Alabama Travels to NCAA Regional in New Orleans
6/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Bama's 9th NCAA Appearance Under Coach Jim Wells
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
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Current Game Notes
NCAA Baseball Tournament Records
Alabama 2005 Statistics
Alabama 2005 Regional Player Bios
Game 60: UL LAFAYETTE (47-17) VS. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (38-21)
TURCHIN STADIUM (3,500) -- NEW ORLEANS, LA 6:30 pm -- JUNE 3, 2005
ON THE MOUND: ULL -- 22 Austin Faught (LH, 15 GS, 12-0, 2.45 ERA) OR 31 Kevin Ardoin (RH, 16 GS, 10-4, 3.42 ERA) vs. UA -- 23 Wade LeBlanc (LH, 12 GS, 4-5, 3.76 ERA)
RADIO/TV: All Alabama games from the 2005 NCAA Baseball Tournament will be aired live on The Crimson Tide Sports Network. The games can be heard in Tuscaloosa on WACT-AM (1420). In Birmingham, the games are aired on WAPI-AM (1070). David Crane and Chris Stewart will call the action from the NCAA Regionals this weekend.
Date Game Time Radio/TV
June 3 vs. UL Lafayette 6:30 PM CTSN, WACT 1420-AM
June 4 vs. Tulane/Southern Loser 2:30 PM CTSN, WACT 1420-AM
or Tulane/Southern Winner 6:30 PM CTSN, WACT 1420-AM
INTERNET BROADCAST: Live audio broadcasts and live stats can be found at www.rolltide.com. Fans can follow all the action of throughout the NCAA Tournament at www.ncaasports.com, which provides live stats of all NCAA Regional, Super Regional and College World Series games.
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION (2005 NCAA Tournament)
NCAA Regional Game 2 - Friday, June 3, 2005 (6:30 PM)
Pitcher G-GS W L SV ERA IP H R ER BB K CG
W. LeBlanc (L) 12-12 4 5 0 3.76 79.0 66 37 33 21 96 2
NCAA Regional Game 3 or 4 - Saturday, June 4, 2005 (2:30 or 6:30 PM)
Pitcher G-GS W L SV ERA IP H R ER BB K CG
T.J. Large 17-16 7 4 0 3.61 92.1 71 50 37 48 91 1
NCAA Regional Game 5 of 6 - Sunday, June 6, 2005 (2:30 or 6:30 PM)
Pitcher G-GS W L SV ERA IP H R ER BB K CG
Jordan Davis 22-2 5 2 2 3.27 52.1 51 21 19 15 36 0
ALABAMA MAKES 17TH NCAA APPEARANCE
After a one-year absence, the No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide (39-21, 17-13 SEC) returns to post-season play as they participate in the 2005 NCAA New Orleans Regional against No. 1 Tulane, No. 23. UL Lafayette and Southern at Turchin Stadium on the campus of Tulane University. Alabama is the No. 2 seed in the New Orleans Regional and will face No. 3 seed Louisiana Lafayette in an opening round game Friday, June 4 at 6:30 p.m. (CT). No. 1 seed Tulane will face No. 4 seed Southern in the other first round game at 2:30 p.m. (CT). The New Orleans Regional is one of the toughest in the 2005 NCAA baseball bracket. The four-team field features three Top 25 teams, including No. 1 Tulane, No. 16 Alabama and No. 20 Louisiana Lafayette. The New Orleans Regional is one of only three NCAA Regionals with three Top 25 teams. The Fullerton Regional (CS Fullerton, Arizona and Harvard) and The Lincoln Regional (Nebraska, NC State and Creighton) are the other two regionals with three Top 25 teams. Alabama is 40-22 (.645) all-time in NCAA Regional play. This is the ninth NCAA Regional for Alabama under head coach Jim Wells. Overall, this is Coach Wells 11th NCAA Tournament appearance. Coach Wells will be coaching his 700th game at Alabama when the Crimson Tide faces the Ragin' Cajuns in the opening round. Bama has seven players on its roster from Louisiana, including Brandon Belcher, Kenneth Brown, Casey Kebodeaux, Wade LeBlanc, Rocky Scelfo, Gabe Scott and Kody Valverde.
