Alabama Plays UAB at the Hoover Met
4/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
GAME 44: ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (31-12) at UAB BLAZERS (15-26)
HOOVER MET (10,800) -- HOOVER, ALABAMA -- 6:30 PM (CT)
APRIL 26, 2006 -- BAMA PLAYS FINAL NON-CONFERENCE GAME
| Date | Game | Time | Radio | TV |
| April 26 | ALABAMA at UAB (Hoover Met) | 6:30 PM (CT) | CTSN, WACT (1420 AM) | None |
| April 28 | Auburn at ALABAMA | 6:30 PM (CT) | CTSN, WACT (1420 AM) | None |
| April 29 | Auburn at ALABAMA | 6:06 PM (CT) | CTSN, WACT (1420 AM) | CSS |
| April 30 | Auburn at ALABAMA | 2:06 PM (CT) | CTSN, WACT (1420 AM) | CSS |
ON THE MOUND:
UA 21 Jake McCarter (Jr., RHP, 6-0, 195, Kerrville, Texas; 13 G, 4 GS, 6-0, 2.01 ERA, 44.2 IP, 38 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 13 BB, 39 K)
UAB TBA
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.
TICKETS: Tickets for the Alabama-UAB game are $12 for reserved seats and $10 for general admission seats. Tickets are available by call (205) 975-UAB1. Tickets may also be purchased at the Hoover Met Box Office beginning at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are also on sale for UA's final two home SEC series against Auburn (April 28-30) and Florida (May 12-14) series.
BAMA TAKES ON UAB AT HOOVER MET
The No. 6 ranked University of Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team plays its final non-conference game of the 2006 season as it takes on the UAB Blazers Wednesday, April 26 at the Hoover Met. The game is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Alabama (31-12, 13-5 SEC) will be playing in its "unofficial" home away from home tonight when they meet the Blazers at the home of the Southern League's Birmingham Barons, the Class AA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. The Hoover Met is also the site for the 2006 SEC Baseball Tournament (May 24-27). Alabama has enjoyed much success at the Hoover Met since its first appearance in 1989. Overall, Alabama is 27-11 (.711) in games played at the Hoover Met, including a 23-8 (.742) mark in SEC post-season play. Alabama has won four SEC Tournament Championships at the Hoover Met in 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2003. Alabama is 3-2 (.600) all-time against UAB at the Hoover Met, including a 5-4 win here on April 14, 2004. Brandon Belcher's three-run home run in the seventh inning gave the Crimson Tide the come-from-behind win. The Crimson Tide will bring a five-game winning streak into Wednesday night's game with UAB. The Crimson Tide is hitting an astounding .411 (78-for-190) during the streak with seven home runs and 48 RBI. Bama is averaging 10.2 runs and 15.6 hits per game during the streak. Senior catcher Kody Valverde leads the team with .647 (11-for-17) average over the last five games. He has added 10 runs, four doubles, one home run and eight RBI. Freshman DH Alex Avila is hitting .571 (12-for-21) during the five-game winning streak, with nine runs scored, six doubles and eight RBI. Valverde and Avila are a hitting a combined .605 (23-for-38) in the last five games, with 19 runs scored, 10 doubles, one home run and 16 RBI. Avila was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on April 24 following his performance in the Crimson Tide's series sweep of No. 16 Vanderbilt over the weekend in Tuscaloosa. Avila hit .429 (6-for-14) against the Commodores with three doubles, four runs scored and five RBI. He had his best game at UA going 4-for-6 with four runs scored and four RBI in the Tide's 14-7 win over April 22. He also tallied a career-high three doubles. Alabama and UAB met earlier this season in Tuscaloosa with the Crimson Tide posting a 4-3 win. UA scored three runs on six hits in the first inning and then held off UAB for the win. David Ferazza, Matt Downs and Ryan Rhoden had RBI singles in the first inning. Rhoden went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI in the win and scored what proved to be the deciding run in the seventh inning. UAB (15-26) snapped its school-record 19-game losing streak on April 22 with 9-7 win at Central Florida. The Blazers then scored their first series win of the 2006 season with a 14-6 victory in the series finale on Sunday.
BASEBALL TEAM WINS COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
*The University of Alabama baseball team won its second straight Community Service Award when the UA Center for Academic Student Services handed out its 2005-06 awards Monday, April 24 at the Paul W. Bryant Conference Center.
