Crimson Tide Heads to Southwest Diamond Classic in Frisco, Texas
2/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (1-2) vs. UT ARLINGTON MAVERICKS (2-4)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
First-Round - 2008 Southwest Diamond Classic
Dr Pepper Ballpark (10,600) - Frisco, Texas
FIRST PITCH: The University of Alabama baseball team hits the road for the first time this season when the Crimson Tide plays in the second annual Southwest Diamond Classic in Frisco, Texas. The three-day event will be held at Dr Pepper Ballpark, the home of the Frisco RoughRiders, the Class AA affiliate (Texas League) of the Texas Rangers. Alabama, Dallas Baptist, Nevada-Reno and Texas-Arlington make up the four-team field. The Crimson Tide will open the tournament Thursday, February 28, at 2 p.m. (CST) against the University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks. Dallas Baptist and Nevada will meet in the nightcap, beginning at 7 p.m. (CST). The Crimson Tide will take on Nevada on Friday, February 29, at 2 p.m. (CST) and will close out the tournament against Dallas Baptist on Saturday, March 1, at 6 p.m. (CST). Alabama will play UT Arlington on Sunday, March 2, at Noon (CST) at Clay Gould Ballpark on the UTA campus before returning to Tuscaloosa. Alabama will play its 3,600th all-time baseball game on Thursday and Head Coach Jim Wells seeks his 750th career victory.
HEAD COACH JIM WELLS: Alabama head coach Jim Wells has compiled a 555-274 (.670) record in 829 games as he enters his 14th season at the Capstone. He is the winningest coach in school history and has worked more games than any other Tide coach. Wells has led the Crimson Tide to two SEC Championships (1996 and 2006), three College World Series appearances (1996, 1997 and 1999), three SEC Western Division titles (1996, 2002 and 2006), six SEC Tournament championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003) and 10 NCAA Regionals. He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1996 and 2002 and the Baseball America National Coach of the Year in 1996. Overall, Wells has compiled a 749-363 (.674) record in 1,112 games as he enters his 18th season at the Division I level. Prior to Alabama, he spent five years at Northwestern (La.) State, where he compiled a 192-89 (.683) record and led the Demons to three Southland Conference championships and two NCAA Regional appearances.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Alabama will be playing in its 26th regular-season tournament this weekend in Frisco, Texas. The Crimson Tide has compiled a 50-50-1 (.500) all-time in-season tournament record since making its debut at the prestigious Rollins College Tournament in 1949. The 2008 Southeast Diamond Classic will mark the Tide’s eighth regular-season tournament under Coach Wells. Alabama has also played in the 1995 Continental Airlines Aggie Classic (Texas A&M), 1996 Olive Garden Classic (Kissimmee, Fla.), 2000 Winn Dixie Showdown (New Orleans), 2002 Hormel Foods Classic (Minnesota), 2003 Minute Maid Park College Classic (Houston) and 2004 Shoney’s Gent Classic (Shreveport, La.). Alabama is 12-9 (.571) in regular-season tournament games under Wells.
ALABAMA VERSUS THE FIELD: Alabama has compiled a 2-0 (1.000) all-time record against the 2008 Southwest Diamond Classic field. The Crimson Tide is 2-0 against Nevada, defeating the WolfPack, 8-2 and 6-5, at the 2000 NCAA West Regional at Palo Alto, Calif. Alabama has never played Dallas Baptist or UT Arlington in baseball. Coach Wells is 11-7 (.611) in his career against the field. In addition to the two games with Nevada, Wells went 9-7 against UTA while the head coach at Northwestern State.
SOUTHWEST DIAMOND CLASSIC FIELD: Dallas Baptist, Nevada-Reno and UT Arlington will join Alabama at the 2008 Southwest Diamond Classic at Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas.