2005 NCAA NEW ORLEANS PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Turchin Stadium - New Orleans (June 2)
9 AM - Tulane Practice
10:30 AM - UL Lafayette Practice
NOON - Alabama Practice
2:15 PM - Head Coaches Press Conference (Wilson Ctr)
3 PM - Southern Practice
2005 NCAA NEW ORLEANS REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Turchin Stadium - New Orleans (June 3-6)
Friday, June 3
Game 1 - (1) Tulane (50-9) vs. (4) Southern (29-16) (2:30)
Game 2 - (2) Alabama (38-21) vs. (3) ULL (47-17) (6:30)
Saturday, June 4
Game 3 -- Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (2:30 PM)
Game 4 -- Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (6:30 PM)
Sunday, June 5
Game 5 -- Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 4 (2:30 PM)
Game 6 -- Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4 (6:30 PM)
Monday, June 6
Game 7 -- If Necessary only if Game 5 winner beats Game 4 winner in Game 6 on Sunday night (6:30 PM)
2005 NCAA REGIONALS
*Alabama (38-21, 17-13 SEC) enters the 2005 NCAA Regionals at the No. 2 seed at the New Orleans Regional.
*The Crimson Tide joins top seed Tulane No. 3 seed UL Lafayette and and No. 4 seed Southern at Turchin Stadium this weekend.
*Since the NCAA selection committee began seeding teams for the regional play, Alabama has never been seeded lower the No. 2.
*Since 1983, Alabama has been the No. 1 seed four times and the No. 2 seed eight times.
*In 1999, the first year of Super Regionals, Alabama was the national No. 5 seed.
*In 2002, the Crimson Tide was the national No. 3 seed in the overall NCAA Tournament.
2005 NCAA New Orleans Regional Seedings
Seed Team Record
1 Tulane 50-9
2 ALABAMA 38-21
3 UL Lafayette 47-17
4 Southern 26-19
BAMA'S ALL-TIME NCAA TRNY SEEDINGS
Year Site Seed Record
1983 Tallahassee 2 40-9
1986 Coral Gables 2 41-18
1991 Tallahassee 2 39-18
1995 Clemson 2 39-21
1996 Tuscaloosa 1 45-18
1997 Tuscaloosaa 1 48-12
1998 Palo Alto 2 43-16
1999 Tuscaloosa 1 46-14
2000 Palo Alto 2 38-22
2002 Tuscaloosa 1 48-13
2003 College Station 2 37-22
2005 New Orleans 2 38-21
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
*Alabama will be making its 17th all-time NCAA Regional appearance this season.
*This will be the Crimson Tide's ninth NCAA Regional appearance in 11 years under coach Jim Wells.
*Overall, Alabama has complied a 40-22 (.661) all-time record in NCAA Regional play.
*The Crimson Tide has a 24-10 (.706) record in NCAA Regional action under Wells.
*The Crimson Tide made its post-season debut in the 1947 South District III championships at Charlotte, NC.
*Alabama came out of the loser's bracket to force the if necessary game with Clemson and a shot at the College World Series. Clemson beat Alabama 4-1 in the championship game and advanced to the very first CWS in Kalamazoo, Mich.
*Alabama picked up its first NCAA Regional championship with a victory in the 1950 South District III playoffs in Kannapolis, NC.
*Alabama beat Wake Forest 5-4 in the championship game to adance to the College World Series.
*The win over Wake Forest clinched the school's first-ever CWS appearance. The 1950 CWS was also the first one played in Omaha.
*Alabama also captured the 1983 NCAA South Regional championship with wins over Miami (twice) and Florida State to earn its second CWS appearance.
*Alabama also advanced to the College World Series in 1996, 1997 and 1999 with NCAA Regional wins.
*Coach Jim Wells led the Crimson Tide to the 1996 NCAA South I Regional championship in Tusclaoosa.
