Alabama Goes For Seventh Straight Win Against UAB
3/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Game 11: UAB BLAZERS AT ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
SEWELL-THOMAS STADIUM -- TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA -- 6:30 PM
MARCH 3, 2004 -- UA LOOKS FOR 7TH STRAIGHT WIN
Date Game Time Radio
Mar. 3 UAB at Alabama 6:30 PM WACT (1420 AM) Only
Mar. 5 La. Tech vs. Alabama 5 PM CTSM, WRTR-FM (105.5)
Mar. 6 Alabama at Centenary 8 PM CTSM, WRTR-FM (105.5)
Mar. 7 Alabama vs. Kansas State Noon CTSM, WRTR-FM (105.5)
ON THE MOUND: UA - Brandon Belcher (LH, 1 GS, 0-1, 2.89 ERA) vs. UAB - Adam Price (RH, 2 GS, 2-0, 0.00 ERA)
RADIO: The games will be aired locally on WRTR-FM (105.5) or WACT-AM (1420) in Tuscaloosa. David Crane will broadcast the UAB game on WACT-AM (1420) in Tuscaloosa.
PROMOTIONS: The UAB game marks the return of "Buck Night" at the Joe. All bleacher tickets are one dollar ($1) for the Alabama-UAB game. The UAB game is also "Future All-American Night" and all youngsters will be allowed on the field with the Crimson Tide during the national anthem.
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 is ranked 31st this week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's poll. Bama is also on the verge of joining the USA Today Sports Weekly Coaches Poll. The was 27th in this week's poll.
BAMA LOOKS TO EXTEND WINNING STREAK
The No. 31 Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team closes out a seven-game home stand with a 6:30 p.m. game Wednesday, Mar. 3 against the UAB Blazers at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The UAB game marks the first midweek home game of the season for Alabama. The original midweek opener against Centenary (Feb. 25) was rescheduled for May 12 due to heavy rain. The UAB game marks the return of "Buck Night" and "Future All-American Night" to the Joe. All reserved bleacher seats are just one dollar for all Tuesday and Wednesday game throughout the 2004 season. In addition, all youngsters will be allowed to run onto the field with the Crimson Tide for the national anthem. The Crimson Tide enters Wednesday night's game riding a six-game winning streak. Alabama is also riding a seven-game home winning streak. The Crimson Tide has won three straight against the Blazers, including the last two here at the Joe by a combined 20-2 score.
THE RECORDS
Alabama (8-2) is has won six straight games after sweeping Cincinnati and SE Louisiana the past two weekends. UAB (7-1) saw its season-opening seven-game winning streak end with Sunday's home loss to Marshall.
THE COACHES
Alabama's Jim Wells is in his 10th season with the Crimson Tide program. He has compiled a 417-178 (.701) record at the helm of the Crimson Tide. Overall, Wells is 609-267 (.695) in 15 seasons at Northwestern State and Alabama. Wells is 11-5 (.688) in his career against the Blazers. UAB head coach Larry Giangrosso has compiled a 677-417-1 (.618) career record at Central Alabama CC and UAB. In six years with the Blazers, "Gino" is 103-129 (.444). He is 2-6 (.250) against Alabama.
THE SERIES
Alabama leads the all-time series, 31-12. The Tide has won the last three meetings with the Blazers, including a two-game winning streak at the Joe by a combined 20-2 score. Overall, Alabama 18-4 (.818) against UAB here in Tuscaloosa.
NEXT GAME
Alabama will spend its first weekend of the season away from home as its plays in the Centenary Gent Classic in Shreveport, La. The Crimson Tide will face Louisiana Tech (Mar. 5), Centenary (Mar. 6) and Kansas State (Mar. 7) in the three-day, round-robin tournament.
