No. 17 Kentucky baseball is set for a home series against No. 13 Alabama.
The Wildcats enter the series atop the SEC East with an 8-1 record after sweeping Georgia at home, taking a road series against Missouri and sweeping Ole Miss on the road for the first time in program history.
As for the Crimson Tide, it sits at third in the SEC West with a 4-5 conference record. Alabama took two out of three from Tennessee at home before being swept by Georgia on the road. The Tide returned home and took two out of three over South Carolina.
Team Comparison
Looking at both offenses as a whole, the Bat Cats lead the SEC in team batting average in conference games at .320. The Tide are third in the SEC in team batting average at .299 during conference play.
When it comes to slugging percentage in conference games, the Wildcats are third in the SEC at .551 and the Tide are fifth at .521.
The wider separation comes when looking at on-base percentage in conference games. The Wildcats are first in the SEC at .417 while the Tide are seventh at .369.
Moving to the mound, the Wildcats have a team era of 3.81 since conference play started, which is third in the SEC. The Tide come in at 10th in the SEC with a team ERA of 6.81 in conference games.
When it comes to batting average against, the Wildcat staff is first in the SEC with a .196 in conference play while the Tide is ninth with a team batting average against of .282.
Offensive players to watch
Look first at the Tide offense, two-way player Kade Snell leads the team with a .474 batting average in conference games, though he has not played in every SEC game thus far, but has started four straight and came off the bench with three at-bats in his other appearance.
Snell is second on the team in on-base percentage at .500 and leads the team with a .895 slugging percentage in conference games, both of which are higher than his season-long numbers, which show a .359 batting average, .458 on-base percentage and .641 slugging percentage.
Another prominent bat for the Tide in conference play is Ian Petrutz, who enters the weekend second on the team in batting average in conference games at .417. He is third on the Tide in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage in conference play at .488 and .639 respectively.
Once again, his conference numbers are higher than his season-long numbers, which showcase a .342 batting average, .459 on-base percentage and .532 slugging percentage.
Rounding out the Tide’s main offensive threats is Gage Miller, who, in conference games, has a .412 batting average, .523 on-base percentage and .882 slugging percentage. On the season, he leads the Tide in overall stats with a .450 batting average, .536 on-base percentage and .910 slugging percentage.
The Tide will be relying on Snell’s conference hot streak, Petrutz’s high average and Miller’s consistency to drive the offense.
For the Wildcats, Nick Lopez leads the team in overall batting average at .412, which is down slightly from his average in conference games, which sits at .417.
Also in conference games, Lopez has posted a .476 on-base percentage and a .611 slugging percentage, both of which are also down slightly compared to his season on-base percentage of .459 and slugging percentage of .639.
One of the hottest Wildcats since conference play began has been James McCoy, who is second on the Cats with a .407 conference batting average. The power department has been valuable for McCoy in conference play as he leads the team with a .778 slugging percentage while also having a .400 on-base percentage in conference games.
Looking at the entire season, McCoy possesses a .304 batting average, .404 on-base percentage and .565 slugging percentage.
Another Wildcat swinging the bat well in conference play to this point has been Nolan McCarthy, who is second on the team in conference batting average at .371 while being third on the team in conference on-base percentage at .421. He is also second on the Cats with a .686 conference slugging percentage.
For the Bat Cats, they will rely on Lopez’s consistent swing, McCoy’s power surge and McCarthy’s hot streak.
Pitching Matchups
Starting with the home Wildcats, it seems like Trey Pooser has solidified the Friday night starter role as former Friday night starter Travis Smith pitched two innings in relief in the team’s game one win over Ole Miss.
Pooser has pitched to a 2.13 ERA in his two conference starts as he has pitched 12.2 innings and surrendered three earned runs while striking out 12 batters. Looking at his season numbers, both starting and in relief, he has a 3.60 ERA across 25 innings in which he has given up 10 earned runs and struck out 27 batters.
The Friday night starter for the Tide thus far has been Ben Hess. So far in three conference starts Hess has a 9.75 ERA and has surrendered 13 earned runs across 12 innings pitched. One weapon Hess has shown to be effective so far is the ability to strike out batters. On the season, Hess has pitched 29 innings and has a 5.59 ERA.
Every Saturday so far for Kentucky, Dominic Niman has taken the hill. In three conference starts, Niman has a 4.12 ERA as he has given up nine earned runs across 19.2 innings while also striking out 19 batters. He also leads the Wildcats on the season when it comes to innings pitched at 38.2 with 36 strikeouts.
The starting job on Saturdays so far this season for the Tide has belonged to Greg Farone. Through three conference starts, Farone has a 4.20 ERA across 15 innings pitched and has also struck out 11 batters in his conference starts. On the season Farone leads all Tide starters with a 2.93 ERA across 30.2 total innings in which he has struck out 32 batters.
For the Wildcats so far on Sundays, it’s been Mason Moore on the bump. Moore has pitched to a 3.94 ERA in his three conference starts as he has surrendered seven earned runs across 16 innings of work while also striking out 16 batters. On the season, Moore leads all Wildcat starters with a 2.87 ERA while being second in both innings pitched at 37.2 and strikeouts at 35.
Sundays through Alabama’s first two series had been started by Hagan Banks before going to a host of relievers, but, following his start against Georgia, Banks underwent season-ending surgery.
In the team’s Thursday night matchup against South Carolina, which will serve as Sunday on this occasion if Hess and Farone remain on Friday and Saturday, Zane Adams got the start and pitched four innings.
Zane had been the Tide’s midweek starter during the season and has pitched six innings in conference play in which he has given up four earned runs with a 6.00 ERA in conference play. On the season he has a 4.13 ERA across 24 innings and has given up 11 earned runs while striking out 19 batters.
Matthew Heiberger is another name of note as he has appeared in all three of these bullpen style games. So far in conference, Heiberger has surrendered four earned runs across 8.1 innings pitched which results in a 4.32 ERA. On the season, he has a 6.06 ERA across 16.1 innings pitched in which he has given up 11 runs and struck out 15 batters.
With the matchup now set, Kentucky and Alabama will take the field at Kentucky Proud Park for game one of the three-game set with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