UT Arlington (2-4) split four games to open the season last weekend. The Mavericks won two games against UALR and lost to Missouri State and Dallas Baptist. UTA was also swept in a double header at Louisiana Tech on Tuesday, losing 8-1 and 8-4. The Mavericks hit .244 last weekend with two home runs and 19 RBI. UTA averaged 5.25 runs per game. True freshman centerfielder Michael Choice led the team with a .500 (7-for-14) batting average form the lead-off spot last weekend, with five runs scored, one home run and two RBI. Senior first baseman David McLeod hit .429 (3-for-7) in two starts with one home run and two RBI. Junior right fielder Andrew Kainer (.188, 3-for-16, HR, 7 RBI) led the team with seven RBI in four games last weekend. On the mound, UTA posted a 3.44 ERA and two complete games last weekend. The staff has 20 strikeouts and only seven walks in 34 innings. Junior right-hander Nathan Long, a transfer from Oklahoma, threw a complete-game shutout in the season opener against Arkansas-Little Rock last Friday. He allowed three hits, one walk and struck out five in the nine-inning gem. Junior right-hander Matthew Otterman, who doubles as an outfielder, threw a seven-inning complete game in the win over Arkansas-Little Rock on Sunday. He allowed one unearned run on three hits, with one walk and two strikeouts. On defense, the Mavericks are fielding .968 after making five errors in four games last week to open the year. UTA head coach Darin Thomas is in his first season as a Division I head coach. He had a highly successful junior college career at Seward (Kansas) County Community College, where he coached former Tide left-hander Justin Smith (1998-99).
Nevada (0-3) was swept in a two-game series by 2007 College World Series participant UC Irvine to open the 2008 season last weekend in Reno. The final game of the series was cancelled due to snow. Nevada dropped a 4-3 decision at Stanford on Tuesday, February 26. The Wolf Pack hit .232 (16-for-69) last week against UCI with one home run and six RBI. Nevada averaged just 3.5 runs per game against a veteran Anteaters pitching staff. Senior third baseman Jason Rodriguez (2 GS, .500, 1 HR, 1 RBI) and sophomore shortstop Kevin Rodland (2 GS, .500, 1 RBI) went 8-for-16 last weekend to pace the Nevada offense. On the mound, the Wolf Pack allowed 14 runs and 18 hits in 18 innings and posted a 7.00 ERA. Sophomore left-hander Chris Garcia threw seven scoreless innings en route to no decision against the Anteaters in the opener. He allowed one hit, one walk and struck out four batters. Garcia is expected to start on the mound against Alabama on Friday. Nevada made one error last weekend and is fielding .988 heading into Tuesday’s game at Stanford.
Dallas Baptist (2-2) lost its season opener to Missouri State last weekend, but rebounded to beat Arkansas-Little Rock and UT Arlington in the next two games in Arlington. The Patriots also suffered a 6-1 loss at Texas Christian on Tuesday, February 26, before coming to Frisco. DBU hit .308 (33-for-107) in three games last week with three home runs and 24 RBI. The Patriots averaged 8.67 runs per game. Austin Knight (3 GS, .462, 0 HR, 7 RBI), Jason Kirzan (3 GS, .455, 0 HR, 2 RBI) and Trevor Head (3 GS, .417, 1 HR, 2 RBI) were a combined 16-for-36 (.444) last weekend with one home run and 10 RBI. On the mound, DBU allowed 21 runs and 28 hits in 26 innings and compiled a 6.58 ERA. DBU opponents hit .283 last week and averaged seven runs per game. Jordan Meaker (1 GS, 0-1, 14.73) struggled in his first start of the season, but is a quality arm and top pro prospect for the Patriots. He allowed six runs and three hits in 3 2/3 innings. Chris McMullen threw six scoreless innings in a no decision against UT Arlington on Saturday. He allowed one hit and struck out five batters. Another top prospect Jordan Black did not see action on the mound last weekend. DBU made seven errors (.939) in three games last weekend.
