Alabama Hosts Kent State in Weekend Series at the Joe
2/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Games 5-7: KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES (0-0) AT ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (2-2)
SEWELL-THOMAS STADIUM (6,118) -- TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA -- 6:30 pm
FEBRUARY 17, 2006 -- FIRST-EVER MEETING BETWEEN KSU AND BAMA
Date Game Time
Feb. 17 Kent State at AL 6:30 PM
Feb. 18 Kent State at AL 5 PM
Feb. 19 Kent State at AL 1 PM
ON THE MOUND:
Kent State -- 16 Chad Wagler (Sr., 6-2, 190, Hartville, Ohio; 19 G, 1 GS, 6-4, 2.47 ERA, 4 SV, 49 K in 2005)
Alabama -- 23 Wade LeBlanc (LHP, Jr., 6-3, 193, Lake Charles, La.; 1 GS, 0-0, 3.60 ERA, 5 IP, 8 K)
INTERNET BROADCAST: Live audio broadcasts and live stats can be found at www.rolltide.com. Fans can follow all the action of throughout the 2006 season at www.rolltide.com, which provides live stats of all Crimson Tide home games.
TICKETS: Single-game tickets are available through the Alabama Athletic Ticket Office (205.348.2262). Single-game tickets are $5 each. Tickets are also available at the front gate of Sewell-Thomas Stadium two hours prior to each home game.
PROMOTIONS: On Saturday, fans will be admitted for $1 with their Alabama-Tennessee basketball ticket stubs.
OPENS SERIES WITH KENT STATE
The University of Alabama baseball team is back in action at Sewell-Thomas Stadium this weekend as they play host to the Kent State Golden Flashes in a three-game series. The series opener is Friday, Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. The two teams will also square off on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. The Saturday game was moved back one hour to accommodate the Alabama-Tennessee men's basketball game. Fans attending the UA-UT hoops game will be admitted to the Joe on Saturday for just one dollar with their basketball ticket stubs. The Sunday game will be played at 1 p.m. to accommodate KSU's travel needs. Alabama (2-2) is coming off an 11-3 win over Samford at the Joe this past Tuesday. Senior second baseman Evan Bush (Rainbow City) and redshirt freshman Kyle Moore (Wetumpka) combined for seven hits and eight RBI in the win over the Bulldogs. Bush went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, while Moore went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI in his collegiate debut. Another newcomer junior RHP Jake McCarter (Kerrville, Texas) earned the win on the mound in his Crimson Tide debut. McCarter threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed four hits and added five strikeouts against Samford. Kent State (0-0) plays its 2006 season opener on Friday at at Alabama. The Golden Flashes were 33-20 last year and finished third in the Mid America Conference Eastern Division with a 9-10 league mark. Kent State returns six starters and its top seven pitchers from last year's club. Senior OF Joe Tucker (.345, HR, 33 RBI) was the Golden Flashes leading hitter last season. He also added 11 doubles and 16 stolen bases. Junior infielder Emmanuel Burris (.319, HR, 16 RBI) is the table-setter on offense with his 30 stolen bases last season. KSU also returns its top power hitters from last year, including senior C/OF Kurt Eichom (.307, 9 HR, 50 RBI), senior infielder Drew Saylor (.337, 7 HR, 39 RBI) and junior infielder Andrew Davis (.302, 6 HR, 42 RBI), who also doubles as the team's closer (16 G, 2-1, 6 SV, 3.60 ERA) on the mound. The pitching staff returns 25 wins and 11 saves from last season. The three-man rotation for the Alabama series is expected to be senior RHP Chad Wagler (16 G, 1 GS, 6-4, 2.47 ERA, 4 SV), sophomore RHP Steve Ross (7 G, 6 GS, 3-1, 4.98 ERA) and junior RHP Evan Smith (15 G, 13 GS, 4-4, 5.29 ERA, 1 SV). In addition to the starters and closer, KSU also returns senior RHP Jon Miller (19 G, 2 GS, 4-1, 2.70 ERA), junior RHP Jason Seelman (19 G, 3-1, 3.45 ERA) and sophomore RHP Chris Carpenter (12 G, 10 GS, 3-2, 7.66 ERA). Alabama is 2-2 for the second straight year after its win over Samford on Tuesday night. The Crimson Tide has used 14 first-time players in its first four games, including eight position players and six pitchers. Bush (.353, HR, 7 RBI) is the Crimson Tide's leading hitter and run producer through four games. Senior C Kody Valverde (.273, 2 HR, 6 RBI) leads the team in home runs and ranks second in RBI. The UA bullpen has thrown 14 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings over its last three games.
