Alabama Crimson Tide Baseball Notebook
3/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Overall Record: 12-3 (.800)
Streak: 7-game winning streak
Last Week: 4-0 (1.000)
Feb. 28 -- Alabama 7, Birmingham Southern 6
Mar. 3 -- Alabama 4, Appalachian State 2
Mar. 4 -- Alabama 8, Appalachian State 3
Mar. 5 -- Alabama 8, Appalachian State 3
This Week:
March 8 -- at South Alabama (6 PM)
March 10 -- at Nebraska (2:05 PM)
March 11 -- at Nebraska (1:05 PM)
March 12 -- at Nebraska (1:05 PM)
Player Of the Week Nomination:
-Kody Valverde (Sr., 6-0, 210, Baton Rouge, La.)
-Stats: 4 G, .417 (5-for-12), 2 R, 2B, HR, 9 RBI, 5 BB
-Collected two game-winning RBI this week as the Tide extended its winning streak to seven straight games
-Valverde drilled two-run home run in bottom of seventh inning to give Alabama a 7-5 lead against Birmingham Southern (Feb 28)
-He accounted for five of the eight runs in the Tide's 8-3 win over Appy State (March 4)
-Valverde plated the first run with an RBI ground out and then busted the game open with a three-run double in the second inning. He also added an RBI single in the fourth inning
Pitcher Of the Week Nomination:
-David Robertson (So., 5-11, 175, Tuscaloosa)
-Stats: 3 G, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 SV, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, BB, 7 K
-Robertson earned the win in the Tide's hard-fought victory over Bham Southern (Feb. 28)
-He allowed one unearned run, walked one and struck out in 2 2/3 innings for the win
-Robertson struck out the side in the ninth inning in the opener vs. Appy State to earn his team-leading third save of the year. The save also nailed down win No. 488 for Coach Jim Wells, making him the winning coach in school history
-He added two scoreless innings in the 8-3 win over the Mountaineers in the series finale, striking out three of the four batters he faced. He also promptly picked off a runner on second base as he entered the game with two on and no outs in the second inning
-Robertson has stranded eight of nine inherited runners this year
Freshman of the Week Nomination:
-Alex Avila (Fr., 6-0, 200, Hialeah, Fla.)
-Stats: 4 G, .364 (4-for-11), 3 R, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI
-Avila had his best week of the 2006 season as he collected three extra base hits and three RBI
-He reached base seven times for a .500 on-base percentage for the week
-Avila had a career-high two hits and scored two runs in Bama's series-clinching win over Appy State on March 5
-The rookie also slugged his first career home run as he blasted a 3-1 pitch over the left-center field wall in the second inning
BAMA BASEBALL NOTEBOOK:
*Alabama head coach Jim Wells became the school's all-time winningest coach with his 488th win in the series opener against Appalachian State on March 3, 2005. He surpassed the previous record of 487 wins held by Dr. Barry Shollenberger (1989-94), who compiled a 487-334-1 (.534) record in 15 years. After the three-game sweep of Appy State, Wells is now 490-228 (.682) in 12 seasons at Alabama. Overall, he is 682-317 (.683) in 17 seasons.
*Wells will achieve another coaching milestone this week when he coaches his 1,000th game as the Crimson Tide plays at South Alabama on Wednesday, March 8.
*Alabama has won 11 of its last 12 games and is riding a season-best seven-game winning streak. The seven-game winning streak is the longest since an eight-game winning streak from Feb. 25-March 9, 2005. During the current streak, Alabama is hitting .298 (68-for-228) with six home runs and 46 RBI. Bama is averaging 6.7 runs and 9.7 hits per game during the streak. Freshman DH Alex Avila is the leading hitter with a .421 (8-for-19) with three doubles, one home run and three RBI. UA pitchers have compiled a 1.57 (63 IP, 45 H, 11 ER, 58 K) and one save during the streak. LHP Wade LeBlanc is 2-0 with a 1/59 ERA and has 28 strikeouts in 17 innings.
*The Crimson Tide is hitting a season-best .262 (128-for-448) following its season-high 16 hits against Appalachian State on March 5. Alabama is averaging 6.1 runs and 8.5 hits per game this season. The Tide has 16 doubles, seventriples and 13 home runs in 15 games. As a team, Alabama has walked 80 times and struck out only 89 times in 15 games.
*Senior catcher Kody Valverde leads Alabama with a .373 (19-for-51) with five home runs and 21 RBI in 15 games. He had nine RBI in four games this week, including his fifth home run against Birmingham Southern.
*The Crimson Tide pitching staff is 12-3 with four saves and a 2.07 ERA in 15 games. Bama pitchers have worked 115 innings and allowed 110 hits, 42 runs and 31 earned runs, with 35 walks and 127 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .218 against UA this season.
*LeBlanc is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in four starts this season. He has 38 strikeouts (only 5 walks) in 28 innings. LeBlanc moved into sixth place on the school's all-time strikeout list with 10 strikeouts against Appy State on March 3. The Lake Charles, La., native has 244 career strikeouts.
*Jake McCarter (2-0, 0.00 ERA). Tommy Hunter (2-0, 0.93 ERA), Bernard Robert (2-0, 2.45 ERA) and Austin Graham (2-1, 2.87 ERA) also have two wins.
*Sophomore RHP David Robertson is 1-0 with three saves an a 0.00 ERA in a team-high seven appearances. Robertson has recorded 18 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings.
*Alabama relievers have stranded 24 of 27 inherited runners this season. McCarter has stranded all seven inherited runners this season. Robertson has stranded eight of nine and sophomore RHfP Josh Copeland has stranded seven of eight runners.
*Alabama's fielding improved this weekend, despite three errors in the series finale. Alabama played back-to-back errorless games for the first time this season against Appy State on March 3-4. For the season, Alabama is fielding .959 and committed 24 errors in 15 games.
*The UA pitching staff had three lengthy streaks snapped in its 7-6 win over Birmingham Southern on Feb. 28. BSC catcher Blake Burton led off the sixth inning with a solo home run, the first home run allowed by Alabama in 97 1/3 innings, dating back to the season opener against Winthrop (the Eagles hit three HRs in their 9-6 opening day win over the Tide).
*The home run also marked the first earned run allowed by the UA bullpen in 35 innings, dating back to the seventh inning of its Feb. 12 game against Winthrop.
*One other streak ended in the seventh inning as Robertson allowed an inherited runner to score and tie the game at 5-5. It snapped a streak of 17 consecutive inherited runners stranded.
*Alabama will hit the road this week for the first time this season as it travels to Mobile to face South Alabama and Lincoln, Nebraska to face the No. Nebraska Cornhuskers. Alabama will play seven of its next eight games on the road following its season-opening 15-game home stand, which was the third-longest in school history.
*Alabama leads the all-time series with South Alabama, 49-44. Coach Wells is 13-5 (.722) against the Jags. This will be the Tide's first trip to Stanky Field on the USA campus since 1998. The last three meetings in Mobile have been played at Hank Aaron Stadium, the home of the Class AA Mobile BayBears.
*Alabama and Nebraska will be meeting in baseball for the first time in history. The three-game series with the Cornhuskers will be the first of six straight weekend series against teams ranked in the Top 30, including five SEC series.