ALABAMA HITTING NOTEBOOK (Mar. 2, 2004)
Name G AVG. AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB
Alabama 10 .297 333 68 99 22 1 9 63 43 68 10-15
UAB 8 .283 297 58 84 18 2 8 52 40 62 21-24
La. Tech 13 .286 437 76 125 24 0 9 62 42 121 22-28
Centenary 10 .326 331 70 108 27 3 3 62 46 43 11-16
Kansas State 9 .263 300 63 79 17 1 9 57 48 59 11-14
NOTES: Alabama ranks 11th in the SEC this week with a .297 (99-for-333) batting average...The Crimson Tide has 68 strikeouts in 10 games, which the fourth-highest total in the league...Alabama has outscored the opposition 36-7 in the first four innings this season...Alabama pinch-hitters are 0-for-8 (.000) this year...Bama scored a season-high 13 runs in its 13-3 win over SE Louisiana (Feb.27)...Alabama also matched its season high with 12 RBI in the win over the Lions...UA also had 12 RBI against New Orleans (Feb. 16) and Cincinnati (Feb. 21)...The Crimson Tide has hit only one home run in its last four games...Bama hit a season-high five home runs in a 12-0 win over Cincinnati on Feb 21, 2004...The five home runs were the most by Alabama since hitting five home runs against Ole Miss on April 24, 2000...Seven of Alabama's nine home runs this season have been solo home runs...All nine home runs have come with one out or less this year...The Crimson Tide is batting .330 (65-for-197) during its six-game winning streak and is averaging 8.0 runs and 10.8 hits per game...Allen Rice (12-for-25, .400, 4 RBI) and Zac Welch (8-for-18, .444, HR, 5 RBI) are a combined 20-for-43 (.465) in those six games with one home run and nine RBI...
ALABAMA PITCHING NOTEBOOK
Name G-GS W L SV ERA IP H R ER BB K CG
ALABAMA 10-10 8 2 3 2.53 89.0 66 29 25 24 81 0
UAB 8-8 7 1 1 3.87 79.0 65 37 34 35 71 0
La. Tech 13-13 5 8 0 6.79 114.0 149 123 86 73 87 0
Centenary 10-10 5 5 0 5.62 80.0 103 62 50 40 54 0
Kansas State 9-9 5 4 2 5.24 79.0 90 68 46 38 51 1
Name G-GS W L SV ERA IP H R ER BB K CG
UA Starters 10-10 5 0 0 2.32 54.1 42 15 14 13 46 0
UA Bullpen 10-0 3 2 3 2.86 34.2 24 14 11 11 35 0
NOTES: Alabama ranks among the SEC leaders in a number of pitching categories...The Tide ranks second in opponents batting average (.206), tied for second in fewest hit batters (4), third in saves (3) and fifth in ERA (2.53) and strikeouts (81) through 10 games...Alabama has allowed only 11 runs (1.83 per game) in the last six games...The Crimson Tide has yielded only eight runs (1.6 runs per game) in the last five games...The Crimson Tide walked only two batters in the SE Louisiana series (Feb. 27-29)...The Crimson Tide has not allowed an unearned run in the last seven games...Alabama has not allowed a triple this season...The Tide has allowed only one home run in the last six games...Alabama relief pitchers have stranded 10 of its last 11 inherited runners over the last four games...Bama stranded all six inherited runners in a 3-2 win over Cincinnati (Feb. 22)...The Crimson Tide bullpen threw 11 1/3 scoreless innings in the SE Louisiana (Feb. 27-29) series and allowed only five hits and struck out eight batters...During the six-game winning streak, the Tide staff is 6-0 with 1.83 ERA (54 IP, 42 H, 11 ER, 12 BB, 42 K)...Senior RHP Seth Johnson (6 G, 12.2 IP) has not allowed an earned run or a walk this season...
UAB SERIES
Alabama leads the all-time series with UAB, 31-12 (.721), including a series sweep last year. In fact, Alabama has won the last three meetings with UAB.
*The Alabama-UAB series began in 1974 with the Crimson Tide sweeping the four games played that season.
*Alabama has compiled an 18-4 (.818) all-time record here in Tuscaloosa against UAB.
*The Crimson Tide has a modest two-game home winning streak against the Blazers, but has outscored UAB 20-2 in those two games.
