TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Sewell-Thomas Stadium and the Alabama baseball team will play host to seventh-ranked Kentucky this weekend for a three-game series from Friday through Sunday. The series will open on Friday evening with a 6 p.m. CT first pitch, followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday. Sunday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT at The Joe. All three contests will air live on SEC Network+.

This weekend's series will feature numerous promotions for fans of all ages. On Friday, fans will have the option of purchasing a "Friday Family Pack" of tickets. The package includes discounted tickets with Domino's coupons included in the price of admission (must purchase four or more tickets, no exceptions). Interested parties can take advantage of the promotion simply by purchasing at least four tickets through RollTide.com. Groups of four or more will receive the discounted price at the ticket window or online.

Friday will also be the Crimson Tide's "Bama Salute" game, honoring all service men and women along with first-responders. All military members will receive a free ticket by showing their military ID at the ticket window upon purchase, while their families will be able to purchase additional tickets for only $7. Part of the Tide's "Bama Salute" celebration will be patriotic-themed Alabama 'A' hats. The first 150 fans through the gate can pick up their flat-bill hat at the series opener.

The Crimson Tide will recognize the Crimson Tide Foundation on Saturday afternoon. All Crimson Tide Foundation donors can receive discounted tickets at the group rate by purchasing their tickets through the Foundation. Alabama will also give away its second of six T-shirt jerseys. The first 300 fans in attendance will receive the day's giveaway.

Sunday will be "Kid's Day" at The Joe, featuring inflatables and poster-making stations on the main concourse before and during the game. Following the final out, kids 12-and-under can head to the field to take part in a holiday egg hunt on the field. Tickets for Sunday's contest are also discounted at $5 for all youth (18-and-under). Big Al's Kids Club members can get a $1 ticket at Sunday's matchup simply by showing their app at the ticket window or using their online promotional code. The first 50 BAKC members through the gates will also receive a free Big Al stuffed animal.

FOLLOW THE TIDE

Fans can follow this weekend's matchups via the below outlets:

Watch: SEC Network+

Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App

Twitter: @AlabamaBSB

Live Stats: RollTide.com

LEADING OFF

• Alabama and Kentucky will meet for the 99th time in series history when the two teams open the three-game set on Friday night. The series with mark the first time the Wildcats have made the trip to Tuscaloosa since the 2014 season. In those three games, UA secured a pair of wins and the series after defeating UK on Friday night and then winning game two of the doubleheader on Saturday in extra innings.

• The Crimson Tide holds the all-time series advantage at 59-39, with UA maintaining a 32-16 mark in games played in Tuscaloosa. The Wildcats are out front, 6-4, in the last 10 games played between the two schools but have fallen in each of the last two meetings between the two programs.

• The last pairing between the two schools came in the play-in round of the 2016 SEC Tournament. In that May 24 contest, the Crimson Tide earned a 5-2 win to advance to the double-elimination round of the week-long tourney.

• Before the meeting in Hoover, Alabama and Kentucky squared off for a three-game series in Lexington from April 8-10 of that same season. The Wildcats won the first two games of the series, before the Tide avoided a sweep with 2-1 win on getaway day.

• Kentucky comes to Tuscaloosa with an 18-7 overall record and a 2-4 conference mark to earn the nation's No. 7 ranking in the latest Baseball America poll. Last time out, the Wildcats defeated Miami (OH) in Lexington, 13-7, on Tuesday evening. Prior to the midweek pairing with the Redhawks, Kentucky won two out of three games versus Auburn in Lexington. The Wildcats began SEC play in Fayetteville, suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

• Alabama will continue with its regular SEC weekend rotation for the series with the Wildcats. Friday's opener will feature junior right-hander Sam Finnerty with senior righty Jake Walters to follow on Saturday. Redshirt freshman Garret Rukes , a left-hander, will get the nod on Sunday for the finale.

