Alabama-LSU Meet in First-Round Rematch at SEC Tourney
5/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BAMA SEEKS 41ST WIN; TAKES ON LSU
The Alabama Crimson Tide (40-18, 20-10 SEC) and LSU Tigers (35-23, 13-17 SEC) meet for the second time in three days here at the 2006 SEC Tournament at the Hoover Met. The Crimson Tide and Tigers square off in an elimination game on Friday, May 26 at 6:36 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised by FSN South with Dave Neal (play-by-play), Larry Conley (analyst) and Jenn Hildreth (reporter) calling the action. Alabama advanced in the tournament with a 4-3 win over Arkansas on Thursday afternoon. The Crimson Tide scored four runs in the seventh inning off three hits and three sacrifice bunts for the win. LSU suffered a 12-1 loss to Ole Miss last night to fall into the loser’s bracket. LSU beat Alabama 4-3 in first-round action as all four of the top seeds lost on Wednesday.
SEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Alabama is 36-30 (.554) all-time in SEC Tournament play since 1977. The Crimson Tide has lost three of its last five SEC Tournament games, after going 1-2 in last year’s tourney. Alabama is 32-11 (.744) under coach Jim Wells in SEC Tournament play and has won six championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003). Bama is 24-9 (.727) in tournament games here at the Hoover Met. Alabama is 4-6 (.400) all-time against LSU in SEC Tournament play. UA head coach Jim Wells is 4-4 (.500) against the Tigers in the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide has eliminated LSU from the SEC Tourmament three times (1995, 1997 and 2003). All three of those wins came in the championship game. LSU has eliminated Alabama only once (2000) from the SEC Tournament.
HEAD COACH JIM WELLS
Wells has compiled a 518-243 (.681) record in 12 years at Alabama. He has led the Crimson Tide to two SEC Championships (1996 and 2006), three Western Division titles (1996, 2002 and 2006) and six tourney championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003). In 17 years at Northwestern State and Alabama, Wells has compiled a 710-332 (.681) record. He is 32-11 (.744) in his career at the SEC Tournament.
40 WINS AGAIN
Alabama notched its 40th win of the season with a 4-3 win over Arkansas on Thursday. The 2006 season marks the 13th time in school history the Crimson Tide has posted 40 wins. Alabama has 40 or more wins in nine of the 12 years under coach Wells. UA’s 40-win seasons have come in 1981 (41-15-1), 1986 (43-20), 1991 (42-20), 1995 (42-23), 1996 (50-19), 1997 (56-14), 1998 (46-18), 1999 (53-16), 2000 (41-14), 2002 (51-15), 2005 (40-23) and 2006 (40-19).
ALABAMA-LSU SERIES
Alabama leads the all-time series with LSU 186-141-3 (.000) since the first meeeting in 1906. LSU has won three of four meetings this season, including a 4-3 win in first-round SEC Tournament action on Wednesday. The Tigers won two of three from the Crimson Tide in Baton Rouge earlier (April 14-16) this season. LSU’s three wins over UA have been by four total runs. Alabama’s lone win was a 17-6 victory on April 16 as the Crimson Tide pounded six LSU pitchers for a season-high 28 hits. LSU is 18-7 (.720) against UA since the 2000 season. Coach Wells is 23-32 (.418) in his career against LSU. Smoke Laval is 13-9 (.590) against Alabama.
ALABAMA NOTEBOOK
Alabama is batting .180 (11-for-61) in the SEC Tournament, with one home run and five RBI ... The Crimson Tide has scored seven runs in two games ... UA opponents are hitting only .250 (16-for-64) with two home runs and seven RBI ... Junior LF Brandon Belcher is the Tide’s leading hitter with a .429 (3-for-7) average ... Alabama’s 2-3-4-5 hitters are 1-for-26 (.038) with one RBI and eight strikeouts in the SEC Tourney ... Belcher, Matthes and Salem are a combined 7-for-18 (.389), while the rest of the team is just 4-for-43 (.096) ... Alabama is 11-8 (.579) in one-run games this year ... Alabama is 16-3 (.842) is SEC Tournament games under Jim Wells ... Senior 3B Matt Downs has 11 sacrifice bunts this season and is one shy of the single-season record ... Adam Pavkovich (2002) and Nate Duncan (1995) hold the record with 12 sac bunts ... Bama is 9-4 (.692) in Tommy Hunter’s 13 starts ... UA is 6-1 (.857) in his last seven starts ... Alabama is 8-5 (.615) on Friday this year ...
