Alabama Crimson Tide Baseball Weekly Report
3/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Overall Record: 14-5 (.737)
Last Week: 2-2 (.500)
Alabama 8, Birmingham Southern 3
Miami 5, Alabama 4
Alabama 8, Miami 7
Miami 11, Alabama 10 (10)
This Week:
March 16 - vs. Butler (6:30 PM)
March 18 - vs. Kentucky (6:30 PM)
March 19 - vs. Kentucky (4 PM)
March 20 - vs. Kentucky (Noon)
Pitcher of the Week Nomination:
32 Brandon Belcher (So., LHP, Ruston, La.)
2 G, 1 GS, 2-0, 1.12 ERA (8 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K)
*Belcher won his first game of the season with seven strong innings and seven strikeouts in Tide’s 8-3 win over Birmingham Southern on March 9th.
*The win over BSC was the first by Belcher since beating No. 25 Vanderbilt on April 10, 2005 in Tuscaloosa.
*Belcher won his second game of week with one scoreless inning and one strikeout in the win over Miami.
*Belcher benefitted from a three-run, five-hit bottom of the ninth inning for the win. Belcher, who was inserted as the pitcher in the top of the ninth inning, had to it when Alabama put its DH in the field to play second base. Belcher led off the ninth inning with an infield hit and scored the first run in the winning rally.
ALABAMA NOTEBOOK:
*Alabama and Miami (Ohio) played three-one run games this weekend in Tuscaloosa, with the Redhawks taking the hard-fought series, including an 11-10 win in 10 innings in the rubber game on Sunday, March 13.
*Miami snapped three lengthy winning streaks with its series win this weekend in Tuscaloosa.
*Miami’s series win snapped Alabama’s streak of 34 consecutive home non-conference series wins, which dated back to the 1994 season. The last time Alabama lost a non-conference home series was March, 1994 when Notre Dame won two out of three in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide had won all 33 non-conference home series under Coach Jim Wells since the 1995 season.
*The Redhawks snapped Alabama’s season-high eight-game winning streak with a 5-4 win in the series opener.
*Miami posted an 11-10, 10-inning win in the series finale to snap Alabama’s 24-game winning streak when scoring 10 or more runs.
*Alabama has shown significant offensive improvement each week of the 2005 season. In the three-game series with Miami, Alabama batted .350 (42-for-120) with four home runs and 21 RBI. Bama averaged 7.3 runs and 14 hits per game this weekend.
*The pitching staff had its toughest weekend of the 2005 season, with two of three starters turning in their shortest outings of the year. The UA staff was 1-2 with a 5.46 ERA. Bama pitchers allowed 23 runs (17 ER) and 33 hits in 28 innings.
*Sophomore LHP Wade LeBlanc (4 GS, 2-1, 2.88 ERA) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings in the opener and picked up a no decision. The left-hander recorded 13 strikeouts in the game.
*Junior RHP T.J. Large (5 GS, 4-0, 0.57 ERA) allowed five unearned runs and five hits in five innings on the mound in game two. It was his shortest outing of the season.
*Senior LHP Brent Carter (5 GS, 3-1, 2.15 ERA) was roughed up in the series finale as he was touched for five runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings.
*The lone bright spot on the staff this week was sophomore left-hander Brandon Belcher (5 G, 4 GS, 2-0, 2.84 ERA), who won both games for the Crimson Tide.
*Belcher won his first game of the season with seven strong innings against Birmingham Southern. The Ruston, La., native allowed one earned run and three hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts in throwing 95 pitches.
*He picked up the win against Miami on Saturday, Mar. 12 with one scoreless inning of relief and then benefitted from a three-run, five-hit ninth inning as Alabama rallied for an 8-7 win.
*The Crimson Tide scored an improbable come-from-behind 8-7 win on Saturday, Mar. 12 with six runs and nine hits in the final two innings. The Crimson Tide won the game with three runs on five hits in the final inning, including four infield hits against losing pitcher Connor Graham.
*Alabama trailed 7-2 entering the bottom of the eighth inning before scoring six runs in the final two innings for the second last at-bat win of the year.
*The five-run deficit is the largest comeback win for Alabama since erasing an 8-2 deficit against SE Louisiana on March 9, 2002. The Crimson Tide trailed 8-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning and scored seven-runs, highlighted by Adam Pavkovich’s three-run home run, to take a 9-8 lead. SE Louisiana tied the game in the eighth before Jeremy Brown homered to give Bama an 11-9 win in the bottom of the eighth inning.
*Senior RF Morrow Thomley went 5-for-6 in the loss to Maimi and tied the UA single-game record with five hits. Thomley smacked a two-run home run in the second inning to give Alabama a 2-1 lead. He singled and scored in the Tide’s six-run third inning and added another single in the fifth. Thomley singled and scored the tying run in the ninth inning and tied the UA record with a two-out base hit in the 10th.
*The last UA player to have five hits in one game was Travis Garner against South Alabama on April 16, 2003.
*Freshman SS Cale Iorg went 4-for-5 on Sunday with three doubles, one run scored and two RBI. Iorg doubled and scored in the Tide’s six-run third inning and then plated Thomley with the tying run with a one-out double in the ninth inning.
*Iorg’s three doubles are the most by an Alabama player since Greg Paiml had three two-base hits against South Alabama on March 31, 2004. Iorg missed the school record by one double.
*Iorg was the leading hitter against Miami going 7-for-14, with three doubles, one home run and five RBI. He smacked his first career home run in the series opener on Friday, Mar. 11. Iorg is the first Alabama player whose last name begins with the letter “I” to hit a home run since former UA Director of Athletics Cecil “Hootie” Ingram in 1954.
*Iorg was the leading hitter this week going 8-for-17 (.471) with four runs, three doubles, one home run and five RBI.
*Junior 3B Evan Bush went 1-for-5 in Sunday’s loss to Miami, but homered for the second straight day. Bush tied the game at 9-9 with a solo home run in the seventh inning. Bush has homered in back-to-back games for the second time this year. For the season, Bush leads Alabama with six home runs and 23 RBI.
*Senior DH Allen Rice went 1-for-5 in the loss and extended his hitting streak to 13 games with as second inning single in the series finale with Miami. During the streak, Rice is batting .367 (18-for-49) with 11 runs, four doubles and six RBI.
