Crimson Tide Baseball Team Opens Fall Practice
10/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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The University of Alabama baseball team opened fall practice today, with emphasis on improving its offense to go along with the quality arms on the mound.
The team will work for three weeks and hold at least nine scrimmages over the course of the next three weeks. The Crimson Tide is scheduled to practice Monday evenings from 5-8 p.m. and Tuesday through Saturday from 2-5 p.m. The Saturday schedule will be altered according the kickoff times for Crimson Tide football games. The team's NCAA-mandated off day will be Sunday this fall.
The experience and depth of the 2006 Alabama team has to be on the mound. The Crimson Tide returns seven pitchers who saw action last year on the mound.
The key returnees are junior left-hander Wade LeBlanc (14 G, 5-5, 4.09 ERA, 88 IP, 108 K), sophomore right-hander David Robertson (32 G, 7-5, 2.92 ERA, 8 SV, 74 IP, 105 K) and senior right-hander Jordan Davis (26 G, 5-2, 3.10 ERA, 3 SV, 58 IP, 41 K). The trio combined for 17 wins, 11 saves and 254 strikeouts in 220 innings last season.
Robertson had a stellar rookie season and was a Freshman All-SEC and All-America pick for his efforts. LeBlanc set the sophomore single-season strikeout record (108) and combined with Robertson (105 K) to be just the second duo in UA history to record 100 strikeouts in the same season. Manny Torres and Justin Smith each had 100 or more strikeouts in 1999.
Also returning on the mound are senior right-hander Matt Downs (16 G, 2-0, 5.76 ERA), sophomore right-handers Josh Copeland (12 G, 1-1, 4.03 ERA), Casey Kebodeaux (7 G, 0-1, 6.52 ERA) and Austin Hyatt (2 G, 0-0, 12.00 ERA). Junior right-handers Patrick Kelly and Allen Ponder along with junior left-hander Kenneth Brown were redshirted last year.
The Crimson Tide added some quality depth on the mound that made this year's recruiting class the 12th best in the land according to Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
"When you look at the recruiting class, the first thing that jumps out at you, is that we have added some quality freshman pitchers," Wells said. "We got some pitchers that we did not think we would get (because of the draft). I think the depth there and the immediate impact is there.
"We wish we had a little more immediate impact with the position players," Wells added. "We won't know anything until we scrimmage, but we don't have as many guys coming in offensively as we do on the mound. We are bringing them around slowly, because we think they are all going to be good. There are some good quality arms and the future is good because three of them are freshmen."
Junior transfer Bernard Robert (Denham Springs, La.) was the ace of the staff at Southeastern Louisiana the last two seasons and a freshman All-America selection in 2004. As a sophomore (2005), the right-hander was 9-4 with a 2.43 ERA in 17 appearances, including 12 starts on the mound. He worked 115 innings and allowed 100 hits, 38 runs and 31 earned runs, with 33 walks and 101 strikeouts. He also added a league best nine complete games.
The Tide's talented trio of freshmen includes left-hander Miers Quigley (Roswell, Ga.) and right-handers Tommy Hunter (Indianapolis, Indiana) and Austin Graham (Hoover).
Quigley is a highly touted rookie with glistening credentials. A top prospect following his junior season, Quigley battled injuries as a senior but was still drafted in the 19th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and turned down a lucrative contract to pitch in Tuscaloosa for coach Wells.
Alabama must reaplce seven everyday players off last year's team that won 40-plus games and advanced to the finals of the NCAA New Orleans Regional against No. 1 ranked Tulane.
The two main losses were power-hitter Gabe Scott (.364, 12 HR, 35 RBI) and defensive efforts of shortstop Cale Iorg (.280, 5 HR, 38 RBI), who left Alabama in August for a two-year mission with the Mormon church. Iorg was a freshman All-SEC pick and fielded .945 last year at shortstop. He made all the routine plays and many not-so-routine plays.
"Scott and Iorg are the two main losses," Wells said. "We need someone to protect (senior Evan) Bush (in the lineup) and someone to make all the routine plays. Iorg could make all the plays. I don't expect anyone to be Iorg. I just need someone to make all the routine plays."
Alabama has three catchers on its preseason roster, but only one with any significant Southeastern Conference experience. Senior Kody Valverde (51 G, .240, 7 HR, 23 RBI) returns for his second season behind the plate. Senior David Ferazza (9 G, .333, HR, 2 RBI) is also back for his third season, mostly in a backup role. Freshman Brian Clark (Hammond, Ind.) joined the team in August.
