Alabama Crimson Tide Baseball Notebook
2/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
 |
|
CUMULATIVE STATS
Overall Record: 8-3 (.727)
Streak: 3-game winning streak
Last Week: 3-1 (.750)
Feb 21 -- Memphis 2, Alabama 0
Feb. 24 -- Alabama 1, Florida International 0
Feb. 25 -- Alabama vs. Florida International, PPD Rain
Feb. 26 -- Game 1: Alabama 12, Florida International 2; Game 2: Alabama 7, Florida International 0
This Week:
Feb 28 -- Birmingham Southern at Alabama (6:30 PM)
Mar 3 -- Appalachian State at Alabama (6:30 PM)
Mar 4 -- Appalachian State at Alabama (4 PM)
Mar 5 -- Appalachian State at Alabama (2 PM)
Pitcher Of the Week Nomination:
Wade LeBlanc (Jr., 6-3, 193, Lake Charles, La.)
-Stats: 1 GS, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K
-LeBlanc recorded his 11th career complete game and sixth career shutout as the Crimson Tide beat Florida International 1-0 in the series opener on Feb. 24
-The junior worked nine innings and allowed only three hits en route to his second win of the season
-He added a season-high 11 strikeouts and did not walk a batter
-The Crimson Tide won the game when Greg Paiml's one-out bunt single scored pinch runner Jeff Texada in the bottom of the ninth inning
-LeBlanc retired the final 11 FIU hitters and struck out the side in the ninth inning.
-He also retired nine straight Golden Panthers earlier in the game.
Freshman of the Week Nomination:
Tommy Hunter (Fr., RHP, 6-5, 260, Indianapolis, Indiana)
-Stats: 1 GS, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
-In his first career start, Alabama RHP Tommy Hunter threw eight scoreless innings as Alabama completed the three-game of Florida International this weekend in Tuscaloosa
-Hunter allowed just two hits and struck out six batters en route to his second win of the season
-He faced just one over the minimum through eight innings and at one point in the game retired 17 consecutive FIU batters
-Hunter (8 IP) and David Robertson (1 IP) combined for the shutout against FIU.
-It was Bama's second shutout of the weekend and third of the season, all in the last six games.
BAMA BASEBALL NOTEBOOK:
*Alabama head coach Jim Wells notched his 486th win at Alabama on Sunday and is one win away from tying Dr. Barry Shollenberger (1989-94) as the school's all-time winningest baseball coach. Shollenberger won 487 games in his 15-year tenure at UA. Wells is 486-288 in 12 years at Alabama.
*Alabama went 3-1 this past week, including a three-game sweep of Florida International in Tuscaloosa. After a 2-0 loss to Memphis, Bama beat FIU 1-0, 12-2 and 7-0 over the weekend.
*Alabama was shutout by Memphis on Feb. 21, marking the first time in 379 games the Crimson Tide failed to score at home. The last time Bama failed to score at Sewell-Thomas Stadium was a 5-0 loss to UAB on April 21, 1995.
*The Crimson Tide scored 19 runs on 25 hits in Sunday's double header sweep of Florida International. The 25 hits in two games raised the season batting average 43 points. In 11 games, Alabama is batting .251 (91-for-362) with nine home runs and 60 RBI. The Crimson Tide batted .338 (25-for-74) in Sunday's twinbill against FIU.
*Alabama scored eight runs on six hits in the eighth inning Sunday. In game one, Alabama scored four runs on two hits in the eighth inning as Ponder (2-run single) and Ferazza (2-run HR) accounted for the offense. In the nightcap, Bama added four more runs on four hits. Bush had an RBI single and Ferazza drilled a three-run home run.
*UA's 12 runs and 14 hits in the game one victory over FIU were both season highs. The previous high was 11 runs in an 11-3 win over Samford on Feb. 14 and 11 hits against Samford and Kent State (Feb. 17).
*Senior catcher Kody Valverde and senior first baseman Spencer Pennington are the only two UA starters with a .300 batting average this year. Valverde is hitting .359 (14-for-39) with four home runs and 14 RBI. Pennington, who was 4-for-7 (.571) this weekend against FIU, is batting .353 (6-for-17) with one RBI.
*Senior backup catcher David Ferazza hit two home runs and had five RBI in his two at-bats against FIU on Sunday. He hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning of game one and added a three-run home run in the eighth inning of the nightcap.
*Junior outfielder Allen Ponder had a two-run single in the eighth inning of the Crimson Tide's 12-2 win in game one of Sunday's double header against FIU. It was his first career hit and RBI at Alabama.
*Alabama has not hit into a double play this season. The Crimson Tide defense has turned eight double plays in its first 11 games.
*Redshirt freshman DH Kyle Moore tied an Alabama single-season record with two sacrifice bunts in its 1-0 win over FIU on Feb. 24.
*The Crimson Tide pitching staff continues to shine on the mound this season. In 11 games, Bama pitchers are 8-3 with three saves and a 1.91 ERA. UA pitchers have recorded 89 strikeouts and 25 walks in 99 innings this season.
*In the three game series against FIU, Alabama allowed just one earned run (0.33) in 27 innings. UA pitchers held FIU hitters to a .184 (13-for-88) batting average. In 27 innings, UA pitchers had 20 strikeouts and three walks this weekend.
*Alabama has allowed just four earned runs in its last 72 innings (0.50 ERA), dating back to Feb. 14th.
*After allowing three home runs in the season opener to Winthrop, Alabama has not allowed a home run in the last 92 1/3 innings.
*Alabama's bullpen threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings on Sunday against Fla. International to extend its streak to 32 2/3 innings without an earned run dating back to the second game of the season (Feb. 12).
*The Crimson Tide bullpen has also stranded its last 14 consecutive inherited runners.
*Bama posted a 17 1/3 innings scoreless streak from Feb. 21-26.
*LeBlanc's 11 strikeouts in the series opener with FIU moved him into eighth place on the school's all-time strikeout list with 234 career strikeouts. He surpassed Taylor Tankersley (232, 2002-04), Tommy Milstead (231, 1988-91) and Jackie Glover (228 K, 1967-69) on Friday night.
*In 20 innings this season, LeBlanc has 28 strikeouts and only three walks. He has not walked a batter in two of his three starts this year.
*Alabama's 1-0 win over FIU on Feb. 24 marked the first time since 1996 that Alabama won a game 1-0 score. The last time UA won a 1-0 game was against Auburn when Joel Colgrove out-dueled Auburn's Tim Hudson.
*Alabama hosts Birmingham Southern on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide beat BSC 8-3 last season in Tuscaloosa. Overall, Alabama is 26-15 against BSC, including a 4-1 mark under Jim Wells.
*The Crimson Tide hosts Appalachian State next weekend (Mar. 3-5) in Tuscaloosa to close out its season-opening 15-game homestand. Bama and Appy State have never met in baseball.