DR PEPPER BALLPARK: Dr Pepper Ballpark is the home ballpark of the Frisco RoughRiders Class AA minor league baseball club. Located in Frisco, Texas, the stadium has a capacity of up to 10,600. Since its opening in 2003, the Dr Pepper Ballpark has won awards and garnered praise for its unique design, feel, and numerous facilities. In his design, park architect David M. Schwarz desired the creation of a village-like “park within a (ballpark”. Dr. Pepper Ballpark received the 2003 Texas Construction award for Best Architectural Design and was named the best new ballpark in the country by BaseballParks.com. In 2001, Mandalay Sports Entertainment, owner of the Shreveport SwampDragons Class AA baseball team, reached an agreement with Southwest Sports Group to move the team to Frisco for the 2003 baseball season. As part of the deal, Southwest Sports Group assumed part-ownership of both the team and the ballpark to be built following the 2002 season. The project, designed by David M. Schwarz Architectural Services and HKS Sports & Entertainment Group, broke ground on February 2, 2002. The ballpark serves as the anchor for a 74 -acre, $300 million development project near the intersection of Texas State Highway 121 and the Dallas North Tollway. The project was jointly funded by the city of Frisco and Southwest Sports Group. The first game was played on April 3, 2003, when the RoughRiders lost to the Tulsa (Okla..) Drillers. Dr Pepper Ballpark also served as the host of the 2005 Texas League All-Star Game.
ALABAMA VS. SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE: Alabama has compiled a 21-4 (.840) all-time record against the current Southland Conference field. The Crimson Tide owns a winning record against four of the five SLC teams in which it has faced, including Southeastern Louisiana (8-0), McNeese State (6-1), Nicholls State (4-2) and Northwestern State (3-0). Lamar won the only meeting with Alabama at the 1994 Lake Area Classic in Lake Charles, La. The Crimson Tide has never faced Central Arkansas, Texas State, Sam Houston State, Texas-San Antonio, Texas-Arlington, Stephen F. Austin or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Alabama head coach Jim Wells has compiled a 78-37 (.678) record against the current teams in the SLC. Wells was the head coach at Southland Conference member Northwestern State from 1990-94. He compiled a 192-89 (.683) record and led the Demons to three SLC Championships (1991, 1994 and 1995) and was named SLC “Coach of the Year” three times. Alabama assistant coach Mitch Gaspard was Wells’ top assistant at Northwestern State and later became the Demons head coach, where he compiled a 211-128 (.622) and two SLC Championships (2002 and 2005).
ALABAMA VS. WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE: Alabama has compiled a 16-4 (.800) record against the member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Crimson Tide had played only three of the seven schools, including Louisiana Tech (12-2), Nevada (2-0) and Hawaii (2-2). The Tide has never faced Cal State Sacramento, Fresno State, New Mexico State or San Jose State. Alabama head coach Jim Wells is 23-8 (.742) against the current WAC teams. He is 19-6 (.760) against Louisiana Tech, 2-0 against Nevada and 2-2 against Hawai’i in his career.
ALABAMA VS. INDEPENDENTS: Alabama has never faced any of the current 13 Division I baseball independents. The list includes Chicago State, Dallas Baptitst, Hawai’i-Hilo, LeMoyne, Longwood, New Jersey Tech, New York Tech, North Carolina Central, Northern Colorado, Presbyterian, Savannah State, Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley State. Coach Wells also never faced any of the 13 Division I baseball independents.
LONE STAR STATE: Alabama will be making its sixth all-time appearance in the state of Texas this weekend and its first since the 2003 season. The Crimson Tide’s first game in the Lone Star state was a 5-3 loss to Texas on March 29, 1922. Alabama has played in three tournaments in the state of Texas, including the 2003 NCAA College Station Regional. Overall, Alabama is 8-8 (.500) in its 16 games in the state of Texas.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The 2008 Alabama baseball roster contains three seniors, 19 juniors, six sophomores and eight freshmen. The 36 players hail from 10 different states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri and New Jersey.