The Crimson Tide infield has only two returning starters back from last year, but does return the Crimson Tide's top long ball threat from last season as senior Evan Bush (.251, 17 HR, 55 RBI) returns for his fourth season at Alabama. Bush has played third base most of his UA career, but could move to first base this season or possibly be used as the Tide's designated hitter depending on how some of the younger players develop.
Junior second baseman Greg Paiml (50 G, .210, HR, 17 RBI) is back for his third year and has been an excellent defensive player in his first two seasons. Sophomore Matt Bentley (26 G, .320, 9 RBI) also returns and could provide some power from the left side of the plate. Bentley will miss most the Crimson Tide's fall workouts due to a broken hand.
Three newcomers could push for playing time this fall, including Alex Avila (Hialeah, Fla), Kent Matthes (Orlando) and Jeff Tejada (New Iberia, La.).
Avila, who is a switch-hitter, could also see action in the outfield and on the mound for the Tide.
Matthes (6-3, 200) is a talented corner infielder from Edgewater High School in Orlando, Fla. As a prep senior, he batted .408 with 10 home runs and 31 RBI. His 10 home runs was tops among all players in central Florida. A four-year starter, Matthes was rated as one of the Top 10 third basemen in nation by Rivals.com. He was also listed among the Top 125 high school baseball prospects by Baseball America.
Matthes was also a 2004 Aflac All-American and played in the same high school all-star game with Alabama shortstop Cale Iorg (62 G, .281, 5 HR, 38 RBI), who is serving a two-year mission with the Mormon church. During his junior season, he batted .446 with five home runs and 18 RBI.
Tejada is expected to replace Iorg as the starting shortstop this season.
Freshmen Wes Henderson (Oxford) and Kyle Moore (Montgomery) both redshirted last year.
The outfield returns only one starter from last year's team. Junior Emeel Salem (59 G, .277, 14 RBI) returns for his third season at UA and his second as the starting center fielder. Salem is the Tide's leading returning hitter from last season and was second on the team with 13 stolen bases.
Junior Brandon Belcher (14 G, .219, 3 RBI), who has been a two-way player the last two seasons, will not pitch in 2006 due to Tommy John surgery. Belcher will be available in the outfield and as the designated hitter. He was cleared just last week to swing the bat and will be able to participate in fall drills.
Senior Spencer Pennigton (22 G, .250, 8 RBI) also returns and can play a number of positions, including left field and third base. He will also work at first base this fall due to the absence of Bentley.
Newcomers Tyler Odle (Vestavia Hills), Ryan Rhoden (Tuscaloosa) and Andrew Rodgers (Grapevine, Texas) will also be looking for playing time this fall. Rogers hit over .400 last season at Navarro College and the sophomore is expected to bring power to the line up and is a candidate in right field. Rhoden could also see action at catcher this season.
Rodgers (6-3, 215) is a power-hitting outfielder from Navarro College in Corsicana, Tex. In his lone season at Navarro, he batted .406 and was chose a First-Team Texas Eastern Athletic Conference selection as a true freshman.
"We are going to give some of the new guys a chance to play, like Andrew Rodgers, Ryan Rhoden, Tyler Odle, Alex Avilia and Jeff Tejada," Wells said. "We are really starting over with a lot of guys. We need to see them play. We need to put them in game situations and see how they perform in scrimmages and getting them to know how we do bunt coverage, how we call for a ball in the outfield and bunt defense.
"We will have nine to 12 scrimmages in that three-week period. There are some guys you just don't know about until you seem them in scrimmages. Some guys turn out to be better (than you thought) and then some are not quite as good (as you thought).
"So the goal is game-action and how they do team defensive drills. We need the guys coming back to play major roles and help this team grow up quick. We have a lot of new guys and we have been out there a month, so we need to develop guys and make them better players."
Alabama posted a 40-23 record last season and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA New Orleans Regional before losing to overall No. 1 seed and College World Series participant Tulane. The Crimson Tide has advanced to NCAA Regional play nine times in Wells 11 seasons at the Capstone.
Wells enters his 12th season at the Capstone with a 478-225 (.680) record in 703 games. He needs 10 wins this season to surpass Dr. Barry Shollenberger as the school's all-time winningest baseball coach. Shollenberger posted a 487-334-1 (.593) record from 1980-94. Overall, Wells is 670-314 (.681) in his 17th year and will coach his 1,000th Division I game this season.
The Crimson Tide baseball team will also sign autographs on the Quad prior to the Alabama-LSU football game on Saturday, Nov. 12.
