Alabama Baseball Team Faces Tennessee in Pivotal SEC Road Series
4/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 11, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (19-15, 5-7) vs. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (20-12, 7-5) Friday, April 11, 2008 (7 p.m.) (EDT) Saturday, April 12, 2008 (7:06 p.m.) (EDT) (SportSouth) Sunday, April 13, 2008 (2 p.m.) (EDT) Lindsey Nelson Stadium (3,712) - Knoxville, Tennessee
GAME INFORMATION Opponent: Tennessee Volunteers Site: Lindsey Nelson Stadium (3,712) Series: Alabama leads, 61-26 Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network WACT, 1420 AM (Tuscaloosa) Chris Stewart and Vince Ferrara
TV: SportSouth (Saturday, 7:06 p.m. - EDT) Bob Kesling and Rusty Ensor
Internet: www.rolltide.com
Alabama Starting Pitchers: Game 1 - RHP Austin Hyatt (8 G, 2-3, 4.03 ERA) Game 2 - RHP Robert Phares (8 G, 1-2, 5.50 ERA) Game 3 - LHP Miers Quigley (9 G, 4-1, 2.81 ERA)
Tennessee Starting Pitchers: Game 1 - LHP Nick Hernandez (7 GS, 1-1, 3.79 ERA) Game 2 - LHP Bryan Morgado (7 GS, 3-2, 3.32 ERA) Game 3 - TBA
Upcoming Games: Wednesday, April 16 vs. Southern Miss (7 p.m.) Trustmark Park - Pearl, Miss. Friday, April 18 Mississippi State (6:35 p.m.) Saturday, April 19 Mississippi State (4:05 p.m.) Sunday, April 20 Mississippi State (2:06 p.m.) Tuesday, April 22 Lipscomb (6:35 p.m.) Wednesday, April 23 at South Alabama (6:30 p.m.)
SEC Baseball Schedule (April 11-13): Alabama at Tennessee Arkansas at Florida S. Carolina at Auburn Kentucky at Georgia LSU at Ole Miss Vanderbilt at Miss. State
SEC Baseball Schedule (April 18-20): Miss. State at Alabama Florida at Kentucky Tennessee at Arkansas Georgia at LSU Auburn at Vanderbilt Ole Miss at South Carolina
FIRST PITCH: Alabama plays its second straight Southeastern Conference road series this weekend when the Crimson Tide travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the Tennessee Volunteers in a three-game series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The series opener is Friday, April 11 at 7 p.m. (EDT). The teams will also play Saturday, April 12 at 7 p.m. (EDT) and Sunday, April 13 at 2 p.m. (EDT). Alabama is 1-5 (.167) in SEC road games this season, with series losses at No. 4 Kentucky (0-3) and LSU (1-2). The Crimson Tide has lost six of last seven SEC road series dating back to last season. Tennessee is playing its second straight SEC home series this weekend, after taking two games from No. 13 Florida last weekend. The Vols are 5-1 in SEC home games and have played three home series in the first half of the season. Overall, Tennessee is 16-3 at home this season, one of the best home records in the league. Alabama returns to Lindsey Nelson Stadium for the first time since capturing the 2006 SEC Championship on the final day of the regular season. The Crimson Tide swept the Vols in a three-game series and got help from Georgia, who took two of three at home from Kentucky. Alabama and UK shared the 2006 SEC Championship with identical 20-10 records. It was Alabama's 25th conference championship and 14th SEC title. Alabama brings a two-game winning streak to Knoxville after wins over Mississippi Valley State (12-4) and Southeastern Louisiana (7-0) this week.
HEAD COACH Jim Wells: Alabama head coach Jim Wells has compiled a 573-286 (.667) record in 859 games in 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 767-375 (.671) record in 1,142 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.