SOMETHING OLD: The Crimson Tide roster contains 19 veteran players, with the majority of the experience coming from the position players. The Tide returns 11 players who started at least one game last season, including Alex Avila, Matt Bentley, Del Howell, Kent Matthes, Brandon May, Kyle Moore, Tyler Odle, Ryan Rhoden, Jake Smith and Jeff Texada. Alabama returns six experienced pitchers, including Josh Copeland, Austin Graham, Austin Hyatt, Casey Kebodeaux, Miers Quigley and Will Stroup.
SOMETHING NEW: Alabama welcomes 15 newcomers to the 2008 roster, including seven transfers and eight true freshmen. The transfers include pitchers Jarrod Hewes (Faulkner State CC), Jamie Manning (Wallace State CC), Patrick Nappi (Shelton State CC) and Robert Phares (Shelton State CC); catchers Mike Sharp (Kansas CC) and David Woods (Meridian CC); and outfielder Alex Kubal (Gulf Coast CC). The list of true freshmen, include pitchers Connor Hoehn, Nathan Kilcrease, Jimmy Nelson and Tyler White and infielders Jon Kelton, Josh Rutledge and Ross Wilson. Freshman pitcher Austin Evans and junior catcher Vin DiFazio both redshirted last year.
COACHING STAFF: Alabama has three new additions to its coaching staff in 2008, including assistant coaches Mitch Gaspard and Dax Norris and volunteer coach Drew French.
Gaspard is in his 13th season as Wells’ top assistant coach. He previously worked for Wells at Northwestern State (1990-94) and Alabama (1995-2001). He spent the last five years as head coach at Northwestern State, where he compiled a 211-128 (.622) and led the Demons to Southland Conference championships in 2002 and 2005. Gaspard serves as the Crimson Tide’s recruiting coordinator, hitting coach and works with the infield/outfield defense. He serves as the first base coach during games.
Norris is his first season as an assistant coach at Alabama. He was hired as a volunteer assistant coach in July, 2007, but was named interim assistant coach in January, 2008, when B.J. Green was placed on medical leave. Norris spent last season as assistant coach at Niceville (Fla.) High School under another former Tide assistant coach, Kevin Berry. Norris was a two-year letterman at UA in 1995-96 and earned All-American honors in 1996, leading the Tide to the SEC Championship and the College World Series. He played 11 seasons in professional baseball with the Atlanta Barves and Houston Astros organizations, reaching the Triple A level with both organizations. Norris works with Crimson Tide hitters and catchers. During the games, he serves as third base coach.
French is in his first season as UA’s volunteer coach. He joined the staff in January, when Norris was elevated to interim assistant coach. French spent last season as the pitching coach at Concordia University in Austin, Texas. He assists Coach Wells with the Crimson Tide pitchers and also works with the outfielders.
B.J. GREEN: Alabama assistant coach B.J. Green was placed on medical leave in January, 2008 as he prepares to undergo a bone marrow transplant for lukemia. Green is currently at UAB Medical Center and the transplant is tentatively scheduled for early March. The Crimson Tide coaching staff and players have written “BJ” on their caps this season in his honor and Green’s No. 12 jersey hangs in the dugout for each game.
CRIMSON TIDE DEBUTS: The 2008 Alabama roster contains 17 players who had never played a game for the Crimson Tide entering the 2008 season. Seven UA players made their debut against Cal Poly last weekend in Tuscaloosa, including three position players and four pitchers. The three position players included Rutledge, Sharp and Wilson. The four pitchers making debut were Kilcrease, Manning, Nelson and Phares. There are 10 players still looking to make their collegiate debut, including pitchers Austin Evans, Connor Hoehn, Jarrod Hewes, Patrick Nappi and Tyler White; catchers Vin DiFazio and David Woods; infielders Jon Kelton and James Tullidge; and outfielder Alex Kubal.