*UAB has not beaten Alabama since the 2001 season when the Blazers pulled off back-to-back wins over Alabama in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.
*Alabama head coach Jim Wells is 11-5 (.688) in his career against UAB, including a 7-2 (.778) here at the Joe.
*UAB head coach Larry Giangrosso is 2-6 (.250) in his career against Alabama.
BAMA VS. CONFERENCE USA
Alabama owns a 188-76 (.713) all-time record against teams from Conference USA.
*Alabama is 3-0 (1.000) against the league this season, having recently swept a three-game series from Cincinnati (Feb. 20-22) here in Tuscaloosa.
*The league was formed in 1995-96 and since that time, Alabama is 25-7 (.781) against member schools.
*Since the formation of the league, Alabama has faced Southern Miss (10-0), UAB (8-4), Houston (4-2), Cincinnati (3-0) and Tulane (0-1).
SCOUTING REPORT: UAB
The Blazers bring a 7-1 record to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night after suffering their first loss of the season on Sunday against Marshall.
*UAB is 6-1 this season at Young Memorial Field in Birmingham. On the road, the Blazers are 1-0 after an opening day shutout win at Alabama State on Feb. 17.
*On offense, the Blazers are batting .283 (84-for-297) through eight games with eight home runs and 52 RBI. UAB averages 7.25 runs and 10.5 hits per game this season.
*Senior catcher Eugene Rodriguez is the leading hitter for UAB. In six games, Rodriguez is batting .350 (9-for-20) with three doubles and three RBI.
*Junior Nathan McCorkle is the team's second-leading hitter in eight games this year. A transfer from Lipscomb, McCorkle is batting .346 (9-for-26) with a team-high eight runs scored, one home run and five RBI.
*Six different Blazers have homered this season, including two home runs each from senior outfielder Sam Clark (.286, 2 HR, 8 RBI) and senior infielder Daniel Hill (.250, 2 HR, 5 RBI). Hill also leads the Blazers with two triples.
*The leading run-producer is junior transfer Cole Helms (.314, HR, 10 RBI), who played last season at Tennessee Tech.
*The UAB pitching staff appears to be improved form last year. The Blazers have posted a 3.79 ERA (79 IP, 65 H, 37 R, 34 ER, 35 BB, 71 K) in eight games this season. They are allowing less than one hit per inning pitched and boast a two-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio on the young season.
*Junior right-hander Adam Price (2 GS, 2-0, 0.00 ERA) is expected to start Wednesday against Alabama. Price played on the same high school team as Alabama's Ryan Beagle and pitched at Shelton State the last two years.
*In two starts this season, Price has worked 11 innings and allowed seven hits, two unearned runs, two walks and nine strikeouts.
*Junior left-hander Jacob Legg, who pitched last year here at Alabama, has been the main force out of the pen this season. Legg has a 2-0 record and 1.86 ERA in four appearances this season. Junior Eric Roberts (4 G, 1-0, 1 save, 1.50 ERA), a transfer from Georgia, has the only save this season for UAB.
BAMA SEEKS SEVENTH STRAIGHT WIN
Alabama enters the UAB looking for its seventh straight win of the 2004 season. The Crimson Tide's six-game winning streak includes victories over Cincinnati and SE Louisiana the past two weekends.
*During the six-game winning streak, Alabama is hitting .330 (65-for-197) with six home runs and 44 RBI.
*Alabama is averaging 8.0 runs and 10.8 hits per game over the last six games. Alabama has scored in double figures twice and tallied five games with 10 or more hits in the six-game winning streak.
*The pitching staff has been solid, too. UA pitchers are 6-0 with a 1.83 ERA in the last six games.
*Alabama has allowed only 11 earned runs and 42 hits in the 54 innings over the last six games.
*All but one SEC team enters the week with a winning streak. Georgia is the only team in the league to lose its last game.