• Kentucky is set to throw a trio of junior right-handers this weekend. Sean Hjelle will open the weekend with the Friday start while Zach Haake takes the hill on Saturday. The Wildcats will then send Justin Lewis to the mound for Sunday's getaway day pairing.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

FRIDAY: UA – Sam Finnerty (Jr., RHP) vs. UK – Sean Hjelle (Jr., RHP)

SATURDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Sr., RHP) vs. UK – Zach Haake (Jr., RHP)

SUNDAY: UA – Garret Rukes (R-Fr., LHP) vs. UK – Justin Lewis (Jr., RHP)

ABOUT ALABAMA

• Alabama hosts Kentucky after going 0-4 over the last week's stretch of games. The Crimson Tide first lost three contests at Tennessee last weekend before falling in Montgomery to No. 9 Auburn on Tuesday evening. All four losses came by three runs or less with two of the games featuring a one-run difference.

• The 10th installment of the MAX Capital City Classic saw Alabama baseball fall, 5-2, to Auburn on Tuesday night at Riverwalk Stadium. The Tigers put up a four-spot in the second inning to put the game out of reach, and used two home runs to contribute four of the five runs.

• Alabama fell victim to Tennessee by a score of 5-4 on Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. In a game that featured three lead changes and two ties, Tennessee was able to come out on top.

• The Crimson Tide had the winning run in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings but could not cross the go-ahead score. The bottom of the ninth saw the Volunteers draw a two-out walk followed by a costly Tide miscue to extend the inning. One more walk loaded the bases before the inning's final free pass crossed the winning run for UT.

• The Crimson Tide came up short in both games of the Sunday's doubleheader against the Vols.

• UA fell, 2-1, in game one of the day. After gaining the lead in the fifth, the Tide allowed two unearned runs in the sixth. The tight game featured two impressive pitching performances from each team's starter, with Jake Walters suffering the hard-luck loss.

• The Crimson Tide senior worked 5.2 innings, allowing two unearned runs on only four hits and two walks. Walters provided the Tide with his best start of the season, not allowing a hit until the fourth inning and striking out a season-high nine batters, which matched his most for a single game in SEC play for his career.

• Alabama was shut out, 3-0, in game two of the afternoon. The Tide received another strong game from its arms.

• Starter Garret Rukes contributed 3.0 innings, allowing two runs – both unearned – on three hits and two walks while striking out four. The left-hander turned the ball over to Kyle Cameron out of the bullpen. Cameron allowed one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts across his 3.0 relief innings to keep the Crimson Tide within striking distance.

• Alabama returned 21 letterwinners while losing 11 from the 2017 squad. The 2018 Crimson Tide welcomed back eight positional starters and three starting pitchers while hosting 11 newcomers (including one transfer who sat out last season).

ABOUT KENTUCKY

• Kentucky returned 18 letterwinners, including four positional starters and three pitchers, from the 2017 team that finished 43-23 overall and 19-11 in SEC play. UK finished ranked ninth in the final Baseball America poll after falling to Louisville in the Super Regionals. The 2018 roster is without 14 letterwinners from a season ago, a number that includes five positional starters and one pitcher, while Kentucky welcomes 24 newcomers.

• The Wildcats were selected to finish second in the East and third overall in the Southeastern Conference in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

• Nick Mingione is in his second year leading the Kentucky Wildcats program. A graduate of Embry-Riddle, Mingione is assisted by Jim Belanger and Roland Fanning along with volunteer assistant coach Todd Guilliams.

• Kentucky baseball entered the 2018 campaign with a 1,882-1,799-25 all-time record. The Wildcats have made nine NCAA Tournament appearances and advanced to its only Super Regional appearance a season ago.

• The University of Kentucky is a public co-educational university in Lexington, Ky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's two land-grant universities (the other being Kentucky State University). The University of Kentucky is the largest college or university in the state, with an enrollment totaling 30,000 students.

ON DECK

Next up for the Crimson Tide is a single matchup at home with in-state foe Jacksonville State on Tuesday, April 3. First pitch of the midweek contest is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Jacksonville as part of the 2018 home-and-home series between the two teams. Both sides agreed to flip the home dates to accommodate construction on Jacksonville State's new baseball stadium, with the Crimson Tide now traveling to JSU on May 8.