No. 4 Texas Hosting No. 11 Alabama in Pivotal Conference Clash

Looking to get back on track in SEC play, the No. 4 Texas Longhorns welcome the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide to Austin.

Tyler Fay pitches at Sewell-Thomas Stadium as the Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers played the first game of their three-game series. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the first four weekends of conference play, the No. 4 Texas Longhorns (28-7, 9-5) looked unbeatable. They started with series wins over No. 25 Ole Miss, No. 13 Auburn, a sweep of No. 14 Oklahoma and a gritty series win over South Carolina.

Spirits were high in Austin, and for good reason. That all changed when they hit the road last weekend for a series against No. 10 Texas A&M. It was Jim Schlossnagle's return to College Station and it was not pretty, as they dropped the first two games before seeing the third one cancelled due to weather.

Suddenly they went from alone in second in the SEC to tied with the Aggies and the teams behind them that much closer to catching them. In the other dugout, the Crimson Tide find themselves needing to right the ship themselves after suffering a sweep against No. 16 Arkansas last weekend.

How do the Crimson Tide and Longhorns stack up?

Texas Longhorns second baseman Ethan Mendoza celebrates after scoring against the Texas State Bobcats | University of Texas Athletics

How to watch/listen -

Friday April 17 - 6:30 p.m. CT - SEC Network+/TexasSports.com/Audio

Saturday April 18 - 2 p.m. CT - SEC Network+/TexasSports.com/Audio

Sunday April 19 - 1 p.m. CT - SEC Network+/TexasSports.com/Audio

A look at Alabama's season so far -

Early in the season the Crimson Tide proved themselves as one of the nation's top teams. However, they started conference play by getting swept by Kentucky. Since then, though, they bounced back, swept both Florida and Auburn as well as took the series against Oklahoma before getting swept again last weekend -- this time by Arkansas.

Alabama by the numbers -

• Record - 27-11 (8-7)

• Runs scored - 275

• Runs allowed - 166

• Team Avg. - .268

• Opponent Avg. - .230

• Team ERA - 3.79

• Opponent ERA - 7.07

Alabama wins this series if...

It can do what the Aggies did and rattle the Texas pitching staff. When the trio of Ruger Riojas, Luke Harrison and Dylan Volantis are firing on all cylinders, you're going to struggle to find a starting rotation in the country that can stack up.

Behind them, though, the bullpen has been a different story. While they've looked elite at times, they've also struggled mightily in other instances and have blown several leads as a result. This was compounded last weekend when the duo of Riojas and Harrison struggled.

Alabama will look to match that same level of success. If it can, then the Crimson Tide will like their chances to come into Austin and leave with a potentially season-defining series win.

Texas wins this series if...

It can get the versions of Riojas and Harrison that dominated the SEC to start conference play. In back-to-back outings, Riojas has struggled -- first giving up six runs against South Carolina and then four runs in the opener against Texas A&M.

Harrison did not fare any better against the Aggies, as he gave up eight runs and only recorded two outs before being pulled in the first. Prior to those bumpy starts, however, the veteran duo had consistently shut down conference foes and made their lives difficult.

If those two can get back on track, then the Longhorns have a strong chance at getting back in the win column in SEC play and maintain their position in the top half of the standings.

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