Baseball Senior Class Honored on Saturday
5/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SENIORS PLAY FINAL HOME SERIES
*The Arkansas series will mark the final home games for four Crimson Tide seniors.
*The 2007 senior class was honored in a pregame ceremony on Saturday, May 12 at 3:50 p.m. (CDT).
*The senior class consists of left fielder Brandon Belcher (Ruston, La.), pitcher Patrick Kelly (Dothan), shortstop Greg Paiml (Hoover) and center fielder Emeel Salem (Mountain Brook).
*The quartet of seniors have combined to play in 610 games for the Crimson Tide, including 489 career starts.
*The four seniors have also played in 293 career SEC games, including 256 career SEC starts.
*Belcher has played in 87 home games and hit .244 (58-for-238) with three home runs and 25 RBI.
*Kelly has compiled a 2-0 record and 5.79 ERA in 14 career home games, with two starts.
*Paiml has appeared in 128 games (109 starts) and hit .267 (101-for-378) with four home runs and 62 RBI at the Joe.
*Salem is a .359 (165-for-460) hitter in 136 career games (111 starts) at the Joe with 116 runs scored, eight home runs and 62 RBI. He also has 57 career stolen bases at home.
2007 ALABAMA BASEBALL SENIOR CLASS
32 Brandon Belcher, OF (Ruston, La.)
Belcher has appeared in 169 games and made 131 starts in his four-year Alabama career, including 27 appearances and 19 starts on the mound ... Belcher is a .274 (117-for-427) career hitter with seven home runs and 50 RBI ... He is the Crimson Tide's leading hitter in SEC play this season with a .370 batting average ... He also has two home runs and 11 RBI in 22 SEC games ... Named SEC Pitcher of the Week after spinning 5 2/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts in opening day win over Georgia State on Feb. 11, 2007 ... Last year, Belcher was second on the UA team with 12 infield/bunt hits ... Belcher stroked a two-run single to give Alabama a 5-3 win over Tennessee as the Crimson Tide clinched the 2006 SEC Western Division championship on May 19 ... Tossed his first career complete game in series-clinching win at Ole Miss on April 10, 2005 ... Named SEC Pitcher of the Week on March 15, 2004 after posting wins over No. 18 Southern Miss and SE Missouri State in a five-day span ... He made his UA playing debut on Feb. 18, 2004 at Jacksonville State
29 Patrick Kelly, RHP (Dothan)
Kelly has has appeared in 21 games, including two starts, in his two seasons at Alabama ... He was redshirted in 2005 ... Overall, Kelly is 2-0 with a 5.59 ERA ... He is 2-0 with a 6.75 ERA this season, posting wins against Villanova (Feb. 24) and Mississippi Valley State (May 1) ... He retired all four batters he faced in UA's 13-1 win over Jacksonville State at the 2006 NCAA Tuscalosoa Regional on June 2 .. Kelly made his Alabama debut on Feb. 11, 2006 against Winthrop ... He earned his bachelor's degree in Management on Saturday, May 12, 2007
3 Greg Paiml, SS (Hoover)
A four-year starter, Paiml has appeared in 206 games and made 177 starts in his UA baseball career ... He is a .250 (150-for-601) career hitter with seven home runs and 82 RBI ... Paiml has also added 113 runs scored and 32 doubles for the Tide ... In SEC play, he has appeared 102 games and made 94 starts ... Paiml is one of 10 Alabama players to see action in 200 career games and 100 SEC games ... He is a .248 (77-for-311) career SEC hitter with four home runs and 27 RBI ... Paiml is currently second in UA's all-time list with 27 career sacrifice bunts ... He is one behind Allen Rice's (2002-05) school record total of 28 career sac bunts ... Named to 2006 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional All-Tournament Team ... Tallied four hits in opening round win vs. Jacksonville State ... Also smacked game-tying home run against Troy in semi-final victory ... Went 4-for-6 with five RBI in UA's 20-0 win over McNeese State on March 6, 2005 ... Slugged first career home run against No. 18 Southern Miss on March 10, 2004 ... Paiml made his playing debut on Feb. 15, 2004 against New Orleans
2 Emeel Salem, OF (Mountain Brook)
A four-year starter, Salem has excelled both on and off the field for the Crimson Tide ... On Thursday, Salem was named to the 2007 ESPN the Magazine All-District IV Academic Team ... On Wednesday, he was named one of the 10 finalists for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award ... He has also named the 2007 H. Boyd McWhorter SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and the 2007 Paul W. Bryant Scholar-Athlete Award winner ... Salem was a First-Team Academic All-American selection in 2006 and the winner of the 2006 SEC Baseball Scholar Athlete of the Year award ... He was the only unanimous selection on the 2006 SEC Coaches First-Team All-SEC squad ... Salem has appeared in 214 games and made 179 starts in his Alabama career ... He is a .328 (246-for-751) career hitter with nine home runs and 86 RBI ... He is Alabama's all-time leader with 75 stolen bases and 13 career triples ... Also ranks among the UA leaders in games played, at-bats, hits, runs scored and walks ... Salem has appeared in 100 SEC games and made 89 career starts ... He owns a .311 (75-for-241) career SEC batting average with five home runs and 29 RBI ... He is one of 10 UA players with 200 career games and 100 career SEC games played ... He was named to the 2006 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional All-Tournament team ... He made his playing debut on Feb. 13, 2004 against New Orleans
