Bama Hosts Auburn in Battle for Baseball Bragging Rights
4/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Games 36-38: AUBURN TIGERS AT
SEWELL-THOMAS STADIUM --
APRIL 16, 2004 -- BRAGGIN' RIGHTS OF BASEBALL
Date Game Time Radio/TV
Apr 16 vs. Auburn 6:30 PM CTSN, WRTR-FM (105.5), WEB-TV
Apr 17 vs. Auburn 4 PM CTSN, WRTR-FM (105.5), WEB-TV
Apr 18 vs.
ON THE MOUND: UA - 23 Wade LeBl0anc (LH, 9 GS, 5-2, 1.95 ERA) vs. AU - 13 Mike Felix (RH, 9 GS, 2-2, 4.35 ERA)
RADIO: The games will be aired locally on WRTR-FM (105.5) or WACT-AM (1420) in
INTERNET BROADCAST: Live stats (home games only) and audio broadcasts can be found at http://www.rolltide.com/
TICKETS: Single-game tickets and standing-room only tickets are available for $5 each and the gates will open two hours prior to each game. Tickets are available for the
The University of Alabama baseball team plays continues its stretch of games against in-state teams, as the Crimson Tide closes out "Rivalry Week" by hosting arch-rival and No. 12 Auburn this weekend in a three-game Southeastern Conference series here in Tuscaloosa. The series opener is set for Friday, April 16 at 6:30 pm. The series continues on Saturday, April 17 (4 p.m.) and Sunday, April 18 (2:06 p.m.) at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
THE RECORDS
THE COACHES
NEXT GAME
Name G AVG. AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB
Alabama 35 .277 1,168 223 324 65 7 24 201 134 220 34-48
Auburn 35 .275 1,179 164 297 65 10 23 184 149 269 31-40
NOTES: Alabama continues to struggle on offense this season and ranks at or near the bottom in most every offensive category heading into the Auburn series...Bama is ninth in runs scored (223) and doubles (65), 10th in home runs (24) and RBI (201) and ranks 11th in batting average (.277), slugging percentage (.407), on-base percentage (.367), total hits (324) and triples (7)...Alabama is fourth in the league in hit batters (42) and strikeouts (220) and third in double plays (26)...In SEC play, Alabama also ranks 11th or 12th in eight of the nine major offensive categories...Bama is 11th in the SEC with a .238 batting average through 12 SEC games...Alabama is 5-5 (.500) against left-handers this season...Alabama is 17-8 (.680) against right-handers...Alabama is hitting .244 (93-for-381) against llefties this season and .294 (220-for-751) against right-handers...Bama has posted a 13-5 (.722) in night games and 9-8 (.529) in day games...Alabama pinch hitters are 11-for-39 (.282) this season, with Beagle and Downs collecting two hits each as pinch hitters...As a team, Alabama is hitting .310 (13-for-42) with the bases loaded this season, but was 0-for-4 (.000) in the eighth and ninth inning of its April 11 loss to Vanderbilt, stranding six base runners in the final two innings...UA is 0-for-5 (.000) in the last two games with the bases loaded...The Crimson Tide has stranded 25 base runners in the the last two games, including 14 men on base in its loss to Vandy (April 11) and 11 men on base against UAB (April 14)...Bama is hitting .276 (105-for-380) with two outs this season...The Tide was just 2-for-18 (.111) in the final two games against Vandy with two outs...UA has collected 72 two-out RBI this season...Welch (13) and Rice (10) have accounted for 23 of the 72 two-out RBI...The Crimson Tide has played 30 of its 35 games this season in less than three hours, including 12 games of 2:30 or less this year...The Crimson Tide has outscored the opposition 50-11 in the third and fourth innings this season...In SEC play, Alabama has been outscored 20-7 in the first three innings, while opponents hold an 18-1 scoring advantage in the fifth inning in league play...Bama has homered in just 14 games this season and is 10-4 (.714) when slugging at least one home run...15 of the 24 home runs this season have been solo