TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama baseball returns to Sewell-Thomas Stadium to begin a six-game homestand leading up to Southeastern Conference play. The stretch will begin on Tuesday with a 3 p.m. CT matchup against UAB. The Crimson Tide will follow that up with another midweek contest on Wednesday, this one against South Dakota State at 3 p.m. Both games will air live on SEC Network+.

The Tuesday matchup with UAB will be resume the Crimson Tide's "$2 Tuesday" promotion. The deal is one of the Crimson Tide's season-long promotions at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Tuesday's contest will be a $2 Tuesday where fans can get $2 general admission tickets at the window or online. Once inside The Joe, those in attendance can take advantage of $2 hot dogs at all concession stands.

FOLLOW THE TIDE

Fans can follow the midweek games via the below outlets:

Watch: SEC Network+

Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App

Twitter: @AlabamaBSB

Live Stats: RollTide.com

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

TUESDAY: UA – Garret Rukes (R-So., LHP) vs. UAB – Graham Ashcraft (R-So., RHP)

WEDNESDAY: UA – TBA vs. SDSU – TBA

LEADING OFF

• Alabama and UAB will meet for the 77th time in series history when the two teams match up on Tuesday evening. The Crimson Tide holds the all-time series advantage, 51-25, including a 29-9 mark at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

• The two in-state foes split last season's pairings with the home team claiming a victory in each game.

• Alabama and South Dakota State will meet for the first time in the history of the two programs.

• The Crimson Tide has squared off with only Oral Roberts of the Summit League, with the Tide going 0-4 against ORU. Alabama has never faced the other four member-teams in addition to SDSU, including Fort Wayne, North Dakota State, Omaha and Western Illinois.

• Alabama will look to redshirt sophomore Garret Rukes in the Tuesday start against UAB. The left-hander will be making his first start of the season and has appeared in three games so far in 2019. The Crimson Tide starter for Wednesday is still to be announced.

• UAB will send redshirt sophomore Graham Ashcraft, a righty, to the mound on Tuesday evening in Tuscaloosa. South Dakota State has yet to announce a starter for Wednesday's contest.

ABOUT ALABAMA

• Alabama finished the week a perfect 5-0 and is in the midst of a six-game winning streak. The Crimson Tide began the week with a two-game sweep of North Alabama before traveling to South Alabama for a weekend series in Mobile. Alabama came away victorious on Friday in the opener before sweeping a Saturday doubleheader against the Jaguars.

• The three victories over the Jaguars marked the first time UA has won three consecutive road games against USA since a victory on Feb. 26, 1983, followed by a pair of wins in Mobile on March 3-4, 1984. The Crimson Tide had never won a three-game series over South in Mobile and had only one three-game series win over USA, this one in Tuscaloosa from April 18-19, 1981.

• A six-run third by the offense, combined with a solid effort on the mound from five pitchers helped UA come away with an 8-0 shutout win on Tuesday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama jumped out front early, putting up a six-spot in the third to put the game out of reach. The Tide added single tallies in the fifth and six to push the advantage to eight by night's end.

• The offense was spread across the board with eight of the nine starters tallying a hit in the opener with UNA. Redshirt junior Gene Wood highlighted the offense, finishing 2-for-3 with a team-high two runs and a pair of RBI to go with two walks.

• North Alabama would never threaten the UA lead, as five Crimson Tide pitchers combined for a season-high 15 strikeouts while allowing only two hits. The effort on the mound was led by junior Wil Freeman , as the right-hander tossed 4.0 scoreless innings with four punchouts for the win. Four more UA arms worked the final 5.0 frames, allowing just one hit and striking out 11 with each pitcher recording at least two punchouts.

• Alabama came away with a 4-1 win over North Alabama on Wednesday. UA scored first in the bottom of the third, but UNA matched with one run of its own in the top of the fifth to even things up. The Tide then tallied two in the fifth and added one in the seventh to come away with the Wednesday victory. Redshirt freshman Chase Lee collected his first career win while Jacob McNairy earned a save with his 2.0 scoreless innings to close things out.

