Alabama baseball is on a roll. Thursday’s rivalry win over Auburn likely locked Tuscaloosa as one of the host sites in the upcoming NCAA regionals and put the Crimson Tide one win away from the single-elimination portion of the SEC tournament.

To advance to Saturday’s semifinals, Alabama will need to beat Vanderbilt. The Tide won two of three against the Commodores in a series played from May 4-6, the first series under interim head coach Jason Jackson. Four-seed Vanderbilt has beaten Auburn and lost to Florida this week in Hoover.

First pitch is set for 6:50 p.m. CST, the winner will play one-seed Florida. It would be a rematch for both sides.

1ST INNING

Top: Despite the success Jacob McNairy had against Vanderbilt earlier this month in Tuscaloosa, the Commodores were ready tonight. They smack four hits for five runs as RJ Schreck, Parker Noland, Chris Maldonado each get an RBI. The big swing of the inning came from RJ Austin who hit his seventh home run of the year off a camera lift in left field. Alabama in a big hole early, trails Vanderbilt 5-0.

Bottom: Alabama suffered another blow to the top of its lineup. Leadoff hitter Jim Jarvis was hit in the helmet and stumbled to the ground as he was checked on by team trainers. The senior tried to stay in the game but was replaced by senior Jake Leger.

Yesterday, red-hot No. 2 hitter Tommy Seidl was replaced after an RBI single due to a lower-body injury and was not in the lineup Friday night. Alabama worked the bases loaded with two outs and brought designated hitter Will Hodo to the plate. The sophomore gave it a ride by Enrique Bradfield Jr. was able to track it down in center to keep the Tide off the board.

LINEUPS

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].