FEBRUARY RECORD: Alabama has posted a 111-32 (.776) record in the month of February under head coach Jim Wells. The Crimson Tide went 9-2 (.818) last season in February. The team batted .343 (136-for-397) with 12 home runs and 90 RBI. The Tide averaged almost 10 runs per game. The pitching staff was 9-2 with a 2.56 ERA and recorded 106 strikeouts in 103 innings. Ryan Rhoden (10 G, .421, 5 RBI) and Kent Matthes (11 G, .419, 4 HR, 19 RBI) were the team’s leading hitters. The school record for wins in the month of February is 10 wins set in 1997 and 1998. Alabama is 13-2 (.867) in its last 15 February games.
ONE-RUN GAMES: Alabama has compiled a 110-87 (.558) record in 197 one-run games under Wells. The Crimson Tide posted a 5-8 record in one-run games last season. Overall, Wells coached teams are 148-111 (.571) in 259 one-run games. He was 38-23 (.623) in one-run games at Northwestern State.
EXTRA INNINGS: Alabama is 64-60-3 (.516) in extra inning games. The Tide is 21-22 (.488) in extra inning games under Coach Wells, including a 3-4 mark last season.
DOUBLE DIPPING: Alabama has compiled a 211-10 (.955) record under since 1995 when scoring 10 or more runs in a game. The Crimson Tide was 9-0 last season when scoring 10 or more runs. Coach Wells has compiled a 245-13 (.950) all-time record in 258 games when scoring 10 or more runs. He was 35-3 (.921) at Northwestern State when scoring 10 or more runs. The Crimson Tide is 92-3 (.968) since the start of the 2001 season when scoring 10 or more runs in a game. Alabama won 42 consecutive games when scoring 10 or more runs from May 19, 2000 until March 30, 2003. The 42-game winning streak when scoring 10 or more runs was the longest by a Jim Wells coached team. His previous best was 36 consecutive games from 1993-96 at Northwestern State (9-0) and Alabama (27-0).
FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS: Alabama will meet four first-time opponents this season, including Cal Poly, Texas-Arlington, Dallas Baptist and Youngstown State. All of those meetings will come in the first 11 games of the 2008 season.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS: The 2008 Alabama baseball schedule features 11 teams that have won at least one football national championship. Alabama has 12 football national championships to its credit. Including Alabama, the 12 teams have combined to win 31 football national titles. There are five Football Bowl Championship teams that have won at least Associated Press or BCS National Championship, including Auburn (1957), Florida (1996 and 2006), Georgia (1980), LSU (1959, 2003 and 2007) and Tennessee (1998). The other six schools have won national championships at the Football Subdivision (formerly I-AA) and Division II levels, including Cal Poly (1980), Jacksonville State (1992), North Alabama (1993, 1994 and 1995), Troy (1984 and 1987) and Youngstown State (1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997). In addition, four UA opponents have one at least one baseball national championship, including Cal Poly (1989), Jacksonville State (1990-91), LSU (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000) and Troy (1986 and 1987). Those four teams have accounted for 10 baseball national titles.
CELEBRATIONS: The Crimson Tide baseball team will host three reunions this season at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama welcomes back to campus the 1983 College World Series runner-up, March 7-9, when the Crimson Tide hosts Youngstown State. The 1983 CWS team will celebrate its 25th anniversary this season. Alabama will celebrate the 60th birthday of “The Joe” on Friday, March 21, when the Crimson Tide opens SEC play against the defending SEC Champion Vanderbilt Commodores. The celebration will include a large birthday cake and party favors for Tide fans, along with the return of all former baseball lettermen for the game. One former player, representing each decade of “The Joe’s” existence will throw out the first pitch. The final celebration will take place April 25-27, when the Crimson Tide hosts the Auburn Tigers. The Crimson Tide will honor the 1968 team that weekend as the SEC Champions hold their 40th reunion in Tuscaloosa.