home runs...Bama has 16 HR vs. RHP and 8 HR vs. LHP...In games decided by two runs or less, Alabama is 7-9 (.438), including a 4-7 (.364) mark in one-run games...Bama did not strike out in its 2-1 win over Ole Miss (Mar. 28), marking the first time since April 7, 2001 (vs. Georgia) that an Alabama batter did not strike out in a game...UA has scored three runs or less 13 times...Bama has six hits or less 11 times, including five of its 12 SEC games this season...Alabama has 40 hits in its last four SEC games, but has lost three of those four games...Alabama is 9-0 (1.000) this season when scoring 10 or more runs...Bama is 13-2 (.867) when collecting 10 or more hits...Bama received a season-high eight walks in the win over South Alabama (Mar. 31)...Bama had three straight pinch-hit singles in the ninth inning against Ole Miss (Mar. 26)...Alabama scored a season-high 20 runs in wins over Morehead State (Mar. 24) and SE Missouri State (Mar. 14)...The Crimson Tide scored 20 runs in back-to-back home games for the first time since 1998...Alabama was no-hit for 6 2/3 innings and managed only one hit in its 2-1 loss to Kansas State on March 7th...The one hit is the fewest number of his by an Alabama team in the Jim Wells era...The Crimson Tide has not been no-hit since 1968...Alabama posted a season-high seven-game winning streak from Feb. 20-March 3...Bama scored a season-high 13 runs in its 13-3 win over SE Louisiana (Feb.27)...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.
Name G-GS W L SV ERA IP H R ER BB K CG
ALABAMA 35-35 23 12 8 2.83 308.0 274 120 97 88 301 4
Auburn 35-35 24 10 8 3.92 312.0 297 164 136 118 257 0
Name G-GS W L SV ERA IP H R ER BB K CG
UA Starters 35-35 15 8 0 3.01 197.2 180 81 66 50 189 4
Opp Starters 35-35 8 17 0 4.30 182.0 191 114 87 63 130 4
UA Bullpen 31 7 5 8 2.53 110.1 94 39 31 38 112 0
Opp Bullpen 31 5 5 5 6.38 117.0 133 109 83 71 90 0
NOTES: The Crimson Tide pitching staff ranks among the best in the NCAA and SEC through 35 games this season...In terms of national rankings, Alabama is sixth in the nation with a 2.83 ERA...Alabama leads the league in fewest runs allowed (120) and fewest earned runs allowed (95)...Bama also ranks second in the SEC in ERA (2.83); third in opponents batting average (.235) and strikeouts (301); fourth in saves (8), fewest hits allowed (274) and fewest walks (88) and sixth in innings pitched (308.0)...In conference play, Alabama is second in strikeouts (100) and fourth in ERA (4.24)...Alabama pitchers have turned in 20 quality starts (6 IP, 3 ER or less) this season...Freshman LHP Wade LeBlanc leads the way with six quality starts, followed by junior RHP Andrew Walker (4) and freshman LHP Brandon Belcher (3)...The Crimson Tide has held the opposition to three earned runs or less 23 times this season...Alabama has thrown four shutouts this season (Cincinnati, Centenary, SE Missouri, twice), with three of those shutouts coming from LeBlanc...In addition to the four shutouts, Alabama has also not allowed an earned run in six games this season...LeBlanc's three shutouts are one shy of the single-season school record set by Freddy Glass in 1968...Alabama also posted back-to-back shutouts against SE Missouri State on Mar. 13 (2-0) and Mar. 14 (20-0), marking the first back-to-back shutouts since beating Ole Miss in 1991...In all, UA went 21 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings over four games at SE Missouri (19.1) and Birmingham Southern (3.0)...The Alabama starters threw 27 consecutive scoreless innings over four games against SE Missouri and Birmingham Southern...Alabama also tossed 22 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings at home from Mar. 12-24...The Crimson Tide did not allow a walk in its win over South Alabama (Mar. 31)...UA has had three games this year in which the pitchers did not