No. 14 Auburn will look to bounce back from a midweek loss to the UAB Blazers as it plays host to No. 8 Alabama in a three-game series this weekend at Plainsman Park.
The rivalry series between the Tide and Tigers is evenly split over the past 10 matchups, with Auburn winning the most recent three-game series 2-1.
Despite a solid season overall, Auburn has lost its last four games, three of which were to Georgia and the other being the Tuesday night loss to UAB. The Tigers have a 20-9 record on the season and are 4-5 against SEC competition. In home matchups the Tigers are 13-4 and are 2-1 against conference opponents at home.
Alabama is riding a two-game winning streak over No. 9 Oklahoma and Samford, bringing its season record to 26-4. The Crimson Tide are 6-3 against SEC foe and hold an undefeated 5-0 record on the road.
At the plate, an array of Tigers have found success starting with Cooper McMurray. McMurray is hitting .358 on the season with eight doubles and seven home runs. He has also drawn 23 walks and has a .471 on-base percentage. Ike Irish is another name to know for the Tigers, hitting .337 with seven home runs. Irish leads the team in slugging percentage at .652. Cade Belyeu has an average of .303 so far on the season and leads Auburn in on-base percentage at .475.
On the mound, Samuel Dutton leads the Tigers with 37 innings pitched and strikeouts with 45. Dutton has a 3.16 ERA and opposing hitters have a .284 average when he is pitching. Carson Myers leads the team in relief, pitching 22.2 innings and showcases a 2.78 ERA. Myers has 28 strikeouts and only four walks to go along with three saves.
The Crimson Tide are led by Golden Spikes Award contender Justin Lebron. Lebron holds a .342 average with a .758 slugging percentage. Lebron has 23 extra-base hits, 13 of which are home runs. Kade Snell leads the Tide in average at .421 and on-base percentage at .508. Snell has 13 extra-base hits of his own, five being home runs. Will Hodo possesses a .321 average with 16 extra-base hits and eight home runs.
Riley Quick holds the lead for Alabama in ERA among starting pitchers at 3.22. Quick is 4-1 and has 23 strikeouts to nine walks in his six appearances. Opponents are hitting .221 with Quick on the mound. Zane Adams leads the Tide in innings pitched with 34.1, in those innings Adams has a 3.67 ERA. To close out games Alabama has relied on Carson Ozmer. Ozmer has appeared in 14 games and totaled eight saves with a 1.47 ERA.
The in-state rivalry will get underway on Friday with the first pitch set for 6 p.m. CST. The second game will be Saturday at 7 p.m. CST and the series finale on Sunday at 2 p.m. CST.
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Marshall is a junior majoring in Journalism. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @marshalldow02