WEATHER FORECAST: Here is the weather forecast for Knoxville, Tenn., this weekend:
Friday - Cloudy skies, 60 percent chance of thunderstorms; High: 76 Low: 59 Saturday - Cloudy with some sun, High: 63 Low: 47 Sunday - Showers possible (40 percent), High: 57 Low: 47
TENNESSEE SERIES: Alabama leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 61-26, in a series that dates back to the 1897 season. The Crimson Tide swept a three-game series from the Vols in 1897, winning 8-4, 16-10 and 7-1, in Tuscaloosa. Alabama and Tennessee played only 18 times prior to the 1969 season, with the Crimson Tide posting a 14-4 record from 1897-1924. The teams did not play from 1925-68 and the series was resumed in 1969. Since 1969, Alabama and Tennessee have met 70 times, with the Crimson Tide holds a 47-22 series lead. The Crimson Tide and Vols met at the 1969 Alabama Classic and again at the 1975 Joe Sewell Classic. Alabama and Tennessee met in back-to-back SEC Tournaments in 1982 and 1983. The Tide and Vols also played a home-and-home series in 1984 and 1985 at two of the Southern League's minor league stadiums. Alabama beat Tennessee 8-4 at historic Engle Stadium in 1984. The Crimson Tide beat the Vols 7-4 in 1985 at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville. Alabama held a 26-6 series lead against Tennessee heading into the 1986 season. The two teams did not begin meeting on a regular basis until the 1986 season. Since then, the Crimson Tide and Vols have met every year with the exception of 1992-93 and 2004-05. Since 1986, Alabama holds a 35-20 series lead and has won 12 of the 18 series. The Crimson Tide owns series wins in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006 and 2007. Tennessee owns series win in 1988, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2003. Alabama owns a 19-14 series lead in games played in Knoxville. Alabama head coach Jim Wells is 23-12 (.657) in his head coaching career against Tennessee, including a 10-8 (.556) record in Knoxville. Wells has won seven of the 11 series with Tennessee. UT head coach Todd Raleigh will be meeting Alabama for the first time in his career.
TENNESSEE SCOUTING REPORT: Tennessee (20-12, 7-5 SEC) is one of the SEC's best home teams this season with a sparkling 16-3 record at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols have two SEC home series wins over LSU and No. 13 Florida. Overall, UT is hitting .289 (306-for-1,059) with 29 home runs and 167 RBI. The Vols average 5.9 runs and 9.6 hits per game this season. Senior outfielder Shawn Griffin and freshman outfielder Kentrail Davis are the Vols top hitters this season. Griffin leads the team with a .364 (36-for-99) average in 30 games, with seven home runs and 24 RBI. Davis, a native of Theodore, Ala., is second on the team with .360 (41-for-114) batting average with six home runs and 28 RBI. The duo has combined for 13 home runs and 52 RBI this season. Sophomore catcher Yan Gomes (.306, 4 HR, 21 RBI) and sophomore utility man Jeff Lockwood (.303, 4 HR, 20 RBI) have combined for eight home runs and 41 RBI this season. Senior infielder/outfielder Andy Simunic leads Tennessee with 36 runs scored and 18 (20 SBA) stolen bases. Sophomore utility man Jeff Lockwood is a two-way player of the Vols. Lockwood is hitting .303 (30-for-99) in 29 games with four home runs and 20 RBI. He has also added 13 runs. On the mound, Lockwood is 1-1 with three saves and 7.56 ERA in 13 games. Speaking of the pitchers, Tennessee has primarily gone with the same weekend rotation all season. Redshirt freshman left-hander Bryan Morgado (7 GS, 3-2, 3.32 ERA), sophomore left-hander Nick Hernandez (7 G, 1-1, 3.79 ERA) and sophomore right hander Steve Crnkovich (9 G, 7 GS, 4-4, 5.57 ERA) have 21 of the Vols 32 starts this season. UT has four relief pitchers with 10 or more appearances, including junior RHP Aaron Everett (18 G, 3-2, 3.00 ERA), Lockwood, junior RHP Danny Wiltz (13 G, 3-0, 3 SV, 2.08 ERA) and junior LHP Joey Rossas (11 G, 2-1, 6.67 ERA). Tennessee has had its share of struggles on defense, with 58 errors (.952) in 32 games. The are last in the league in fielding percentage and second to Alabama (60 errors) in errors made this season. The Vols have also turned 35 double plays. Junior SS Danny Lima leads the SEC with 12 errors this season.
