Tide Opens SEC Tournament Against Mississippi State
5/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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The 2002 Southeastern Conference Western Division champion No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (44-12, 20-10 SEC) opens the 2002 SEC Tournament with No. 7 Mississippi State (33-22-1, 14-15 SEC) on Wednesday, May 22 at 1 p.m. in the second game of session one. The first game features the No.3 Florida Gators and the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs at 10 a.m. The two winners will play Thursday, May 23 at 5 p.m., while the losers will square off Thursday, May 23 at 10 a.m.
Alabama and MSU met just two weeks ago with the Crimson Tide sweeping the three-game SEC series at the Joe in Tuscaloosa. It was UA's first series sweep over MSU since 1976. The Crimson Tide has won three straight series with MSU for the first time since the 1973-74 seasons. UA has also won all seven post-season meetings with Miss. State under head coach Jim Wells, including five SEC Tournament tilts.
The Crimson Tide has enjoyed much success in the SEC Tournament since 1995, winning four championships (1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999). The 1995 SEC Western Division Tournament title was UA's first since 1983. Alabama missed the post-season party last year at the Met and is the only league team with a .500 record (15-15) not the make the SEC Tournament under the new format, which began in 1996.
ALABAMA'S PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP:
Odr No., Name, Pos. 2002 Stats Notes
1 11 Travis Garner, RF .344, 5 HR, 25 RBI Batting .380 (30-79) since April 12
2 1 Peter Stonard, 2B .411, 4 HR, 34 RBI SECs second leading hitter
3 14 Jeremy Brown, C .330, 10 HR, 55 RBI Five RBI shy of UA career record
4 24 Scott McClanahan, CF .330, 12 HR, 55 RBI Seven-game hitting streak (.333)
5 6 Brent Boyd, 1B .267, 7 HR, 44 RBI 3-for-29 (.103) last seven SEC gms
6 5 Beau Hearod, DH .318, 10 HR, 47 RBI Batting .346 (9-26) in last 8 games
7 36 Chad White, LF .288, 0 HR, 9 RBI UA record 2 OF assists at LSU
OR 27 Grant Redding, LF .431, 2 HR, 18 RBI Only career SEC HR vs. Miss. State
8 4 Adam Pavkovich, SS .278, 5 HR, 27 RBI Needs one sac bunt to tie UA record
9 26 Allen Rice, 3B .237, 0 HR, 14 RBI Batting .111 (5-45) since April 21
PROBABLE SEC TRNY PITCHERS:
No, Pitcher 2002 Stats Notes
38 Jared Woodward, RH 8 GS, 6-1, 3.90 UA is 6-2 in Woodward's 8 GS this year
39 Brent Carter, LH 14 G, 1-0, 3.86 Only other career start vs. N. Alabama (2/26)
18 Lance Cormier, RH 15 GS, 9-3, 3.14 Holds four Alabama career records
16 Shane Sanders, RH 14 GS, 8-2, 3.11 UA is 12-2 in Sanders 15 starts this year
Date Game Time Radio/TV
May 22 Miss. State vs. Alabama 1 PM (CT) CTSN (WRTR-FM, 105.5)
May 23 vs. Florida or Georgia 10 AM or 5 PM CTSN (WRTR-FM, 105.5)
INTERNET BROADCAST: All Alabama baseball games are available on the internet at www.rolltide.com for the 2002 post-season. The games will also be aired on student-station WVUA (90.7 FM). Live stats can be found at www.secsports.com
TICKETS: Tickets to the 2002 SEC Tournament are available each day at the Hoover Met Ticket Office. General admission tickets are priced at $10 each. Dr. Pepper six-packs are available for $48 each, which includes six general admission tickets good for any game.
RANKINGS: UA is ranked 7th (Collegiate Baseball), 9th (NCBWA), 10th (Baseball Weekly) and 12th (Baseball America).