*Alabama, hosting its first-ever NCAA Regional, defeated Princeton, South Alabama, Stetson and Virginia to advance to the CWS.
*Alabama won the 1997 South II Regional in Tuscaloosa to advance to Omaha for the second straight year. Bama beat Troy State, Wichita State, NC State and Southern California to make it back to the CWS.
*Alabama was the No. 1 seed at the College World Series in 1996 and 1997. Bama is the only team to be seeded No.1 for two straight years in Omaha.
*The Crimson Tide posted wins over Navy and Southern Miss (twice) to its the 1999 Tuscaloosa Regional and advance to the newly-created NCAA Super Regionals.
*In the first year of Super Regional play, Alabama swept LSU in the best-of-three series to advance to the CWS for the third time in four years.
*Alabama has not won an NCAA Regional since the 1999 season. The Crimson Tide hosted a regional in 2002, but lost in the championship game.
*After losing to SE Missouri State in the first round, Alabama bounced back to beat Auburn and SE Missouri State to face Florida Atlantic in the championship round. The Tide won the first game, but lost the if necessary game at home to the Blue Wave.
*In 2003, Alabama did not make the championship round of an NCAA Regional for the first time under Wells. After an opening round win over Houston, Alabama then yielded double digit runs in losses to host Texas A&M and Houston.
*Including all NCAA post-season games, Alabama has compiled a 53-32 (.633) all-time record.
*Alabama has five NCAA Regional championships, including 1950, 1983, 1996, 1997 and 1999.
*The Crimson Tide has a 2-0 record in Super Regional play following its best-of-three series sweep over LSU in 1999.
*Alabama is 11-10 (.524) all-time record in five College World Series appearances. The Crimson Tide has been the national runner up twice in 1983 and 1997.
NCAA TOURNAMENT YEAR-BY-YEAR
Year Site Seed Record
1947 Charlotte NA 3-2
1948 Charlotte NA 1-2
1950 Kannapolis NA 3-0
1955 Winter Park, Fla. NA 1-2
1968 Gastonia, NC NA 0-2
1983 Tallahassee 2 3-0
1986 Coral Gables 2 2-2
1991 Tallahassee 2 3-2
1995 Clemson 2 3-2
1996 Tuscaloosa 1 4-0
1997 Tuscaloosaa 1 4-0
1998 Palo Alto 2 3-2
1999 Tuscaloosa 1 3-0
2000 Palo Alto 2 3-2
2002 Tuscaloosa 1 3-2
2003 College Station 2 1-2
2005 New Orleans 2 0-0
Totals 40-22
WELLS' NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
*Alabama coach Jim Wells has compiled a 25-14 (.641) all-time record in NCAA Tournament play.
*Overall, Wells has taken 11 of his 16 teams to NCAA Regionals, including nine of 11 teams at Alabama.
*Wells is 24-10 (.706) in NCAA Tournament play in 11 seasons as head coach of the Crimson Tide.
*Wells was 1-4 (.200) in two NCAA Tournament appearances at Northwestern State (1990-94).
*He made his NCAA Tournament debut at the 1991 NCAA South I Regional in Baton Rouge, La., while the head coach at Northwestern State.
*The Demons suffered a 13-2 loss to the Tigers on May 24, 2991.
*Wells also took the Demons to the 1994 NCAA Midwest Regional at Stillwater, Oklahoma.
*He registered his first career post-season win with a 8-2 victory over Illinois State on May 28, 1994.
*Wells made his NCAA Tournament debut with Alabama at the 1995 East Regional at Clemson, SC. In fact, Wells took his first six Alabama teams to post-season play.
WELLS' NCAA TOURNAMENT YEAR-BY-YEAR
Year Site Seed Record
1991 Baton Rouge 6 0-2
1994 Stillwater 6 1-2
1995 Clemson 2 3-2
1996 Tuscaloosa 1 4-0
1997 Tuscaloosa 1 4-0
1998 Palo Alto 2 3-2
1999 Tuscaloosa 1 3-0
2000 Palo Alto 2 3-2
2002 Tuscaloosa 1 3-2
2003 College Station 2 1-2
2005 New Orleans 2 0-0
Totals 25-14
SUPER SEVEN
*Alabama has only seven players on its 2005 roster with NCAA post-season experience.