SE LOUISIANA RECAP: Junior Miers Quigley tossed seven scoreless innings in leading Alabama to a 7-0 win over SE Louisiana Wednesday, April 9, at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Quigley held the Lions to six hits in seven innings of work and added three strikeouts for his fourth win of the season and third in-a-row. In his last four appearances, Quigley has allowed one earned run (0.34 ERA) in his last 26 2/3 innings on the mound, with wins over Jacksonville State, UAB and SE Louisiana. Kubal had three hits and one RBI to lead UA's 14-hit attack. Rutledge, May and Bentley added three hits each. Alabama played its fifth errorless game of the season in the win over SLU. The Crimson Tide pitching staff did not issue a walk for the first time this season.
MVSU RECAP: Alabama pounded out a season-high 18 hits in its 12-4 win over Mississippi Valley State Tuesday, April 8, at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Odle went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBI and scored five runs to lead the Crimson Tide offense. Odle is the first Alabama player to score five runs in a game since Casey Lambert tallied five runs in a 26-7 win at Kentucky on March 18, 2001. Rutledge and May had three hits and three RBI each, while junior first baseman Wes Henderson added three hits. A trio of freshmen pitched against the Devil Devils, with Jimmy Nelson (5.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB 6 K) earning his first collegiate win. Connor Hoehn stuck out six of the eight batters he faced and Austin Evans pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
LSU SERIES RECAP: Alabama dropped two of three games at LSU in the Crimson Tide's final appearance at venerable Alex Box Stadium. LSU will be moving into its new baseball home in 2009. A trio of Tiger pitchers Blake Martin, Jared Bradford and Daniel Bradshaw combined for a five-hit shutout in the series opener to extend LSU's scoreless streak to 27 innings. The Crimson Tide was shut out for the first time since a 6-0 loss to Arkansas in 2007 SEC Tournament at Regions Park. The last time Alabama was shut out in an SEC road game was a 3-0 loss to Vanderbilt and David Price on April 6, 2007. It was UA's first shutout in Alex Box Stadium since a 3-0 loss in 2002. The 3-0 loss marked the fifth time Alabama has been shut out in Alex Box Stadium since the park opened in 1938. Alabama won game two, 6-5, in 11 innings as Tyler Odle's squeeze bunt scored Alex Kubal with the winning run. Senior RHP Josh Copeland threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. He struck out five LSU batters and walked six in the win. In all, Alabama pitchers issued 11 walks in the game and not one LSU batter who walked scored a run. Alabama (11) and LSU (14) stranded 25 bases runners in the game. LSU rallied from a three-run deficit in the sixth-inning to post a 9-7 win. Trailing 7-4 in the sixth, LSU got three runs in the sixth and added one in the seventh and one in the eight for the win. Alabama has lost its last six series in Baton Rouge and has not won a series since posting back-to-back series win in 1995-96. Sophomore LF Brandon May went 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in the series finale. Sophomore 3B Jake Smith hit a two-run home run.