issue a walk, including SE Louisiana (Feb. 27), Centenary (Mar. 6) and South Alabama (Mar. 31)...Alabama pitchers have struck out 10 or more batters 11 times this season, including a season-high 16 in a 20-2 win over Morehead State (Mar. 24)...The Crimson Tide added 15 strikeouts in a 4-2 loss to Ole Miss (Mar. 28)...Every Alabama starter this season has a 10+ strikeout game with the exception of Brent Carter...Alabama's bullpen did not allow a run in 11.2 innings against SE Louisiana (Feb. 27-29), including a 8.2 scoreless innings in the series finale...In terms of defense, Alabama is 26th nationally with a .970 fielding mark...Alabama is fourth in the league with a .970 fielding clip, fourth in fewest errors (38), second in caught stealing by (15)...Alabama leads the SEC with a school-record tying 16 passed balls this year....The 1981 team also had 16 passed balls...In the last two years, Alabama has 31 passed balls in the last 99 games...In nine SEC games, Alabama is fourth with a .971 fielding mark...Alabama has played 11 errorless games this season and has made one error or less in 22 of 34 games...Bama has made at least one error in 11 of its last 12 games, including six in a row form Mar. 24-April 2nd...For the first time in the Wells era, Alabama played a three-game SEC without an error at Georgia (Mar. 19-21)...Alabama has had two stretches this season of 30 or more innings without an error...The Crimson Tide went 30 1/3 innings without an error from Mar. 10-14 and repeated that feat with 30 1/3 errorless innings from Mar. 17-24...Alabama made a season-high three errors against UAB (Mar. 3) and Ole Miss (Mar. 26)...
ALABAMA-AUBURN SERIES
*
*
*Unlike the football series, the home team has dominated the UA-AU baseball series, winning 10 of the last 11 games played.
*Dating back to 1998, the home team has posted a 15-4 (.789) record in the Alabama-Auburn series.
*
*
*The home team has also won the last six series, with
*
*The home team has won seven of the last eight regular-season series.
*The Crimson Tide also brings a five-game home winning streak into the weekend series over
*
*
*Brent Boyd's walk-off, two-run homer lifted Alabama to a 6-5 win in game two of the series.
*Scott McClanahan threw out an Auburn base runner at the plate in the top of the 7th inning then capped the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning as UA posted a 7-0 win.
*
Alabama-Auburn Series File
at
at
Neutral Sites: UA leads, 23-16 (.590)
Wells vs. AU: 22-15 (.594)
Renfroe vs. UA: 5- 7 (.417)
UA Win Streak: 12 (1907-51)
AU Win Streak: 9 (1978-79)
TIDE-TIGER TIDBITS
Here are some notebook items concerning the Alabama-Auburn baseball teams.
*
*In his rookie season, Grooms played in 28 games and batted .243 with one home run and 11 RBI for the Tigers.
*He was injured and did not play against
*Grooms still has a number of friends on the AU roster and roomed with LHP Arnold Hughey and RHP Steven Register during the 2002 season.
*He played a
*
*Ponder's sister, Christen, is a recent graduate of
*
SCOUTING REPORT:
Despite its No. 12 national ranking Auburn (24-10, 6-6 SEC) has only two more wins than Alabama, both overall and in SEC play entering this weekend's series.
*As a team, the Tigers, like the Crimson Tide, have struggled on offense all season long.
*The Tigers rank last in the SEC in hitting, while
*Sophomore center fielder Clete Thomas is a solid player and the Tigers best hitter. Thomas is batting .338 (44-for-130) with one home run and 21 RBI in 35 games this season.
*Junior outfielder J.T. Williamson (.327, HR, 9 RBI) is the only other
*In addition to Thomas,
*Sophomore catcher/infielder Josh Bell (.291, 9 HR, 31 RBI), junior second baseman Tug Hulett (.266, 0 HR, 19 RBI) and junior left fielder Sean Gamble (.264, 0 HR, 21 RBI) have started every game for coach Renfroe's team.
