Baseball Hosts Arkansas in Key SEC West Showdown
4/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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QUICK FACTS |
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Games 42-44: ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS AT ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE RADIO: The games will be aired locally on WRTR-FM (105.5) or WACT-AM (1420) in Tuscaloosa. David Crane and Chris Stewart will call the action. INTERNET BROADCAST: Live stats (home games only) and audio broadcasts can be found at http://www.rolltide.com/ TICKETS: Season tickets are available by calling the Alabama Ticket Office (205-348-2262). Single-game tickets and standing-room only tickets are available for $5 each and the gates will open two hours prior to each game. RANKINGS: Alabama has fallen out of all but one of the four major polls and ranks 34th this week in the NCBWA poll. Arkansas is one of the nation's hottest teams and enters the week ranked 15th by USA Today Sports Weekly, 18th by Baseball America, 19th by NCBWA and 21st by Collegiate Baseball. |
LIVE AUDIO: FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
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» 2003 Game-By-Game Player Statistics
Date Game Time Radio
Apr 25 Arkansas 6:30 pm CT CTSN (WRTR 105.5 FM)
Apr 26 Arkansas 4 pm CT CTSN (WRTR, 105.5 FM)
Apr 27 Arkansas 2 pm CT CTSN (WRTR, 105.5 FM)
Apr 30 Samford 6:30 pm CT CTSN (WRTR, 105.5 FM)
WELLS SEEKS 400th WIN AT ALABAMA
University of Alabama head coach Jim Wells seeks his 400th win at the Capstone as the No. 34 Crimson Tide hosts the No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks in a three-game Southeastern Conference Western Division series here at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The series opener is set for Friday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m. Coach Wells, who has compiled a 399-167 (.707) record in his nine seasons here at Alabama, is one win shy of the 400-win mark here at the Capstone. Wells took over the UA program after the 1994 season and has taken the Crimson Tide to the College World Series (1996, 1997 and 1999) three times and led the Crimson Tide to five SEC Tournament Championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2002).
THE RECORDS
Alabama (28-13, 9-9 SEC) has won seven of its last 10 games, dating back to April 8. The Crimson Tide enters the weekend in sixth place in the SEC Western Division and tied for sixth in the overall league standings. Arkansas (30-9, 11-7 SEC) is one of the nation's hottest teams, winning 12 of its last 16 games. The Hogs have also won four straight SEC series. Arkansas is 9-4 on the road this season and has won all three SEC road series.
THE COACHES
Alabama's Jim Wells is in his ninth season at the Capstone, compiling a 399-165 (.707) record at the helm of the Crimson Tide. Overall, Wells is 591-254 (.699) in his 14th season as a Division I head coach. Arkansas Dave Van Horn has guided the Razorbacks to a 30-9 (.769) record and a Top 15 national ranking. Van Horn is in his 244-101 (.707) in his 15th season as a head coach. Prior to taking the Arkansas job, Van Horn took Nebraksa to back-to-back trips (2001, 2002) to the College World Series. Van Horn's first Division I job came at Northwestern State, where he replaced Jim Wells after the 1994 season.
LAST TIME OUT
Senior right fielder Beau Hearod had two hits, including his fifth career grand slam to lead Alabama to a 12-1 win over UAB at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Heaord's second inning grand slam gave UA an 8-0 lead. He also tripled and scored in the sixth inning. He finished the game with a career high four runs scored. Jeffrey Norrris (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K) and Jared Woodward (3 IP, 1 H, 5 K) combined to hold UAB to one run and six hits and added 12 strikeouts. NEXT GAME Alabama and Arkansas play Saturday at 4 p.m.
PROBABLE LINEUP
Batting Order
No Name Pos B-T 2003 Stats
11 Travis Garner CF R-R .353, HR, 19 RBI
Hitting .522 (12-for-23) in last five games
6 Allen Rice 2B L-L .238, 6 HR, 27 RBI
Hitless in last nine at-bats
4 Adam Pavkovich SS R-R .361, 8 HR, 37 RBI
Batting .429 (9-for-21) in his last five games
5 Beau Hearod RF R-R .379, 16 HR, 62 RBI
Recorded six straight multiple hit games
12 Zac Welch 1B L-L .331, 3 HR, 33 RBI
Hitting .381 (8-21) last 5 gms; 3 hits vs. UAB
24 Al Hecklinski DH R-R .311, 9 HR, 40 RBI
Starting his 100th career game tonight
31 Nathan Meiners 3B L-R .297, 2 HR, 16 RBI
Started 16 of last 17 games at third base
1 Brandon Avalos LF R-R .260, 0 HR, 4 RBI
Started five of last six games in left field
37 Charlie Lyons C R-R .314, HR, 8 RBI
Riding six-game SEC hitting streak
Key Reserves
No Name Pos B-T 2003 Stats
16 Ryan Beagle OF/DH L-L .167, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Appeared in only three games as hitter
18 Bobby Burns C R-R .220, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Collected three hits at Ole Miss (April 18-20)
14 Evan Bush 3B R-R .163, 0 HR, 8 RBI
Played in only seven games since March 22nd
29 John Marshall C R-R .167, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Appeared in 19 games this season
8 Trey Moody INF R-R .400, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Collected RBI double in first career at-bat
27 Grant Redding OF R-R .325, 1 HR, 15 RBI
Played in only three of last seven games
21 Gabe Scott OF R-R .261, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Has 11 strikeouts in 23 at-bats this year
Starting Pitching Rotation
No. Name B-T 2003 Stats
39 Brent Carter L-L 13 G, 10 GS, 6-4, 3.70 ERA
Won last two outings; Leads UA with 3 CGs
45 Charley Boyce R-R 10 G, 9 GS, 4-2, 3.43 ERA
20 Seth Johnson R-R 15 G, 4 GS, 5-2, 3.04 ERA
Allowed 11 ER in last 11.2 IP (8.48 ERA)
36 Clint Brannon L-L 10 GS, 3-1, 2.79 ERA
UA To Be Announced
32 Josh Merryman R-R 10 G, 2 GS, 1-0, 4.28 ERA
Alabama Bullpen
No. Name B-T 2003 Stats
16 Ryan Beagle L-L 5 G, 3 GS, 0-0, 5.40 ERA
Career-high seven BB vs. S. Alabama (April 16)
41 Jacob Legg L-L 2 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA
Pitched 3.1 innings this year
42 Dewayne Marlowe R-R 1 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 SV
Three shutout innings vs. MVSU (Feb. 27)
34 Eric Mennen R-R 4 G, 1-0, 6.75 ERA
Mennen has UA's highest ERA this season
44 Allen Ponder R-R 13 G, 2 GS, 2-3, 5.74 ERA
Pitched in only two games since April 6th
25 Brian Reed R-R 21 G, 2-1, 10 SV, 2.58 ERA
Tied UA career record with 19 saves