TEAM NOTES: Alabama defeated Cal Poly in the 2008 season opener, 10-1 ... The Crimson Tide captured the 2008 Southwest Diamond Classic championship in Frisco, Texas, with a 2-1 record ... After losing to Texas Arlington on the first day, Alabama rebounded to beat Nevada and Dallas Baptist to win the championship ... Alabama has played in three minor league ballparks this season, including Dr Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, Texas), Riverwalk Stadium (Montgomery, Ala.) and Regions Park (Hoover, Ala.) ... Alabama honored the 1983 College World Series team (March 8) at Sewell-Thomas Stadium as the team celebrated its 25th anniversary this season .. The Crimson Tide played the dedication game at University Field in Florence, Ala., on Tuesday, March 11 ... The Crimson Tide beat North Alabama, 15-2, in front a stadium record 1,874 fans ... It was UA's first trip to Florence since 1967 ... The Crimson Tide has played throughout the state of Alabama this season with stops in Montgomery, Florence, Jacksonville, Hoover, Mobile and Birmingham ... Alabama celebrated the 60th anniversary of Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Friday, March 21, which included a post-game fireworks show ... Alabama played its final game at venerable Alex Box Stadium on April 6, losing 9-7 to LSU in Baton Rouge ... Alabama is 14-6 (.700) at home this season ... The Crimson Tide is 14-8 (.636) in non-SEC games this year ... Alabama is 12-8 (.600) at night and has won seven of its last nine games under the lights ... Alabama is 12-4 (.750) this season when scoring first ... The Crimson Tide has hit 34 home runs in its first 34 games this season ... The 34 home runs have been hit by 11 different players ... The Tide has made 59 errors (.955) in 34 games ... Alabama has used 19 different starting lineups this season, including one in each of the last seven games ... Alabama is 4-3 (.571) in the month of April ... The Tide is 151-88 (.632) in the month of April under Coach Wells ... The Alabama bullpen has recorded 22 strikeouts in 16 innings (1.76 ERA, 3 ER) pitched over the last five games ... The bullpen allowed only three earned runs in 20 2/3 innings (1.30 ERA) from March 22-April 1, recording three wins and three saves in seven appearances ... Alabama's last three opponents have used 21 total pitchers ... LSU used seven in the series finale on April 6, Mississippi Valley State used six pitchers Tuesday night and SE Louisiana topped them both with eight pitchers on Wednesday night.
ROAD GAMES: Alabama is 142-146 (.493) in 288 road games under Coach Wells since the 1995 season. The Crimson Tide has had only one winning road record in the last five years, posting an 11-10 (.523) record on the road en route to the 2006 SEC Championship. Alabama is 4-8 (.333) on the road this season, including SEC series losses at No. 4 Kentucky and LSU. Last year, Alabama was 7-12 (.368) on the road. As a team the Tide hit .234 (151-for-464) on the road in 2007 with 16 home runs and 68 RBI. Matthes hit .267 (16-for-60) on the road last season with seven RBI to lead all Tide returnees. Avila (.216, 5 HR, 16 RBI) and Bentley (.208, 6 HR, 11 RBI) combined for 11 home runs and 27 RBI on the road last season. On the mound, the Tide went 7-12 with three saves and a 5.57 ERA. Hyatt was 2-0 with one save and 0.00 ERA in three road games last season. He worked six innings and allowed no runs and five hits, with seven strikeouts and three walks.
SEC ROAD GAMES: Alabama is 95-103 (.479) in SEC road games under Coach Wells. The Crimson Tide is 1-5 (.167) in SEC road games this season with series losses to No. 4 Kentucky and LSU. Alabama has had a winning road record six times in SEC play since 1995, but only one winning road mark in the last eight years. The Crimson Tide was 8-7 (.533) in SEC road games en route to the 2006 SEC Championship. Alabama was 6-9 (.400) in SEC road games season, winning its final road series at Mississippi State. Dating back to last season, Alabama had lost five of its last six SEC road series.
ROAD WARRIORS: Alabama is playing 23 road games this season, the most since playing 224 road games during the 1994 season. The Crimson Tide opened the season by playing nine of its first 17 games away from home. Alabama is playing eight road games in a 10-game stretch from April 2-16. In addition to its 15 SEC road games, Alabama played three games at the 2008 Southwest Diamond Classic and then one game at UT Arlington before returning to Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide will also play six in-state road game this season against Troy (Riverwalk Stadium - Montgomery), at North Alabama, at Jacksonville State, UAB (Regions Park - Hoover), at South Alabama and at Samford. The Tide also plays Southern Miss at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.
