Baseball Heads to Baton Rouge to Face LSU
4/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
GAMES 37-39: ALABAMA (26-10, 9-3 Sec) at LSU TIGERS (24-11, 4-8 SEC)
ALEX BOX STADIUM (7,889) -- BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA -- 6:30 PM (CT)
APRIL 14-16, 2006 -- SEC LEADERS WRAP UP SEVEN-GAME ROAD TRIP
Date Game Time Radio TV
April 14 ALABAMA at LSU 6:30 PM (CT) CTSN, WACT (1420 AM) None
April 15 ALABAMA at LSU 2 PM (CT) CTSN, WACT (1420 AM) None
April 16 ALABAMA at LSU 1 PM (CT) CTSN, WACT (1420 AM) None
ON THE MOUND:
UA 23 Wade LeBlanc (Jr., LHP, 6-3, 193, Lake Charles, La.; 9 GS, 6-0, 2.47 ERA, 69.1 IP, 47 H, 19 R, 19 ER, 15 BB, 69 K)
LSU 29 Louis Coleman (Fr., RHP, 6-3, 195, Schlater, Miss.; 7 G, 6 GS, 3-2, 3.48 ERA, 41.1 IP, 40 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 13 BB, 31 K)
INTERNET BROADCAST: Live audio broadcasts and live stats can be found at www.rolltide.com. The games are aired on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with David Crane (play-by-play) and Chris Stewart (color) describing the action. Live stats are also available at www.rolltide.com. On the road, the Crimson Tide Sports Network can be heard at Alex Box Stadium this weekend on 88.7 FM. The CTSM broadcast will also be made available on Sirius Sattellite Radio Channel 150 this Saturday and Sunday.
TICKETS: Tickets for the Alabama-LSU are $8 (adults) and $5 (children) and are available at Alex Box Stadium Ticket Office two hours prior to each game.
UA SEEKS FIRST SERIES WIN SINCE ??96 AT LSU
The No. 8 University of Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team continues its seven-game road trip with a three-game Southeastern Conference series at No. 20 LSU this weekend at Alex Box Stadium. The series begins Friday, April 14 at 6:30 p.m. in Baton Rouge. The two long-time SEC Western Division rivals will also meet Saturday, April 15 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, April 16 at 1 p.m. Alabama (26-10, 9-3 SEC) is tied with South Carolina for the overall lead in the SEC race heading into this weekend's action. Bama and USC own a one-game lead over third-place Vanderbilt. Alabama owns a 2 1/2 game lead over Miss. State in the SEC Western Division race. The Crimson Tide is 3-1 on its current seven-game road trip, including a series win at No. 1 South Carolina last weekend. Overall, Alabama is 6-5 (.545) on the road this season. The Crimson Tide has a 4-5 (.444) road record against Top 25 teams, including SEC series wins at No. 23 Georgia and No. 1 South Carolina. Alabama lost a road series at No. 6 Nebraska. The Crimson Tide is playing its third SEC road series in the first half of the season. Alabama won at Georgia (March 17-19) for the first time since 1998 and captured its first-ever series win at South Carolina (April 7-9). Alabama looks to end another road losing streak this weekend as they seek their first series win at Alex Box Stadium since 1996.
The Crimson Tide has lost its last four series in Baton Rouge, including series losses in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004. Bama is 3-9 (.250) in its last 12 games at Alex Box Stadium. Alabama is batting .236 with seven home runs and 46 RBI in 11 road games this season. UA opponents are hitting only .231 with 10 home runs and 44 RBI this season. Freshman DH Alex Avila (Hialeah, Fla.) is the leading hitter with a .310 (9-for-29) with one home run and six RBI. Senior 3B Matt Downs (Centreville) leads UA with 10 RBI in 11 road games. Senior C Kody Valverde (Baton Rouge) has two home runs and six RBI in 11 games. The Crimson Tide pitching staff is 6-5 with a 3.97 ERA in 11 road games, with three CGs and three saves. UA opponents are 5-6 with a 4.00 ERA with one CG and one save. Junior RHP Bernard Robert (Denham Springs, La.) is 2-1 in three road starts with a 3.93 ERA, with wins at No. 23 Georgia and No. 1 South Carolina. Alabama if fielding .972 (12 errors) in 11 road games this year. Opponents are fielding .966 (15 errors) in 11 games. Alabama has seven players in its roster from the state of Louisiana, including Brandon Belcher (Ruston), Kenneth Brown (Lafayette), Casey Kebodeaux (Mandeville), Wade LeBlanc (Lake Charles), Robert, Jeff Texada (New Iberia) and Valverde. LSU (24-11, 4-8 SEC) has won four of its last five games, including its first SEC series win of the season last weekend at Tennessee. Senior OF Quinn Stewart leads the SEC with 14 home runs.
