Alabama Baseball Weekly Notebook
2/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Overall Record: 5-2 (.714)
Streak: 4-game winning streak
Last Week: 4-1 (.800)
Feb 13 -- Winthrop 4, Alabama 3
Feb 14 -- Alabama 10, Samford 3
Feb 17 -- Alabama 10, Kent State 2
Feb 18 -- Alabama 2, Kent State 0
Feb 19 -- Alabama 6, Kent State 1
This Week:
Feb 21 -- Memphis at Alabama (6:30 PM)
Feb 24 -- Florida International at Alabama (6:30 PM)
Feb 25 -- Florida International at Alabama (4PM)
Feb 26 -- Florida International at Alabama (2 PM)
Player Of the Week Nomination:
-Kody Valverde (Sr., C, 6-0, 210, Baton Rouge, La.)
-Stats: 5 G, .313 (5-for-16), 2 HR, 6 RBI
-Reached base 11 times in 22 plate appearances (5 BB, HBP)
-Walked three times and scored three runs in win over Samford (Feb 14)
-Went 3-for-5 with home run and career-high 5 RBI in 10-2 win over Kent State (Feb 17)
-Broke open a close game with bases-loaded triple in 6th inning to five UA a 7-1 lead. It was his first triple since 2004
-Added two-run HR in 8th inning
-Stroked team-leading 4th home run in 6th inning of series finale vs. Kent State (Feb 19)
Pitcher Of the Week Nomination:
-David Robertson (So., RHP, 5-11, 175, Tuscaloosa)
-Stats: 3 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 SV, 6 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 10 K
-Earned saves in back-to-back games against Kent State (Feb 17-18)
-In 2-0 win on Feb 17, Robertson stranded runners at second and third when he struck out Wilie Vazquez to end the game
-He entered the series finale with the bases loaded and no outs in the 8th inning and struck out the next three batters to preserve UA's 6-1 lead. Robertson struck out the first five batters he faced on Sunday in his two innings on the mound
-He threw three shutout innings and added four strikeouts against WInthrop (Feb. 13) in his 2006 debut
Freshman of the Week Nomination:
-Ryan Rhoden (Fr., OF, 6-2, 215, Tuscaloosa)
-Stats: 5 G, .421 (8-for-19), 3 R, RBI, 3 BB
-Rhoden had a huge week at the plate for the Crimson Tide going 8-for-19 (.421) in five games
-He posted three multi hit games this past week
-Rhoden went 2-for-5 and recorded his first career hit against Winthrop (Feb 13) -He went 2-for4 and drove in his first career RBI in the Tide's 10-2 win over Kent State (Feb 17)
-Added a third, two-hit game (2-for-4) and first career double in UA's 2-0 win over KSU (Feb 18). Rhoden had two of UA's five hits and scored one of the two runs in the win
-Riding a five-game hitting streak
-Bama's leading hitter (8-for-23, .348) on the season in six games played
NOTEBOOK:
*Alabama is riding a four-game winning streak after its three-game sweep of Kent State (10-2, 2-0 and 6-1) at home this weekend.
*The Crimson Tide is batting .246 (56-for-228) through seven games with seven home runs and 40 RBI. Bama is averaging 6.4 runs and 8.0 hits per game this season. Alabama has seven home runs in seven games this season. The Tide had only one home run in its first seven games last year.
*Alabama's top three hitters -- Ryan Rhoden, Emeel Salem and Kody Valverde -- are hitting a combined .343 (25-for-73) through seven games, with four home runs and 14 RBI. Rhoden is the leading hitter with a .348 (8-for-23) average. Salem (.346, RBI) has reached base 17 times in seven games for a .500 on-base mark as the leadoff hitter. He has an 11-game hitting streak dating back to last season. Valverde (.333, 4 HR, 12 RBI) leads UA in home runs and RBI in seven games. He hit only seven home runs in 2005.
*Rhoden batted .455 (5-for-11) in the Kent State series with two runs scored and one RBI.
*Valverde hit .385 (5-for-13) against KSU with two home runs and six RBI. Four of his five hits were extra base hits, including his first triple since the 2004 season.
*Salem batted .364 (4-for-11) against the Golden Flashes and added seven stolen bases.
*The Crimson Tide pitching staff has been superb in the first seven games. UA pitchers are 5-2 with three saves and a 2.57 ERA thus far. The staff has almost a 4:1 strikeout (64) to walk (17) ratio. The Tide has allowed just 58 hits in 63 innings and opponents are batting .246 this season.
*Dating back to the third inning of the Winthrop game on Feb 13, Alabama has allowed just one earned run (0.21 ERA) in its last 43 innings on the mound. The Crimson Tide yielded just one earned run (27 IP, 0.33 ERA) in the series sweep of Kent State and posted its first shutout of the season on Feb. 18.
*The Crimson Tide bullpen has now thrown 23 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Robertson (6 IP, 10 K) and sophomore RHP Josh Copeland (7.2 IP, 7 K) have not allowed a run in six combined outing this season.
*Alabama had a save in all three wins against Kent State. Freshman RHP Tommy Hunter earned a three-inning save in the series opener and David Robertson stranded five total base runners in his two saves in the final two games. Alabama did not have a save in its first four games of the season.
*Alabama will host Memphis at the Joe on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The Crimson Tide leads the all-time series with the Tigers, 11-5, including last year's 8-3 win on April 12.
*The Crimson Tide will host Florida International in a three-game series next weekend in Tuscaloosa. Alabama won the only other meeting between these two teams as the knocked off FIU 5-1 in the first round of the 1991 NCAA Atlantic Regional at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla.