NEWCOMERS SEE EARLY PLAYING TIME
Alabama has used 14 first-time players in its first four games this season, including eight true freshmen and two rehshirt freshmen. The Crimson Tide also used one four-transfrer and two JuCo transfers in its first four games of the 2006 season. The freshmen position players were a combined 7-for-33 (.212) at the plate with one home run and five RBI. Third baseman Alex Avila (Hialeah) has started all four games and is 2-for-14 (.143) with one RBI. OF Ryan Rhoden (Tuscaloosa) has made two starts and is 3-for-12 (.250) with one run scored. Redshirt freshman DH Kyle Moore went 2-for-5 with one home run and four RBI in his debut against Samford on Feb. 14. On the mound, the Crimson Tide has used freshmen LHP Miers Quigley (0-0, 0.00 ERA), RHP Tommy Hunter (1-0, 2.70 ERA) and RHP Austin Graham (0-1, 18.00 ERA). The trio of freshmen are a combined 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. The trio of freshmen worked 10 innings and allowed 15 hits, eight runs and five earned runs, with two walks and nine strikeouts. JuCo transfer Jake McCarter (1-0, 0.00 ERA) won his Alabama debut on the mound with 4 1/3 shutout innings (4 H, 5 K) against Samford on Feb. 14.
KENT STATE SERIES
This is the first-ever meeting between Bama and Kent State.
ALABAMA VS. MAC
Alabama owns an 11-6-1 (.639) all-time record with the current members of the MAC. Alabama head coach Jim Wells is 6-3 (.667) against the MAC while at Alabama. The Crimson Tide lost two of three last season at home to Miami (Ohio), who won the 2005 MAC Championship and represented the confernece in the NCAA Regionals. The Redhawks' series win ended the Crimson Tide's streak of 33 consecutive non-conference home series wins, including all 32 series under Wells.
ALABAMA HITTING NOTES
*Alabama has used 18 position players in its first four games this season. Alabama's top three hitters -- Bush, Salem and Belcher -- are a combined 15-for-44 (.341) with one home run, eight RBI and 11 runs scored in four games. Bush, Salem and Valverde lead the Alabama team with five runs scored through four games. The trio has scored 15 of Bama's 17 runs (55.6 percent) this season. Alabama batters have a 1:1 walk (27) to strikeout (27) ratio through four games. The Crimson Tide has hit five home runs in its first four games, led by Valverde's two home runs. Alabama did not hit its first home run of the 2005 season until Feb. 19, the seventh game of the season. The Crimson Tide has homered in three of its first four games this season. Valverde is tied for the SEC lead with two home runs through Thursday's games. Jake Dugger (Arkansas), Gavin Dickey (Florida) and Brian Jeroloman (Florida) also have two home runs. Bush is second in the SEC with seven RBI and Valverde is third with six RBI. Valverde is third in the league with an .818 slugging percentage, while Bush ranks seventh with .647 slugging mark. Valverde is ninth in the SEC with .529 on-base percentage and Salem is 10th with a .524 on-base mark. Valverde and Salem are tied for second in the SEC with five walks. Alabama has not hit into a double play this season. Alabama has scored 19 of its 27 runs this season after the fifth inning. Almost one-third of the Crimson Tide's at-bats (41 of 139) have come from first-time players. Alabama pinch-hitters are 0-for-5 this season.
ALABAMA PITCHING NOTES
Alabama has used 10 pitchers in its first four games this season. The Crimson Tide bullpen has not allowed a run in its last 14 1/3 innings over the last three games. Copeland (3 IP, 3 H, 4 K) and Robertson (3 IP, 1 H, 4 K) threw seven shutout innings of relief against Winthrop on Feb. 13. McCarter (4.1 IP, 4 H, 5 K) added to the streak with 4 1/3 scoreless innings against Samford on Feb. 14. Alabama's pitching staff has three pitchers who logged more than 100 strikeouts last season, including LeBlanc (108), Robertson (105) and Robert (101). LeBlanc set the UA sophomore record for strikeouts and Robertson set the freshman strikeout record last year. Robert had 101 strikeouts in 115 innings at SE Louisiana in 2005. Hunter (3.1 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 K) earned the win in his UA debut against Winthrop (Feb. 12). The freshman gave up a single and double to his first two batters faced, but settled down and allowed just two hits the remainder of the game as the Tide posted the comeback win. Quigley took a perfect game into the fourth inning and a no-hitter into the fifth inning in his UA debut against Samford (Feb. 14). McCarter also earned the win in his Alabama debut against Samford (4.1 IP, 4 H, 5 K) on Feb. 14. Alabama has four pitchers on its staff who earned a win in their Crimson Tide debut, including Ponder (vs. Rice, 2003), Robertson (vs. Hawaii, 2004), Hunter (vs. Winthrop, 2006) and McCarter (vs. Samford, 2006). The Crimson Tide has recorded double-figure strikeouts in each of its last two games. Bama has a nearly 4:1 strikeout (34) to walk (9) ratio through four games.
ALABAMA FIELDING NOTES
*Alabama has made eight errors in four games. The Crimson Tide made a season-high three errors against Winthrop (Feb. 12) and Samford (Feb. 14). Avila and Paiml lead the Crimson Tide with two errors each.