ALABAMA-LSU SERIES
*Alabama leads the all-time series with LSU, 185-138-3 (.572) in a series that dates back to the 1906 season.
*The series opener will be the 327th all-time meeting between these two SEC Western Division rivals.
*The two teams have met every year since 1947.
*The Alabama-LSU series is the fourth oldest series in SEC baseball lore. The two teams have met 326 times prior to the 2006 season.
*The oldest SEC series is Miss. State and Ole Miss. The two in-state rivals have met 413 times entering the 2006 campaign.
*The Alabama-Miss. State series is the second-longest in SEC history with 365 all-time meetings, including three meetings this season.
*The LSU-Miss. State series ranks third all-time with 350 meetings, including a three-game series this year.
*Alabama and Ole Miss have met 317 times, including three this year, to rank as the fifth oldest series in SEC annals.
*LSU won the first six meetings ever played between the two schools over a three-year period from 1906-08.
*Alabama's first series win did not come until the 1908 season, with a 4-1 win in Tuscaloosa.
*That initial win set off a period of dominance as the Crimson Tide won 16 of the next 18 meetings from 1908-21.
*LSU had held the upper hand in recent history as the Fighting Tigers are 13-6 (.684) against the Crimson Tide since the 2000 season.
*Alabama won two of three from LSU last year in Tuscaloosa, its first series win over the Tigers since the 1999 season.
*LSU has won five of the last seven regular-season series with Alabama since 1999.
*Alabama has not won a series in Baton Rouge since 1996.
*After winning back-to-back series in Coach Wells first two trips to Alex Box Stadium in 1995 and 1996, Alabama has lost its last four series in Baton Rouge.
*Alabama posted an 8-2 win in the series opener in Baton Rouge in 2003 as Wade LeBlanc silenced the Tigers with a complete-game gem.
*The win also halted an eight-game series winning streak by LSU, which equaled the longest in series history.
*LSU also won eight straight games from 1987-91 against Alabama.
*Alabama head coach Jim Wells began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at LSU under Coach Skip Bertman. Wells spent three years in Baton Rouge (1987-89) helping the Tigers to two NCAA Regional appearances. After his stay at LSU, Wells moved on to become head coach at Northwestern State (1990-94) and then on to Alabama, where he has spent the last 12 seasons.
*The Crimson Tide posted a pair of lopsided wins over LSU (13-6, 13-5) to claim the 1999 NCAA Super Regional and advance to the College World Series. The 1999 season marked the first year of Super Regionals in the newly expanded 64-team NCAA Tournament field.
*In 1997, Alabama and LSU met three different times to determine a championship. The Tigers won the regular-season finale 6-4 in Tuscaloosa to win the outright SEC Championship. The following weekend, Alabama's 12-2 blowout in the championship game gave the Crimson Tide its third straight SEC Tournament crown. Two weeks later, LSU took home the big prize with a 13-6 win in the title game of the College World Series. It was the school's fourth national championship in the 1990s.
*Alabama beat LSU three times in the 1968 to win the SEC Western Division title en route to the regular season championship and a berth in the NCAA Playoffs. Alabama took two out of three from LSU in the final regular season series at Alex Box Stadium to force a one-game playoff.
*The Crimson Tide won that playoff game 1-0 in Baton Rouge to claim the Western Division title. The next weekend, Alabama beat Eastern Division champion Florida to win the 1968 SEC Championship.
SCOUTING REPORT: LSU Fighting Tigers
*The LSU Fighting Tigers (24-11, 4-8 SEC) have won four of their last five games and are coming off their first SEC series win of the year last weekend at Tennessee.
*The Tigers pounded Northwestern State 12-0 on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge.
*LSU opened the season with a 16-2 record and were ranked in the Top 10 in many of the major polls.
*Since March 12, LSU has gone 8-9 (.471) in the last 17 games and has lost three of its first four SEC series, including both series (Miss. State and South Carolina) at Alex Box Stadium.
*The Tigers are hitting .298 (345-for-1159) with 35 home runs and 196 RBI in 35 games.
*LSU averages 6.2 runs and 9.9 hits per game this season.
*In SEC play, LSU is hitting only .235 (93-for-396) with 13 home runs and 48 RBI.
*The Tigers average 4.1 runs and 7.8 hits per game in 12 SEC games.