*The list includes seniors Brent Carter, Matt Grooms, Allen Rice, Rocky Scelfo, Gabe Scott and Zac Welch and junior Evan Bush.
*Rice has played in eight NCAA Tournament games and is batting .320 (8-for-25) with one RBI.
*Welch has played in six post-season games and is 4-for-20 (.200) with two doubles and two RBI.
*Bush has played in three games is 1-for-10 (.100) with three runs scored.
*Scott's only NCAA Tournament at-bat was a pinch-hit double against the Houston Cougars on May 31, 2003 at Olsen Field in College Station, Texas.
*Carter (2-0, 2.05 ERA) has two complete games in two career starts in NCAA Regional play.
*Overall, he has appeared in three games and worked 22 innings and allowed five runs and 18 hits, with only two walks and 15 strikeouts.
*Grooms was 3-for-9 (.333) with runs scored and two RBI at Auburn in the 2002 Tuscaloosa Regional. He went 2-for-4 with two RBI in a loss to Alabama on June 1, 2002.
*Scelfo played in four games at LSU in 2002 and named to the Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament team. He batted .357 (5-for-14) with two RBI and played first base.
ALABAMA-UL LAFAYETTE SERIES
*Alabama leads the all-time series, 1-0.
*Bama and UL Lafayette have met only once with the Crimson Tide claiming a 9-3 win over the Ragin' Cajuns on Feb. 14, 2003 at the Minute Maid Park Classic in Houston.
*Evan Bush (2-for-3, R), Allen Rice (0-for-3, R) and Zac Welch (1-for-4, R, 2B) all started in the 2003 season opener for the Tide against ULL.
*Bush made his Alabama debut and collected two hits in his first career start as a true freshman in the 2003 season opener.
*Alabama assistant coach Todd Butler and UL Lafayette head coach Tony Robichaux are not only close friends, but Butler has worked for Robichaux in the past.
*Butler was an assistant coach at McNeese State during the 1993-94 seasons while Robichaux was the head coach of the Cowboys.
*Alabama head coach Jim Wells is 6-4 (.600) in his career against UL Lafayette. He is 1-0 at Alabama and compiled a 5-4 (.556) record while at Northwestern State from 1990-94.
*Wells and Robichaux competed against one another in the Southland Conference in 1993 and 1994.
ALABAMA-TULANE SERIES
*Alabama holds a 60-24 (.714) lead over Tulane in a series that dates back to the 1897 season.
*Alabama and Tulane were both members of the SEC from 1933 until the Green Wave left the league in the 1960s.
*Tulane has won the last seven meetings with Alabama, dating back to the 1965 season.
*Tulane captured the last meeting (11-7) on Feb. 19, 2000 at the Winn Dixie Showdown at the Louisiana Superdome.
*Alabama's last win in the series came in 1964.
*Alabama and Tulane have played just three times since the Green Wave left the SEC after the 1964-65 academic year.
*The Green Wave holds a 3-0 record in those three post-SEC meetings.
*Alabama head coach Jim Wells is 0-2 (.000) in his career against Tulane. He lost his only meeting at Alabama in 2000. Wells was also 0-1 against the Green Wave while at Northwestern State, losing at Turchin Stadium in 1994.
ALABAMA-SOUTHERN SERIES
*Alabama holds a 4-0 series lead over the Southern Jags, but the two schools have not met since the 1916. All four meetings took place between 1905-16.
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
*There are seven Division I schools that have participated in a bowl game, the NCAA basketball tournament and the NCAA baseball tournament. The list includes ALABAMA, Florida, Georgia Tech, LSU, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
ALABAMA VS. NCAA FIELD
*The 2005 NCAA Regional brackets find 10 of Alabama's opponents competing for the shot at the College World Series this season.