• A three-run eighth put the game out of reach, as Alabama earned a 7-3 win over South Alabama on Friday night at Stanky Field. The Crimson Tide was able to jump out to an early two-run advantage, but a three-run homer by South Alabama in the third gave the Jaguars the lead. The Tide answered back three innings later, plating one run in both the sixth and seventh innings followed by the huge three-run eighth to blow things open.

• The offense was patient at the plate, drawing a season-high 10 walks in addition to the nine hits. All nine starters on offense reached base safely with eight of the nine recording a hit. Sophomore Tyler Gentry and freshman Drew Williamson each recorded three base-on-balls, while junior Justin King led the team in hits with a 2-for-4 night that included a double, an RBI and one of the team's walks.

• On the mound Friday, Sam Finnerty tossed another quality start for UA. The senior worked 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk with four punchouts. He ended his night by retiring seven straight before handing the ball over to Casey Cobb . The junior right-hander notched his first save of the season with 3.0 scoreless frames that included three punchouts and only one hit allowed.

• Alabama claimed a pair of victories over South Alabama on Saturday at Stanky Field. The Crimson Tide won game one of the doubleheader, 10-5, and followed with a 6-1 victory in the nightcap to claim the series sweep. UA arms totaled 27 strikeouts and limited the USA hitters to a .215 average across the doubleheader to help secure the pair of wins. The hitters wrapped up the two games batting .338 with 13 extra-base hits and eight walks while going a perfect 6-for-6 on stolen bases.

• UA recorded a season-high 15 hits en route to a 10-5 victory in game one of the doubleheader. The Crimson Tide offense featured three players with three-plus hits, led by Gentry's 4-for-5 day that saw the sophomore fall just a triple short of the cycle. Gentry contributed two doubles and a home run to go with a team-leading two runs and three RBI. Morgan McCullough finished his afternoon 3-for-6, just a home run short of the cycle. The junior doubled and tripled while adding two RBI, one run scored and a stolen base. Rounding out the trio was junior Kolby Robinson . The Tide shortstop finished a perfect 3-for-3 with one run scored.

• The Tide used five pitchers to secure the win in game one, led by Deacon Medders , who earned the W thanks to 3.2 innings of work that included six strikeouts. Medders retired 11 straight to start his afternoon and allowed just two hits and a walk.

• Brock Love put together a dominant performance in his first true start of the season to help the Crimson Tide to a 6-1 win in the series finale with South Alabama. The redshirt junior tossed 4.2 frames of scoreless baseball, allowing just one hit and walking a batter while striking out a career-high 11 batters in the winning effort.

• At the plate, seven of the Tide hitters recorded at least one hit on the night, led by Joe Breaux . The senior finished 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and one run scored. Also putting together a multi-hit night was Williamson and Robinson, with each batter totaling a pair of hits, one RBI and one run apiece.

ABOUT UAB

• Brian Shoop is in his 13th season with the Blazers in 2019 and owned a 328-356 record entering the new season. Shoop is joined by assistant coaches Perry Roth and Adam Revelette along with volunteer assistant, the legendary Ron Polk.

• UAB returns 22 letterwinners from the 2018 team that finished 21-33 overall and 13-17 in Conference USA play. The 2019 roster is without seven lettermen from a season ago and welcomes 14 newcomers to this year's roster.

• The Blazers were selected to finish eighth overall in C-USA in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

• Rob Bishop is in his third season with the Jackrabbits and owned a 44-56 mark across his first two years at SDSU. Bishop is joined by assistant coaches Brian Grunzke and Mitch Mormann along with volunteer assistant Danny Higginbotham.

• South Dakota State returns 20 letterwinners, including five positional starters, from a 2018 team that finished 18-32 overall and 14-13 in Summit League action. The 2019 roster is without nine lettermen from a season ago, a number that includes four positional starters.

• The Jackrabbits were selected to finish second overall in the Summit in the league's preseason poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

ON DECK

Alabama continues its current six-game homestand with a three-game series against Northern Kentucky from March 8-10. The weekend will begin on Friday with a 6 p.m. start and will feature a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday followed Sunday's series finale, scheduled for 1 p.m. All three contests will air live on SEC Network+.