Alabama Baseball Takes on Auburn in Capital City Classic
After being swept in Knoxville this past weekend, Coach Brad Bohannon and the Alabama baseball team head to Montgomery to the rival Auburn Tigers in the Capital City Classic.
The Crimson Tide (16-9) will look to collect their second SEC victory of the year, after losing five straight in conference play. Alabama came close against Tennessee as they lost all three games by a combined five runs. Senior Jake Walters pitched exceptionally well in the second game, allowing no earned runs and striking out nine over 5.2 innings of work. The Crimson Tide offense will look to get back to its early season potency, as a win over in-state rival Auburn could provide a huge momentum boost heading into the weekend series against Kentucky.
The 9th ranked Auburn Tigers look to be the Tide’s toughest opponent so far this season, boasting solid talent in all facets of the game. The Tigers currently have six of their ten qualified batters hitting over .290, including junior third basemen Brendan Venter, who leads the team with 35 hits and a .365 average. However, Auburn’s greatest strength comes on the mound in the form of starting pitcher Casey Mize. He currently leads the nation with five wins and 63 strikeouts across his six starts.
Freshman Mason Duke (2-0, 0.00) is expected to be the starting pitcher for the Crimson Tide in Tuesday’s matchup, where he will likely face Auburn’s Jake Owen (0-1, 6.10).
The Capital City Classic is an annual celebration of Auburn and Alabam's greatest rivalry, the Iron Bowl.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. As always, you can stream the live broadcast of the Crimson Tide Sports Network on Tide 102.9/100.9 or the all-new Tide 102.9 app.