*Freshman DH J.T. Wise (Apopka, Fla.) and senior right fielder Quinn Stewart (Rowlett, Texas) are the co-leaders with a .338 batting average through 35 games.
*Stewart is 44-for-130 this season with 14 home runs and 39 RBI. He also has a whopping .754 slugging percentage.
*Stewart leads the SEC with those 14 home runs and ranks third with 39 RBI.
*Stewart leads the SEC with 14 home runs and a whopping .754 slugging mark.
*He leads LSU and ranks fourth in the league with 39 RBI.
*In SEC play, Stewart is batting .311 (14-for-45) with team-best six home runs and 13 RBI.
*He has an .800 slugging mark in league play.
*He is second on the team in home runs and third in RBI this season.
*Wise is 44-for-130 with six home runs and 23 RBI. He is second on the team in home runs and third in RBI.
*Senior catcher Matt Liuzza (Metarie) is also hitting .333 (34-for-102) with one home run and 13 RBI.
*Liuzza is the Tigers' leading hitter in SEC play with a .325 (13-for-40) average in 12 games. He has added four RBI.
*On the mound, the Tigers are 24-11 with two complete games, six saves and a 3.80 ERA.
*The pitching staff has worked 313 innings and allowed 308 hits, 156 runs and 132 earned runs, with 99 walks and 279 strikeouts.
*LSU opponents average 4.5 runs and 8.8 hits per game.
*In SEC play, LSU pitchers are 4-8 with one complete game and three saves and a 6.28 ERA.
*The Tigers have logged 106 innings in 12 SEC games and allowed 129 hits, 85 runs and 74 earned runs, with 46 runs and 83 strikeouts.
*LSU's SEC opponents average 7.1 runs and 10.8 hits per game this year.
*Junior RHP Derik Olvey (Pelham), a native of Pelham, Ala. and transfer from Notre Dame has been the Tigers ace this season.
*Olvey (9 GS, 6-1, 1 CG, 2.29 ERA) is expected to pitch the series finale against Alabama this weekend.
*He has worked a staff-leading 63 innings and allowed 46 hits, 18 runs and 16 earned runs, with 13 walks and 52 strikeouts.
*In SEC play, Olvey is 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA in four starts.
*Freshman RHP Louis Coleman (Schlater, Miss.) is expected to open the series on the mound for the Tigers.
*Coleman (7 G, 6 GS, 3-2, 3.48 ERA) has worked 41 1/3 innings and allowed 40 hits, 19 runs and 16 earned runs, with 13 walks and 31 strikeouts.
*Coleman is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA in three SEC starts.
*The Tigers will send junior LHP Clay Dirks (Hernando, Miss.) to the mound in game two.
*Dirks is 3-3 with a 4.03 ERA in eight starts this season. He has worked 44 2/3 innings and allowed 45 hits, 24 runs, 20 earned runs, with 11 walks and 49 strikeouts.
*In SEC play, Dirks is 0-2 with a 8.22 ERA in three starts. He has worked 15 1/3 innings and allowed 23 hits, 17 runs and 14 earned runs, with five walks and 13 strikeouts.
*Dirks did not pitch last weekend against Tennessee.
*Junior RHP Daniel Forrer (Montgomery, Ala.) has also seen a lot of time on the mound this year.
*Forrer is 1-2 with 5.85 ERA in eight games, including seven starts this year.
*He has logged 40 innings and yielded 41 hits, 27 runs and 26 earned runs, with 18 walks and 39 strikeouts.
*LSU has gotten excellent relief work this season from senior RHP Chase Dardar (12 G, 4-1, 3 SV, 2.08 ERA) and sophomore RHP Michael Bonura (9 G, 3 GS, 1-0, 3.32 ERA).
*The Tigers are one of the SEC's best fielding teams with a .970 fielding mark (40 errors) in 35 games.
*In 12 SEC games, LSU has a .964 fielding mark and has made 16 errors in 12 games.
CALLING BATON ROUGE
*Alabama senior catcher Kody Valverde is a native of Baton Rouge, La., and will make his first appearance at Alex Box Stadium since the March 16, 2004 when he played at UNO.
*Valverde attended Parkview Baptist HS, where he was a three-year letterman for coach M.L. Woodruff.
*He led Parkview to a pair of district championships and was all-state honorable mention by the Louisiana Sports Writer's Association as a junior and senior.
*In two career games at Alex Box Stadium while at UNO, Valverde was 1-for-6 (.167) with a double and a strikeout.