*The UA baseball team was the top men's team with more than 1,000 hours of community service during the current academic school year.
*The highlight of the season for the Crimson Tide baseball team was a weekend in south Mississippi to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.
*Athletic Trainer Ginger Gilmore's family, who hails from Bay St. Louis, Miss., were the beneficiaries of the three-day trip for some 10-15 Crimson Tide baseball players.
*Junior center fielder Emeel Salem (Mountain Brook) was a finalist for the Paul W. Bryant Scholar-Athlete Award. Salem has a 3.90 grade point average with a double major in Marketing and Spanish. He is a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selections and five-time member of the Dean's List and President's List at UA.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
*With all the newcomers on the roster this season, several UA players have has some impressive games in their first career start for the Crimson Tide.
*A total of 13 players have started a game in 2006 for the first time in their career.
*The most recent addition to the list is first baseman Wes Henderson, who went 2-for with an RBI double in UA's 14-7 win over Vanderbilt on April 22.
*Another first time starter in the last four games is freshman shortstop Jeff Texada, who went 3-for-3 with a double and walk in his first start against Miss. Valley State on April 19.
*The Crimson Tide has had a number of other impressive first starts this season, both at the plate and on the mound.
*The most impressive first start of the season was Kyle Moore's 2-for-5, 4 RBI night in his first start against Samford on Feb. 14. He also hit a two-run home run in that game.
*Moore was the first UA player to hit a home run in his first career start since Al Hecklinski hit a home run against UL Lafayette on Feb. 14, 2003 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
*The four RBI were the most by a UA player in his first start since Cam Walters went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and four RBI in a win over Arkansas-Little Rock on Feb. 22, 1998.
*Hunter threw eight shutout innings in his first career start against Florida International (8 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 K) on Feb. 26.
*Hunter's eight innings were the most by an Alabama first-time starter since Jared Woodward tossed a complete-game win over Birmingham Southern (9 IP, 4 H, R, ER, BB, 6 K) on Feb. 21, 2001.
*Woodward's nine-inning stint is the only complete game by a UA pitcher in his first career start in the Wells era.
*McCarter threw three scoreless innings in his first start against Lipscomb (3 IP, H, BB, 2 K) on March 29.
ALABAMA-UAB SERIES
*Alabama leads the all-time series with UAB, 35-13 (.729) heading into Wednesday's game at the Hoover Met.
*The Crimson Tide posted a 4-3 win over the Blazers on April 5 in Tuscaloosa.
*Dating back to the 2002 season, Alabama has won seven of the last eight meetings with UAB.
*The Crimson Tide and Blazers spilt a home-and-home series last year. UAB won 7-1 in Birmingham, while Bama won 5-4 in Tuscaloosa.
*Alabama also owns a five-game winning streak in Tuscaloosa, dating back to the 2002 season.
*The Alabama-UAB series began in 1974 with the Crimson Tide sweeping the four games played that season.
*The Crimson Tide swept a two-game series with the Blazers in 1999, winning by a combined 52-9 margin.
*Alabama beat UAB 30-4 on April 14, 1999 Young Memorial Field. The Crimson Tide smashed an NCAA record 13 home runs in the victory.
*Andy Phillips (3 HR), Brent Boyd (2 HR), Sam Bozanich (2 HR) and Jeremy Brown (2 HR) all had multiple homers for the Tide.
*Dan Chavers, Derek Wigginton and G.W. Keller also homered in the most lopsided win in series history.
*Two weeks later, Alabama handed UAB a 22-5 loss at the Joe on April 28th.
*The Crimson Tide only hit five home runs in this game, including two by Erik Smallwood and one each by Bozanich, Phillips and Jayson Cox.
*In the two games, Alabama hit 18 home runs. A total of nine different players homered that season against UAB.
*Alabama has compiled a 20-5 (.800) all-time record in Tuscaloosa against UAB.
*Alabama is 15-7 (.681) against UAB in the city of Birmingham.
*Alabama head coach Jim Wells is 15-6 (.714) in his career against UAB.
*UAB head coach Larry Giangrosso is 3-10 (.231) in his career against Alabama.
SCOUTING REPORT: UAB Blazers
*The UAB Blazers (15-26, 2-10 C-USA) snapped its school record 19-game losing streak with a 9-7 win at Central Florida on Saturday, April 22.
*It was the Blazers first win since beating North Carolina A&T 12-1 on March 18, 2006.