SCORING FIRST: Alabama has developed a scoring trend during its first 34 games of the 2008 season. The team that has scored first has posted a 23-11 (.676) record. Alabama is 12-4 (.800) when scoring first and 8-10 (.444) when the opponent scores first. The Crimson Tide is 11-4 (.733) when its scores in the first inning and 5-6 (.556) when the opponent scores in the first inning. There have been nine games in which neither team scored in the first inning. Alabama owns a 28-25 scoring edge in the first inning this season. In its 19 wins this season, Alabama has outscored the opposition 87-32 in the first four innings, including an 24-6 scoring edge in the first inning. In its 15 losses, Alabama has been outscored 78-22 in the first four innings, including a 19-5 deficit in the first inning. UT Arlington scored seven first innings runs in a 12-8 win over Alabama on March 2. The Tide trailed Kentucky 12-0 after three innings on March 15 and trailed New Orleans 12-0 after 2 1/2 innings on March 18.
Score By Innings (Wins) Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UA 24 12 32 19 20 15 24 18 0 Opp 5 5 14 7 11 5 4 10 3 Score By Innings (Losses) Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UA 5 5 9 3 6 10 9 8 10 Opp 19 20 21 18 12 8 14 10 2
HOME RUNS: Alabama has hit 34 home runs in its first 34 games of the 2008 season. The Crimson Tide has homered in 19 of 34 games this season, including a season-high four straight games from March 4-8. The Tide has hit 12 of its 34 home runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Also, 12 of the 34 home runs have come with two strikes in the count. The Crimson Tide hit only 12 two-strike home runs all of last season. The Tide is 13-6 (.684) when hitting at least one home and 6-9 (.400) when failing to hit a home run. Alabama hit two home runs in the series finale at LSU (April 6) to snap its longest home run drought of the season. May's second inning home run against LSU was Alabama's first home run since March 28, covering a span of six games, 56 1/3 innings and 192 at-bats. Alabama hit a season-high four home runs, including three in the seventh inning, in its 15-7 win over Youngstown State on March 7. Alabama's four home runs on March 7 were the most since the Tide hit four against Georgia State on Feb. 10, 2007. The Crimson Tide hit three home runs in the seventh inning on March 7, marking the first time UA hit three home runs in an inning in seven years. The last time UA hit three home runs in an inning came at Mississippi State on May 4, 2001 when Jeremy Brown, Aaron Clark and Beau Hearod homered in the fourth inning against Paul Maholm. The Tide's 34 home runs have been hit by 11 different players this season. Avila leads the team with eight home runs, including two home runs against North Alabama (March 11). He hit four home runs in a three-game stretch against UNA, Samford (March 12) and Kentucky (March 14). Bentley is second on the team with seven home runs, including two multi-home run games against Samford (March 12) and Ole Miss (March 28). Freshman 2B Ross Wilson has the Tide's only grand slam of the season. Wilson's seventh inning grand slam against Youngstown State was the first by an Alabama player since Avila belted a grand slam at Mississippi State on May 17, 2007. A total of four players have hit their first career home run this season. May homered in the 2008 season opener against Cal Poly for his first career home run and then hit his first SEC home run at Kentucky on March 14. Wilson slugged his first career home run against UT Arlington (Feb. 28). Junior CF Alex Kubal hit his first home run against Nevada (Feb. 29). Junior 1B Wes Henderson hit his first career home run against New Orleans on March 19. Junior Jeff Texada hit his first career SEC home run (150 at-bats) against Vanderbilt (March 22). Smith hit his first home run of the season against Vandy (March 22), to snap a 106 at-bat homer less streak. The Tide is 5-5 in games in which it does not allow a home run and 6-6 in games in which the opponent hits a home run. Alabama opponents have homered in 14 of 27 games this season, including five straight games from Feb. 29-March 5. The Tide allowed a season-high four home run in a 17-8 loss to New Orleans on March 19. Odle belted his first home run of the season and second of his career against Mississippi Valley State on April 8.
