadium with the game airing on SEC Network+.

 

Can't wait to see how we do against SEC competition..Go Gators! I will be here following along...

 

Having lived in FL all my life..weather here changes quickly, from one minute to the next

 

Very true—common saying here in the Panhandle—“You don’t like the weather? Hang around 15-20 minutes, it’ll change”……

 

Here we are potentially only 24 hours away from a change in the Game 2 start time and nothing from the SEC. Are they that determined to make us play thru the weather on Saturday? How can they expect fans to make changes so late and not effect their plans? It doesn't seem good for the players either to start mentally preparing for the series. I wonder if Alabama is against the weather change option and hopes Game 3 just gets cancelled all together?

 

Since the SEC has not answered does that mean there's some sort of football practice or basketball tournament going on that's more important than baseball? I'm at a loss here.

 

Florida's home softball series with Missouri was just changed to a Friday doubleheader starting at 3 PM Friday and the 3rd game on Sunday at 1 pm.

 

Let's go Gators!

 

and the article on the softball change stated that, per SEC guidelines, change for baseball cannot be decided until Friday morning. (normally I would wonder why there is a different policy for softball and baseball but it’s the NCAA and you just kind of expect absurdity).

 

I believe you but that is so difficult to believe that even exists. Its asinine that they can't even let fans know before they leave the game tonight makes no sense. If so I guess I won't be able to make it in such short notice.

Here it is...
"In addition, due to SEC Baseball policy, a formal request and decision on the scheduling of games two and three of their series with Alabama cannot be made until Friday morning."

 

Love this..our players seem to have passion and fire..refreshing to see...I am excited

 

Dumbest rule ever…I feel like for both teams they need to know when it comes to pitching if they are playing 2 games or just 1 game tomorrow.

 

Thump the gump!