*On defense, the Tigers have made 49 errors (.964) in 35 games and ranks seventh in the league in that category.
*Sophomore Ben Maitland, who has played third base and caught this season, leads AU with 12 errors.
*The middle infield combination of Chuck Jerolman (6) at short and Hulett (7) at second base have combined for 13 errors.
*On the mound, the Tigers are 24-10 with a 3.92 ERA this season.
*
*The AU staff has worked 312 innings and allowed 297 hits, 164 runs, 136 earned runs, 118 walks and 257 strikeouts this season.
*The three-man pitching rotation this weekend will consist of freshman left-hander Mike Felix, junior left-hander Arnold Hughey and sophomore right-hander Josh Bell.
*Felix (9 GS, 2-2, 4.97 ERA) has worked 41 2/3 innings this season and allowed 36 hits, 25 runs, 23 earned runs, 27 walks and 38 strikeouts in 10 games. Opponents are hitting .232 against the lefty.
*Hughey (10 GS, 5-1, 4.34 ERA) leads the staff with 58 innings this season. He has allowed 67 hits, 32 runs, 28 earned runs, 11 walks and 46 strikeouts in his 10 appearances. Opponents are batting .289 against Hughey.
*Hughey has allowed 20 extra base hits this season, including a team-high 17 doubles.
*
*The bullpen is solid and primarily responsible for the high number of last at-bat and one-run wins this season.
*The ace in the pen is sophomore Steven Register, who is battling
*In 16 appearances, Register is 6-0 with seven saves and a 1.82 ERA this season. He has worked 29.2 innings and allowed 25 hits, seven runs, six earned runs, with 27 strikeouts and five walks.
*Senior RHP Cory Dueitt (15 G, 3-3, 4.10 ERA, 1 SV), sophomore RHP Chris Dennis (13 G, 2-0, 2.82 ERA) and junior RHP Michael Nix (11 G, 1-3, 4.50 ERA) are also solid options out of the AU pen this season.
22 UP, 13 DOWN
*In its 22 wins this season the Alabama Crimson Tide has:
*Hit .318 (235-for-739) with 18 home runs and 171 RBI
*Averaged 8.5 runs and 10.68 hits per game
*Compiled a 1.68 ERA (198 IP, 48 R, 187 K)
*Committed 24 errors in those 22 games
*In its 13 losses this season the Alabama Crimson Tide has:
*Hit .207 (89-for-429) with six home runs and 30 RBI
*Averaged runs 2.78 runs and 6.85 hits per game
*Compiled a 4.91 ERA (110 IP, 126 H, 114 K)
*Committed 15 errors in 13 losses
BAMA RECORD AFTER 35 GAMES
*The 2001 team posted a 21-14 (.667) record for the worst 35-game record in the Wells era.
*The 2004 season marks the sixth time in the Wells era that
*The 1997 and 2002 teams own the best record with a 30-5 (.857) mark at this point in the season.
YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD (After 35 Games)
Year Record (Pct.)
1995 24-11 (.686)
1996 25-10 (.714)
1997 30- 5 (.857)
1998 28- 7 (.750)
1999 26- 9 (.743)
2000 21-14 (.600)
2001 23-12 (.657)
2002 30- 5 (.857)
2003 24-11 (.686)
2004 22-13 (.630)
BAMA AFTER 35 GAMES
It has been well documented that the 2004
*Through 35 games,
*The .277 batting average is the lowest 35-game total in the Jim Wells era of
*The 24 home runs rank ninth in the Wells era, just ahead of the 1995 team's 23 total home runs.
*The 201 RBI also ranks ninth, just ahead of the 1995 team's 193 runs batted in at this point in the season.
*As far as scoring is concerned,
*While the hitting has set several seasonal-lows, the pitching staff ranks as the best in the Wells era.