*The list includes Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Miami (Ohio), Miss. State, Ole Miss, South Alabama, South Carolina and Southern Miss.
*Alabama compiled a 15-15 (.500) record against the tourney field.
*The Crimson Tide won regular-season series against Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and South Carolina.
*Bama lost regular-season series to Arkansas, Forida, Miami (Ohio) and Miss. State.
2005 VS. NCAA TOURNAMENT FIELD
Opponent Record
Arkansas 2-2
Auburn 2-1
Florida 1-2
LSU 2-1
Miami (Ohio) 1-2
Miss. State 1-2
Ole Miss 3-3
South Alabama 1-0
South Carolina 2-1
Southern Miss 0-1
HOMECOMING
*For the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team, playing in the New Orleans Regional will seem like homecoming for more than one-third of the 25-man travel roster.
*Alabama has seven players on its roster from Louisiana, including sophomore pitcher/outfielder Brandon Belcher (Ruston), junior LHP Kenneth Brown (Lafayette), freshman RHP Casey Kebodeaux (Mandeville), sophomore LHP Wade LeBlanc (Lake Charles), senior infielder Rocky Scelfo (Youngsville), senior outfielder Gabe Scott (Lake Charles) and junior catcher Kody Valverde (Baton Rouge).
"I am excited about playing in Louisiana," Scelfo said. "UL plays hard and they have a very good baseball coach. Tulane is very good team and ranked No. 1. Southern is good, too, and they beat LSU this year. It will be a hostile environment against all the Louisiana schools, but it will be fun.
"I know a lot of the guys from UL. I hate having to play them. They are really good, they play hard, plus I am friends with most all of them. That makes it even tougher.
*Alabama head coach Jim Wells is a native of Bossier City, while assistant coach Todd Butler is from Lake Charles.
*Assistant coach Jim Gatewood worked for Wells at Northwestern State as did UA Athletic Trainer Ginger Gilmore.
SEC TOURNAMENT RECAP
*Alabama went 1-2 in the 2005 SEC Tournament and did not make the semi-finals for the first time under coach Jim Wells.
*As a team, Alabama batted only .183 (17-for-93) in three games. The Crimson Tide averaged three runs and 5.67 hits per game.
*Senior RF Morrow Thomley led the way with a .400 (4-for-10) with two runs and two RBI.
*Freshman SS Cale Iorg hit .385 (5-for-13) in three games with one run, one double and two RBI.
*The pitching staff was solid. Alabama compiled a 2.52 ERA (25 IP, 5 ER) in the three games. UA pitchers had 21 strikeouts and only five walks in the tourney.
*Senior LHP Brent Carter struck out seven batters in 6 1/3 innings as he picked up the lone win over Arkansas.
*The Crimson Tide made seven errors (.934) in three games that led five unearned runs.
*Bama opened the SEC Tournament with a 3-1 loss to Ole Miss. In the loss, Alabama set the school post-season record with 17 strikeouts.
*Ole Miss RHP Mark Holliman struck out 14 batters in seven innings, while junior LHP Stephen Head added three more strikeouts in two innings.
*Alabama avoided its first shutout in SEC Tournament history when Rocky Scelfo singled home Morrow Thomley with two outs in the ninth inning.
*Iorg had three hits, including the game-winning single in the bottom of the eighth inning to eliminate Arkansas. Carter struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings for the win, while freshman RHP David Robertson recorded two outs in the ninth for the save.
*Alabama was eliminated on Ole Miss' Brian Pettway's two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Rebels claimed a 5-3 win.
*Bama tied the game in the top of the eighth inning, but left the bases loaded before Pettway's two-run shot to dead center field.
*Alabama's three SEC Tournament games drew 29,289 fans, an average of 9,763 per game.
*The Alabama-Ole Miss game on May 25 drew 11,318 at set the session 2 record. The Crimson Tide and Rebels also set the session 5 record with 11,519 fans on May 27.