LOUISIANA LIGHTNING
*Alabama has seven Louisiana natives on its 2006 baseball roster.
*The list includes the following players.
LOUISIANA NATIVES
Player, Pos. Hometown
Brandon Belcher, LF Ruston
Kenneth Brown, LHP Lafayette
Casey Kebodeaux, RHP Mandeville
Wade LeBlanc, LHP Lake Charles
Bernard Robert, RHP Denham Springs
Jeff Texada, INF New Iberia
Kody Valverde, C Baton Rouge
LOUISIANA PURCHASE
*Alabama has enjoyed a fair amount of success over teams from the state of Louisiana.
*The Crimson Tide has forged a 301-173 (.635) all-time record against Louisiana teams, with the majority of those games coming against the flagship school LSU.
*The series opener at LSU will be Alabama's 475th all-time game against a team from the state of Louisiana.
*Alabama was 7-3 (.700) against teams from Louisiana last year, taking series wins from McNeese State and LSU.
*Alabama is 1-0 this season against Louisiana teams, following a 5-4 win at SE Louisiana in Hammond on Wednesday night.
Alabama vs. Louisiana Schools
Opponent Series Record
Centenary UA leads, 6-0
UL Lafayette UA leads, 3-0
LSU UA leads, 187-136-3
Louisiana Tech UA leads, 12-2
McNeese State UA leads, 3-1
New Orleans UA leads, 7-4
Nicholls State UA leads, 4-2
NE Louisiana UA leads, 5-2
Northwestern State UA leads, 3-0
SE Louisiana UA leads, 8-0
Southern UA leads, 4-0
Tulane UA leads, 60-26
BEST SEC START SINCE 1995
*Alabama is 9-3 (.750) in SEC play and has equaled the best 12-game start in the Wells era.
*The 2002 Alabama also started with a 9-3 SEC record en route to the SEC Western Division championship.
*In addition, Alabama's 9-3 start equals the fifth best 12-game SEC record in school history, dating back to 1933.
*The Crimson Tide was 8-4 after 12 games last season and was just 4-8 in league play two years ago at this time.
*Here is a look at the best 12-game starts in UA history and their records after 15 games.
BEST SEC STARTS (All-Time)
12-Game 15-Game
Year Record Record
1955 11-1 13-2
1950 10-2 12-3
1935 10-2 NA
1981 9-2-1 12-2-1
2006 9-3 NA
2002 9-3 12-3
1991 9-3 9-6
BEST SEC STARTS (Under Coach Wells)
12-Game 15-Game
Year Record Record
1995 8-4 9-6
1996 8-4 10-5
1997 8-4 10-5
1998 7-5 10-5
1999 8-4 9-6
2000 4-8 5-10
2001 7-5 9-6
2002 9-3 12-3
2003 6-6 8-7
2004 4-8 5-10
2005 8-4 9-6
2006 9-3 NA
HIGH FIVE
*Alabama seeks its fifth straight SEC series win this weekend when it travels to No. 20 LSU.
*The Crimson Tide has won its first four SEC series this year against No. 23 Georgia, Ole Miss, No. 1 Miss. State and No. 1 South Carolina.
*The LSU series will mark the Crimson Tide's third SEC road series in the first five weekends and the second in a row.
*All three of the Tide's SEC road series have come against Top 25 teams.
*The Crimson Tide's current streak of four straight series wins is the longest since UA won six straight SEC series in 1996.
*In 1996, Alabama won its first six SEC series and eight of 10 overall to share the regular-season title with Florida and LSU with identical 20-10 records.
*The 1996 season marked UA's first regular-season SEC title since 1968.
*The Crimson Tide opened that year with series wins over Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Miss. State.
ROAD WARRIORS
*Alabama has been pretty successful on the road in the Jim Wells era, posting an 124-121 (.506) record in 245 road games since the 1995 season.
*The Crimson Tide has had three straight losing road records since the 2003 season. Bama is 32-41 (.438) on the road since 2003.
*Alabama was 10-10 on the road during the 2002 season and has not had a winning road record since posting a 12-10 (.545) record in 2000.
*In SEC play, Alabama is 83-85 (.494) on the road in the Wells era, and has had six straight losing seasons away from home in conference play.
*Alabama has not had a winning SEC road record since posting an 8-7 (.533) record in 1999.
*The Crimson Tide is 6-5 (.545) on the road this season, including SEC series wins at No. 23 Georgia (March 31-April 2) and No. 1 South Carolina (April 7-9).
*Avila is the Tide's leading hitter on the road this year with a .310 (9-for-29) average with one home run an six RBI in 10 games.
