Baseball Preview: #23 Alabama Hits The Road To Take On #6 Houston

Alabama, ranked #23, hits the road for the first time this season to take on #6 Houston in a three game weekend series. They last met in the 2003 NCAA Regionals where the Cougars won 16-8. The all-time series between the two teams is tied at 6-6.

Alabama enters the series following a dominant three game sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore in which they outscored the Hawks 36-0. It was the first time in school history that the Crimson Tide held its opponent to zero runs in all three games of an opening series.

Alabama had 40 hits in the series compared to only 11 for Maryland Eastern Shore. Right fielder Casey Hughston led the offensive charge with 11 hits and eight RBIs. The sophomore currently leads the SEC in hits and total batting average. Also contributing to the hot hitting streak were veterans Mikey White and Kyle Overstreet. Each had six hits while having 12 RBIs combined.

The Crimson Tide also had five different players steal a total of eight bases in the three game stretch. The team stole 32 bases in 61 games last season.

On the mound, starting pitchers Taylor Guilbeau, Will Carter, and Geoffrey Bramblett all got shutout wins. Guilbeau got things started off in the first game with seven strikeouts in six innings. Carter would follow suit the following evening with six strikeouts in seven innings. Bramblett picked up the final win after having three strikeouts in six innings. Each pitcher only allowed two hits.

Despite the solid start, Mitch Gaspard and company will be facing a much bigger challenge this weekend. Last season, Houston won the AAC Baseball Tournament and later defeated the top seeded LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge Regional before losing to Texas in the Super Regionals. The Cougars have continued their success by opening the new season with a three game sweep of Minnesota.

Houston fans were happy to see new faces come up big in their opening series. Freshman shortstop Connor Wang had five hits, which included a double, a triple, and a home run. Junior college transfer Chris Iriart was equally impressive with 5 hits and 2 home runs. The Cougars' will need guys like Kyle Survance to bring their bats to life in order to score against the Tide's solid pitching rotation. Survance, who had a team leading 78 hits last season, had just three hits in 11 at-bats against Minnesota.

Junior right handed pitcher Jake Lemoine had the most impressive performance on the bump for the Cougars after recording six strikeouts in just five innings pitched. However, he also gave up six hits. Lemoine was listed as a pre-season All-American by four different publications.

Alabama must carry over their hot hitting streak into the weekend in order to win the series. It would be unfair to say any player "struggled" in the opening series, but the Tide would benefit from having infielders Chance Vincent, Will Haynie, and Chandler Avant ramp up their production.

The first two games of the series will begin at 6:00 pm CT. The final game will begin at 12:00 pm CT.