Bama Baseball Fans to Bid Farewell to Tide Seniors
5/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Kyle Murphy
This weekend, Tide baseball fans will have their last chance to see one of the most important senior classes in the history of the program take the field for its final regular season series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The 2005 senior class has compiled a 152-81 (.652) overall record at Alabama, and have helped lead the Tide to one SEC Western Division championship (2002), two SEC Tournament titles (2002 and 2003) and two NCAA Regionals (2002 and 2003).
The class, which consists of Brent Carter (LHP, Americus, Ga.), Matt Grooms (OF, Montgomery), Allen Rice (DH, Helena), Rocky Scelfo (INF, Youngsville, La.), Gabe Scott (OF, Lake Charles, La.), Morrow Thomley (OF, Tuscaloosa), and Zac Welch (1B, Wellington), will make its final regular season appearance at "The Joe" this weekend for a crucial conference series against SEC Western Division foe Arkansas.
Of the seven in the class, four players (Carter, Rice, Scott, and Welch) have played all four years at The Capstone.
If any senior class knows about dealing with the ups and downs that occur on and off the field, it is this one.
One of the best examples of this is Scott, overcoming two season-ending injuries and the death of his father prior to his redshirt sophomore year, only to develop into one of the top players in college baseball this year, becoming a candidate for National and SEC player of the year.
"It feels really good this year to go out with a bang" says Scott, who in 43 games this season is batting .412 with 30 RBI and 11 home runs, all of which have come since April 1st.
"It's a great honor (to be recognized as a National and SEC player of the year finalist), but what's more exciting is the success of the team. Being in the top 25 each week and preparing towards the post-season is a lot of fun. You can't ask for anything better than that."
Rice has also shown great perseverance over the span of his career. A shoulder injury prior to the 2004 season required Rice to undergo two surgeries. Although not playing at 100 percent, he still led the Tide in hitting that year. Off the field, he had to watch his mother battle and beat cancer twice during his four year career.
Rice has appeared in 213 games for the Crimson Tide, starting in 202 of them. He is a .288 career hitter with 10 home runs, 112 RBI, and 149 runs scored. He recorded his 200th career hit in an Alabama uniform on Sunday, April 24, 2005 against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
"I've had a great experience at Alabama" said Rice.
"There have been a lot of guys come through here that have been really good teammates, and a lot of friendships have been made. You cherish those friendships and the relationships you built. Playing ball in the SEC has been a blast."
Rice not only shows leadership on the field, but off the field as well, logging more than 100 hours of community service each of the last two years to earn him a spot on the 2004 SEC Good Works Team.
The only pitcher in the 2005 senior class, Brent Carter, made his mark in the Alabama history books this past weekend in Starkville, Mississippi, striking out Mississippi State batter Brian LaNinfa in the fifth inning on Friday, May 6 to break Lance Cormier's all-time strikeout record of 289. Carter is now the school's all-time strikeout leader with 292 career K's.
"(Becoming the all-time strikeout leader) is definitely something I will look back on and be proud of" says Carter.
"Anytime you can leave your mark on a program like this is big, but I didn't come here to try and achieve personal records. I came here to get to Omaha and that is still what we are trying to set out to do."
Zac Welch has played in 177 games in four years at Alabama, starting 160 games. In his career, Welch has hit .297 with 15 home runs and 124 RBI, putting him on the list of some of the great Tide first basemen.
"I want to leave my mark here by winning the West, and then the overall SEC title" says Welch.
"My first year here, I came in with a bunch of seniors that knew how to win. Hopefully, some of the freshman now will look at us the same way, saying to themselves that these seniors know how to win."
Two players who have made an impact on Alabama's baseball program, Rocky Scelfo and Matt Grooms, transferred to The Capstone from Chipola Junior College prior to the 2004 season.
Scelfo, who played for the LSU Tigers before going to Chipola, has appeared in 81 games, batting .324 with two home runs, 44 RBI, and 49 runs scored.
"It's been real exciting coming from one SEC school to Chipola and then to another SEC school" says Scelfo.
"I'm very fortunate to go to another big school and have a chance to compete for a National Championship and go to Omaha."
Scelfo, one of the Tide's most versatile players, can play all four infield positions, the outfield, and also be the designated hitter.
Grooms also came to Alabama in 2004 after a season at Chipola. In his two seasons for the Crimson Tide, Grooms is batting .319 with two home runs and 20 RBI in 71 career games.
"I came here to see what I could do for the program and have fun" says Grooms, who is best known for his role as a pinch hitter, batting 8-for-16 (.500) in that role this season.
"Playing here has been great, and I have had a really good time being here. I'm looking forward to post-season, but I'm not looking forward for this season to end. It's going to be a fun last month of baseball this season."
Tuscaloosa native Morrow Thomley has been one of the sparks for the Crimson Tide this season. In 2004, he played just five games while battling numerous injuries as a junior, but has stepped up as one of the reasons for the Tide's success this season, batting .307 with four home runs, 32 RBI, and four triples, which ranks second in the SEC. Thomley also leads the conference with four outfield assists, and had an 11-game hitting streak from February 12 through March 2.
"Playing here means everything" says Thomley. "I grew up an Alabama fan and watched them go to Regionals, Super Regionals, and Omaha, so I've always wanted to play here. I had a tough year last year so it's just great to be able to come out and play. Our team is winning this year and that's the main thing. It has just been a complete 180 from last year."
Of all the people that will miss this year's senior class, none stands out as much as the Tide coaching staff, especially Head Coach Jim Wells.
"My favorite story is going back to Rice, Scelfo, and Scott coming in the office in June, which said a lot" says Wells.
"They wanted to make a difference and we talked about the team and some things we could do better on and off the field. They said they wanted to be leaders on the team and help the coaching staff. From that point forward until now, the seniors have done as good a job as any coach could have. To me, what these guys have done makes for one of the best years of coaching.
"This group of seniors has made this so enjoyable because they lead by example and the other guys follow them. And that is the dream for a coaching staff."
The 2005 Alabama baseball senior class will be honored in a pregame ceremony on Saturday, May 14, prior to the Alabama-Arkansas game, which begins at 4 p.m.