*The next UAB handed UCF a 16-4 loss to win its first series of the 2006 season.
*The 19-game losing streak included eight losses to Top 25 teams, including Miss. State (0-1), Southern Miss (0-3), Alabama (0-1) and Rice (0-3).
*UAB scored two runs or less eight time during the 19-game losing streak and lost eight one-run games.
*UAB began the year with a 12-4 record, but has lost 22 of their last 25 games since March 14.
*The Blazers are hitting .268 (385-for-1,437) in 41 games, with 30 home runs and 199 RBI.
*UAB averages 5.4 runs and 9.4 hits per game.
*Junior catcher Danny Sawyer (Suwanee, Ga.) leads the Blazers with a .327 (53-for-162) average with four home runs and 35 RBI.
*Junior infielder Zac Ward (Hartselle) is third on the team with a .268 (44-for-164) average with five home runs and 29 RBI. He is the team leader with five home runs.
*The Blazers are 15-26 with a 5.35 ERA on the mound. UAB has two complete game and six saves this season.
*UAB pitchers have worked 365 innings and allowed 401 hits, 267 runs and 217 earned runs, with 228 walks and 252 strikeouts.
*The Blazers have not announced the starter for the Alabama game at this time.
*UAB is fielding .961 in 41 games, with 66 errors (1.6 per game) and turned 38 double plays.
Last Meeting: Alabama 4, UAB 3 (April 5)
*Alabama scored three runs on six hits in the first inning and added insurance run in the eighth to hold off UAB 4-3 on April 5 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
*Ferazza, Downs and Rhoden all had RBI singles in the first inning against Lyle Northington (1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K), who was charged with the loss.
*McCarter (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) held the Blazers to two runs and three hits through six innings for the win.
*Davis (1.2 IP, H, K) picked up his first save of the season.
*J.R. Bond was 2-for-4 to lead the Blazers at the plate.
*Center fielder Steven Tuner was 1-for-2 with two walks and scored all three UAB runs in the loss.
ALABAMA VS. IN-STATE FOES
*Alabama has compiled a 477-206 (.698) all-time record against teams from the state of Alabama.
*The Crimson Tide is 4-1 this season against in-state foes.
*Alabama has wins over Samford (11-3), Birmingham Southern (7-6), South Alabama (7-6) and UAB (4-3).
*Bama also suffered a home loss to Troy (8-5).
*All four games this week will take place against in-state teams. The Crimson Tide plays UAB at the Hoover Met on April 26 and then hosts Auburn (April 28-30) this weekend.
*Alabama was 7-2 (.778) against in-state teams last year losing once at UAB and once at Auburn.
*The Crimson Tide was 5-0 at home last year against in-state teams.
*Alabama has played Auburn more than any other in-state foe.
*The Crimson Tide and Tigers have met 241 times since the first meeting in 1896.
*The Alabama-Samford series is the oldest in-state rivalry in the UA record books. The two schools began playing in 1894.
*In fact, the Crimson Tide beat Howard College (now called Samford) 36-2 in Birmingham.
*The runs scored (36) and margin of victory (34) are still the most in a single-game in school history.
*Alabama and South Alabama have met 94 times since the inaugural meeting in 1967.
*Alabama has played 426 (62.5 percent) of its 682 games against Auburn, Samford and South Alabama.
*Alabama's best season against in-state foes came in 1996, when the Crimson Tide posted an 11-0 record.
*In fact from 1995-97, Alabama won 14 straight games against in-state teams the longest streak in the Wells era.
*Bama also had a nine-game winning streak in 2002 and an 11-game winning streak in 2002-03.
BAMA ALL-TIME VS. IN-STATE SCHOOLS
Opponent Series Record
Alabama Christian UA leads, 4-1
Alabama State UA leads, 5-0
Auburn UA leads, 133-108
Bham Athletics UA leads, 6-0
Bham College UA leads, 9-2
Bham Loveman's UA leads, 1-0
Bham Southern UA leads, 27-15
Faulkner State UA leads, 2-1
Greensboro UA leads, 4-1
Jay State UA leads, 18-7
Marion Military Institute UA leads, 12-2
Montevallo UA leads, 11-2
North Alabama UA leads, 18-3
Samford UA leads, 83-9
South Alabama UA leads, 50-44
Springhill College UA leads, 9-4
Stillman UA leads, 17-0
Troy UA leads, 12-4
UAB UA leads, 35-13
West Alabama UA leads, 21-10
WELLS VS. IN-STATE FOES
*Alabama head coach Jim Wells has compiled an 92-39 (.702) record against teams from the state of Alabama.