Current SEC Winning Streaks (March 1, 2004)
Team Winning Streak
South Carolina 9
Vanderbilt 7
Florida 7
LSU 7
ALABAMA 6
Ole Miss 6
Auburn 5
Kentucky 5
Miss. State 3
Tennessee 3
THE TIDES OF MARCH
Alabama has posted a 119-68 (.708) record in the month of March since 1995.
*Since 1995, Alabama has averaged 13.1 wins per season in the month of March, including a pair of 15-win seasons in 1997 (15-4) and 1999 (15-4).
*The school record for wins in the month of March is 17 set by the 1981 (17-3) and 1984 (17-3) teams.
*Alabama coach Jim Wells is 197-92 (.682) in his 13-year career in the month. He was 78-24 (.765) in his five years at Northwestern State.
*Alabama was 13-5 (.722) last year in the month of March, including a season-high 10-game winning streak from Mar. 4-21, 2003
WELLS YEAR-BY-YEAR MARCH RECORD
Year Record (Pct.)
1995 14-7 (.667)
1996 14-7 (.667)
1997 15-4 (.789)
1998 13-4 (.765)
1999 15-4 (.789)
2000 11-8 (.579)
2001 10-7 (.588)
2002 14-5 (.737)
2003 13-5 (.722)
2004 0-0 (.000)
TOTALS 119-49 (.708)
ALABAMA SUCCESS
Traditionally, Alabama has had little trouble with in-state teams, compiling an impressive 451-120 (.790) all-time record with schools in the state of Alabama.
BAMA ALL-TIME VS. IN-STATE SCHOOLS
Opponent Series Record
Alabama Christian Bama leads, 4-1
Alabama State Bama leads, 5-0
Auburn Bama leads, 130-105
Bham Athletics Bama leads, 6-0
Bham College Bama leads, 9-2
Bham Southern Bama leads, 25-14
Faulkner State Bama leads, 2-1
Greensboro Bama leads, 4-1
Jax State Bama leads, 17-7
Marion Military Bama leads, 12-2
Montevallo Bama leads, 11-2
North Alabama Bama leads, 18-3
Samford Bama leads, 81-8
South Alabama Bama leads, 47-44
Stillman Bama leads, 17-0
Springhill College Bama leads, 9-4
Troy State Bama leads, 12-3
UAB Bama leads, 31-12
West Alabama Bama leads, 21-10
*Coach Wells has been even more impressive against in-state teams, posting a 75-30 (.714) record since his arrival in 1995.
WELLS ALL-TIME VS. IN-STATE SCHOOLS
Opponent Series Record
Auburn Bama leads, 22-15
Bham Southern Bama leads, 3-0
Jax State JSU leads, 4-3
North Alabama Bama leads, 2-0
Samford Bama leads, 13-1
South Alabama Bama leads, 11-3
Troy State Bama leads, 4-1
UAB Bama leads, 11-5
West Alabama Bama leads, 6-1
THE JOE
Alabama fans have made Sewell-Thomas Stadium (aka - The Joe) one of zaniest places to watch a college baseball game. Alabama posted the nation's best home record three consecutive years (1997-99), including a school record 37-4 (.902) in 1999. Joe Caruso, an All-American second baseman and fan favorite, added to the lore of the stadium during his four-year career (1994-97) at Alabama. Another ballpark tradition is the playing of "Cotton Eyed Joe" during the middle of the fifth inning. This upbeat song literally has the fans dancing in the aisles as they cheer on their beloved Crimson Tide.
*Alabama led the nation in home wins in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2002.
*The Crimson Tide won a school-record 37 home games in 1999, posting a 37-4 (.902) record at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
*Alabama matched the all-time record with 32 regular-season home wins in 2002, which included a modern day record 27-game winning streak.
*The Crimson Tide went 32-2 (.941) at home during the 2002 regular season and fashioned a 35-4 (.897) overall mark.
*The 1997 (32-3, .914) and 1999 (32-4, .889) teams also won 32 regular season home games.
*Alabama's regular-season home winning percentage (32-2, .941) in 2002 was also the best in school history.