*Valverde leads the team with two home runs.
*Downs leads UA with 10 RBI in 11 road games.
*Robert is 2-1 with 3.39 ERA in four road starts, including a 2-0 mark in SEC road games.
Wells Year-By-Year Road Record
Year All Games SEC Games
1995 11-7 (.611) 7-5 (.583)
1996 17-6 (.739) 10-5 (.667)
1997 12-7 (.632) 9-6 (.600)
1998 13-14 (.481) 7-8 (.467)
1999 10-10 (.500) 8-7 (.533)
2000 12-10 (.545) 7-8 (.467)
2001 6-14 (.300) 6-9 (.400)
2002 10-10 (.500) 7-8 (.467)
2003 9-11 (.450) 5-10 (.333)
2004 9-11 (.450) 6-9 (.400)
2005 9-14 (.391) 7-8 (.467)
2006 6-5 (.545) 4-2 (.667)
Totals 124-121 (.506) 83-85 (.494)
SEVEN GAME ROAD TRIP
*Alabama is in the midst of its longest road trip since the 1997 season.
*The LSU series will mark the final three games of a seven-game road trip. Six of the seven games came against Top 20 SEC clubs, including No. 1 South Carolina and No. 20 LSU.
*Alabama is 3-1 (.750) on the trip thus far, including a three-game winning streak.
*The seven-game road trip is the third-longest road trip for the UA baseball team in the Wells era.
*Alabama had an eight-game road trip in both 1996 and 1997.
*The 1996 road trip included games against South Alabama, Vanderbilt (3), Auburn (at Paterson Field) and Kentucky (3) in a 10-day stretch.
*The Tide went 6-2 on that road trip.
*The 1997 road trip included dates with Auburn (3), South Alabama (1), Samford (1) and Miss. State (3) in 10-day stretch.
*Bama was 5-3 on the 1997 road trip.
*Alabama also played a five-game road swing in 1998 that sent the team to South Alabama (1), Troy (1) and LSU (3).
*Bama was 2-3 on that trip.
ALABAMA OWNS THREE-GAME ROAD WINNING STREAK
*Alabama brings a three-game road winning streak into the series opener at LSU in Alex Box Stadium.
*The three-game road winning streak is the longest by the Crimson Tide since a five-game road winning streak during the 2002 season.
5-Game Road Winning Streak (2002)
Date Opponent
April 10 Alabama 5, UAB 3
April 12 Alabama 11, Kentucky 9
April 13 Alabama 10, Kentucky 1
April 14 Alabama 15, Kentucky 4
April 24 Alabama 11, Jax State 10
*The longest road winning streak in the Wells era came during the 2000 season when the Crimson Tide posted an eight-game road winning streak.
8-Game Road Winning Streak (2002)
Date Opponent
April 5 Alabama 20, W Alabama 3
April 11 Alabama 8, S. Miss 6 (11)
April 14 Alabama 6, Arkansas 5
April 15 Alabama 8, Arkansas 7
April 16 Alabama 9, Arkansas 8
April 28 Alabama 11, Vanderbilt 2
April 29 Alabama 10, Vanderbilt 4
April 30 Alabama 14, Vanderbilt 4
OFFENSE SHOWS IMPROVEMENT
*Alabama's offense has shown improvement over the last 17 games.
*During that time, Alabama is batting .299 (174-for-581) with12 home runs and 103 RBI.
*Alabama is averaging 6.9 runs and 10.2 hits per game over the last 17 games.
*The offense has shown marked improvement over the first 19 games, where the Tide hit just .250 (156-for-624) with 13 home runs and 97 RBI.
*Bama averaged only 5.8 runs and 8.25 hits per game through the first 19 games of the season.
*Valverde (.324) and Salem (.321) were the only UA starters hitting .300 or above in the first 20 games of the season.
*Salem is the leading hitter over the last 17 games with a .347 (27-for-73) average.
*The two most improved hitters over the since March 13 are Bush and Pennington, who have both seen a 77-point increase compared to the first 19 games.
*Pennington is batting .347 (17-for-49) with five RBI since March 13.
*Bush is hitting .299 (20-for-67) with six doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI in the last 17 games.
*Here is a look at Alabama's starters in the first 19 games compared to the last 17 games.
HITTING COMPARISON
First Last
Player 19 G 17 G
Avila .229 .288
Belcher .229 .310
Bush .222 .299
Downs .224 .261
Paiml .254 .316
Pennington .270 .347
Rhoden .221 .324
Salem .307 .347
Valverde .333 .229