*He logged his first win over an in-state team as the Crimson Tide defeated the Troy State Trojans 2-1 on Feb. 21, 1995.
*Later that season, Wells became the winningest first-year coach in Bama annals as he led the Crimson Tide to a 15-2 win over Samford on April 5, 1995 in Tuscaloosa.
*The win over Samford was Wells' 22nd as the UA coach, breaking the rookie record of 21 wins held by JWH Pollard in 1907.
WELLS ALL-TIME VS. IN-STATE SCHOOLS
Opponent Series Record
Auburn UA leads, 25-18
Bham Southern UA leads, 5-1
Jax State Series Tied, 4-4
North Alabama UA leads, 2-0
Samford UA leads, 15-2
South Alabama UA leads, 14-5
Troy State UA leads, 4-2
UAB UA leads, 15-6
West Alabama UA leads, 8-1
2006 ALABAMA VS. IN-STATE TEAMS
Date Game
Feb. 14 Alabama 11, Samford 3
Feb. 28 Alabama 7, BSC 6
March 8 Alabama 7, S Alabama 6
March 22 Troy 8, Alabama 5
April 5 Alabama 4, UAB 3
April 26 at UAB
April 28 vs. Auburn
April 29 vs. Auburn
April 30 vs. Auburn
THE HOOVER MET
*Alabama might as well call the Hoover Met, its home away from home. The Crimson Tide has had a tremendous amount of success at the ballpark since its opening in the late 1980s.
*Alabama has compiled a 27-11 (.711) record at the Hoover Met since its initial game during the 1989 season.
*The Crimson Tide beat UAB 14-3 on April 0, 1989 here in Hoover and has enjoyed much success ever since.
*The Hoover Met is also the home to the 2006 SEC Baseball Tournament (May 24-28) and the Crimson Tide has captured four SEC Tournament titles (1996, 1999, 2002 and 2003) here.
*Alabama is 4-3 (.571) in seven regular-season games at the Hoover Met, including a 3-2 (.600) mark against the Blazers.
*The Crimson Tide beat UAB 5-4 on April 14, 2004 in its last regular season game here at the Hoover Met. Brandon Belcher's three-run home run inside the right field foul pole provided the winning margin.
*Alabama is 23-8 (.742) in SEC Tournament games at the Hoover Met.
*UA was 1-2 in last year's SEC Tournament and finished tied for fifth place, its worst showing in the tourney under Wells.
*Here is a year-by-year look at the Crimson Tide's success here at the Hoover Met.
ALABAMA'S HOOVER MET RECORD
Year Record
1989 1-0
1990 0-1
1992 1-0
1995 0-1
1996 6-1
1997 0-1
1998 3-2
1999 4-0
2000 2-2
2002 4-1
2003 4-0
2004 1-0
2005 2-2
HOOVER MET RESULTS (Regular Season)
Year Result
1989 Alabama 14, UAB 3
1990 UAB 6, Alabama 4 (10)
1992 Alabama 6, UAB 0
1995 Auburn 6, Alabama 1
1996 Alabama 7, Auburn 1
1997 UAB 10, Alabama 2
2004 Alabama 5, UAB 4
HOOVER MET RESULTS (SEC Tourney)
Year Result
1996 Alabama 3, Kentucky 2
Alabama 3, Tenn 1 (14)
Florida 7, Alabama 3
Alabama 16, Kentucky 8
Alabama 10, Florida 5
Alabama 15, Florida 5
1998 Auburn 11, Alabama 8
Alabama 8, Kentucky 3
Alabama 3, Florida 2
Alabama 4, Auburn 3
Auburn 9, Alabama 1
1999 Alabama 7, Ole Miss 6
Alabama 4, MSU 3
Alabama 12, MSU 11
Alabama 9, Arkansas 3
2000 Alabama 9, MSU 3
LSU 18, Alabama 12
Alabama 12, Georgia 4
LSU 6, Alabama 5
2002 Alabama 12, MSU 2
Alabama 7, Florida 4
Florida 7, Alabama 4
Alabama 11, Florida 9
Alabama 6, USC 2
2003 Alabama 9, USC 7
Alabama 7, Auburn 5
Alabama 13, Auburn 3
Alabama 10, LSU 3
2005 Ole Miss 3, Alabama 1
Alabama 5, Arkansas 4
Ole Miss 5, Alabama 3
ALABAMA NO. 3 IN LATEST RPI
*Alabama is second this week in the latest RPI rankings, according to Boyd Nation (www.boydsworld.com).