*The 2.83 staff ERA is 0.07 points less than the previous low of 2.90 set in 1995.
*Last year,
*
*The Crimson Tide has eight saves this year, down (-2) from last year's total of 10 saves in 35 games.
Name G AVG. AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB
1995 35 .301 1188 223 357 53 15 23 193 137 209 32-61
1996 35 .308 1226 245 377 83 9 36 211 132 197 36-60
1997 35 .340 1248 361 424 70 20 71 326 158 212 55-75
1998 35 .325 1273 327 414 65 12 68 297 131 250 26-33
1999 36 .316 1198 284 379 64 23 50 259 181 198 54-76
2000 35 .307 1216 269 373 61 44 44 242 152 200 57-72
2001 35 .317 1238 280 392 82 10 38 260 159 190 25-37
2002 35 .308 1200 260 370 71 9 42 236 150 192 38-56
2003 35 .301 1211 287 365 78 12 44 250 154 225 43-52
2004 35 .277 1168 223 324 65 7 24 201 134 220 34-48
Name G-GS W L SV ERA IP H R ER BB K CG
1995 35-35 24 11 8 2.90 310.0 267 131 100 123 273 8
1996 35-35 25 10 12 3.56 315.2 308 162 125 97 312 1
1997 35-35 30 5 11 4.42 309.2 321 177 152 94 272 1
1998 35-35 28 7 9 3.78 309.2 314 150 130 115 308 3
1999 35-35 26 9 14 4.82 306.1 335 189 164 95 305 3
2000 35-35 21 14 7 4.80 309.1 330 197 165 155 230 2
2001 35-35 23 12 4 3.66 310.0 312 152 126 108 222 7
2002 35-35 30 5 15 3.21 314.0 314 141 112 82 264 3
2003 35-35 24 11 10 4.15 310.0 325 172 143 89 295 3
2004 35-35 22 13 8 2.83 308.0 274 120 97 88 301 4
Traditionally,
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, 25-15
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, 48-44
Stillman Bama leads, 17-0
Springhill College Bama leads, 9-4
Troy State Bama leads, 12-3
UAB Bama leads, 32-12
West Alabama Bama leads, 21-10
*Coach Wells has been even more impressive against in-state teams, posting a 77-31 (.713) 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, 3-1
Jax State JSU leads, 4-3
North Alabama Bama leads, 2-0
Samford Bama leads, 13-1
South Alabama Bama leads, 12-3
Troy State Bama leads, 4-1
UAB Bama leads, 12-5
West Alabama Bama leads, 6-1
SCHEDULE GETTING TOUGHER
As the season rolls into conference play, the competition get tougher for the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team.
*Playing in the toughest baseball conference in the nation,
*Overall,
*
*Four other teams have been ranked at some point during the season, including
*LSU, Ole Miss and
*
*The Crimson Tide has also dropped back-to-back home series to No. 5 Ole Miss (Mar. 26-28) and No. 25 Vanderbilt (April 9-11).
*
TOUGH STRETCH
*The stretch began last week when
*
*After the Auburn series,
SEC SLUMP
*The seven straight series losses are the most by
*The Crimson Tide closed out the 1993 season by losing the final series at
*
*In 1994,
*
*
SEC SERIES LOSING STREAK
Year Series Results
May 2, 2003
May 3, 2003
May 4, 2003
May 9, 2003 S. Carolina 2,
May 10, 2003 S. Carolina 9,
May 11, 2003 S. Carolina 5,
May 16, 2003
May 17, 2003
May 18, 2003
March 19, 2004
March 20, 2004
March 21, 2004
March 26, 2004 Ole Miss 11,
March 27, 2004
March 28, 2004 Ole Miss 4,
April 2, 2004
April 3, 2004
April 4, 2004
April 9, 2004 Vanderbilt 6,
April 10, 2004
April 11, 2004 Vanderbilt 3,