*Alabama is third in the RPI this week according to Warren Nolan (www.warrennolan.com).
*The Crimson Tide is the highest ranked team in the SEC through games of Monday, April 24, 2006.
*Arkansas is the second-highest rated SEC team with a No. 12 RPI. South Carolina is third-highest rated team with a No. 13 RPI.
*In all, the SEC has six teams in the Top 25 RPI and 10 teams in the Top 40 RPI.
TOP 10 RPI (Boyd Nation)
Rk Team RPI
1. Clemson .648
2. ALABAMA .644
3. Rice .642
4. Georgia Tech .638
5. Nebraska .628
6. Texas .624
7. Cal State Fullerton .619
8. North Carolina .618
9. North Carolina State .615
10. Florida State .614
Oklahoma .614
TOP 10 RPI (Warren Nolan)
Rk Team RPI
1. Rice .6449
2. Georgia Tech .6428
3. ALABAMA .6391
4. Clemson .6388
5. Nebraska .6345
6. Texas .6250
7. North Carolina .6192
8. Cal State Fullerton .6145
9. North Carolina State .6119
Oklahoma .6119
SEC RPI RANKINGS (Warren Nolan)
Rk Team RPI
3. ALABAMA .6391
12. Arkansas .6604
13. South Carolina .5994
19. Georgia .5954
20. Ole Miss .5941
21. Mississippi State .5939
26. LSU .5797
30. Kentucky .5782
31. Florida .5770
35. Auburn .5722
45. Vanderbilt .5641
78. Tennessee .5374
BAMA HAS THIRD-TOUGHEST SKED
*According to the latest rankings, Alabama has played the third-most difficult baseball schedule in the land.
*The Crimson Tide owns a 31-12 record, including a 13-5 mark in the SEC.
*Bama has played 22 of its 43 games, or 51.2 percent of its schedule this season, against ranked teams.
*Alabama owns a 20-12 (.625) against the Top 100 RPI.
ALABAMA RPI RECORD BREAKDOWN
Rank Record
1-25 9-7 (.563)
26-50 8-2 (.800)
51-100 3-3 (.500)
*The Crimson Tide has played road series at No. 6. Nebraska, No. 23 Georgia, No. 1 South Carolina and No. 20 LSU.
*Alabama is 5-7 (.417) in those 12 games.
*The Crimson Tide has played home series with No. 26 Winthrop, No. 1 Miss. State and No. 16 Vanderbilt and a single-game with No. 20 Southern Miss.
*The Crimson Tide is 7-3 (.700) in those 10 games.
*Alabama has three games remaining with ranked teams, including an SEC road series at Arkansas (May 5-7).
TOP 10 STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Rk Team SOS
1. Clemson .6216
2. Texas .6163
3. ALABAMA .6119
4. Auburn .6079
5. Maryland .5985
6. Georgia Tech .5969
7. Rice .5963
8. UCLA .5952
9. Stanford .5894
10. Georgia .5888
THE RANKED OPPONENTS
*Alabama is 12-10 (.545) against ranked teams this season.
*The Crimson Tide has played 22 of its 43 games against ranked opponents this season.
*Alabama is 11-8 (.580) against teams ranked in the Top 25 this season.
*The Crimson Tide has won 11 of its last 15 games against Top 25 teams, including series wins over No. 23 Georgia, No. 1 Miss. State, No. 1 South Carolina and No. 16 Vanderbilt.
*Alabama is 4-2 (.667) this season against the No. 1 ranked team with back-to-back SEC series wins over Miss. State (March 31-April 2) and South Carolina (April 7-9).
*Alabama played two non-conference series against ranked teams. The Crimson Tide opened the year by losing two of three at home to No. 26 Winthrop. Alabama then lost all three games at No. 6 Nebraska (Mar. 10-12).
*The Crimson Tide whipped No. 20 Southern Miss 13-3 on March 15 in Tuscaloosa.
*The 13-3 win over Southern Miss was the most lopsided win over a ranked opponent since Alabama beat No. 12 Auburn 19-0 in Tuscaloosa on April 19, 2004.