BASES LOADED: Alabama has not been overly successful with the bases loaded this season, compiling a .261 (11-for-42) average through 34 games this season. Despite the hitting woes, Alabama has five extra base hits, six sacrifice flies and 35 RBI with the bases loaded. In 12 SEC games, Alabama has only one hit (.083, 12 at-bats) with the bases loaded. The Crimson Tide was 0-for-3 with the bases loaded last weekend at LSU. In addition, UA is 6-for-24 (.250) with the bases full since March 12. The Crimson Tide has left the bases loaded 16 times this season, including two times in the same game against Troy (March 4), New Orleans (March 18) and Ole Miss (March 29). Alabama is 1-2 in those three games. Alabama is 4-9 (.308) in the 13 games in which the Tide has left the bases loaded at least once this season. The Tide has stranded three base runners in an inning against Cal Poly (Feb. 23), Texas Arlington (Feb. 28), Troy (March 4), North Alabama (March 11), Samford (March 12), Kentucky (March 14 and March 16), New Orleans (March 18), Vanderbilt (March 29), UAB (April 2), LSU (April 6) and SE Louisiana (April 9).
ERRORS: Alabama leads the SEC with 59 errors in 34 games this season. The Tide is fielding .954 this season, which ranks 11th in the SEC. Tennessee (58 errors) has the SEC's worst fielding percentage (.952). At its current pace of 1.7 errors per game, Alabama will finish the season with 95 errors. The school record for errors in a season is 130 set by the 1986 club. Four other teams have made 100 errors in a season, including 1975 (120), 2000 (108), 1991 (108) and 1985 (101). Alabama has played better defense in SEC games, fielding .971 (13 errors) in its first 12 conference games. Four of those 13 errors came in a 9-7 win over Vanderbilt (March 22), which leaves the Tide with just nine errors in its remaining 11 SEC games. The Crimson Tide has played seven error less games this season, most recently against SE Louisiana (April 9), and his 5-2 (.714) in those seven games. Alabama has made at least one error in 27 of its first 34 games and has 18 multiple error games this year. The Crimson Tide recorded a season-high six errors in a 12-8 loss at Texas Arlington on March 1. Alabama also made four errors in a game four times this season against Cal Poly (Feb. 23), New Orleans (March 18 and March 19) and Vanderbilt (March 22). Junior infielder Jeff Texada leads the league with 10 errors this season. Freshman shortstop Josh Rutledge, while freshman second baseman Ross Wilson has added seven errors this season.
WILD PITCHES: Alabama also leads the SEC with 47 wild pitches this season. Ten different pitchers have at least one wild pitch this season. Sophomore LHP Del Howell leads the SEC with eight wild pitches. Junior RHP Austin Hyatt is second with seven wild pitches, followed by Will Stroup (6), Casey Kebodeaux (6), Austin Graham (5), Miers Quigley (5) and Jimmy Nelson (4). At its current average of 1.38 wild pitches per game, Alabama is on pace to shatter the single-season record with 77 wild pitches this season. The record for wild pitches is 62 set in 1999. The Tide's 47 wild pitches are already the 9th most in a season in school history. Alabama opponents have scored 14 times from third base this season as a result of a wild pitch (9), balk (3) or passed ball (2).
BALKS: The Crimson Tide also leads the SEC with 17 balks this season. Quigley heads the list with an SEC-leading six balks, while junior RHP Robert Phares and Kebodeaux have three each. Alabama's 17 balks are more than twice as many as Florida's (8) second place total. Alabama opponents have scored three times from third base this season as the result of a balk.
NO WALKS, NO ERRORS: Alabama played a flawless game against Southeastern Louisiana (April 9) as the Tide pitching staff did not walk a batter and the defense did not commit an error. The SE Louisiana game marked the first time this season Alabama did not issue a walk. The last time UA pitchers did not walk a batter came May 18, 2007 when UA did not allow a walk in the final regular season game at Mississippi State. The Tide had five games last season in which the pitchers did not walk a batter. The SE Louisiana game marked the first time all season Alabama did not issue a walk or commit an error. Alabama pulled that off twice last season against Georgia State (Feb. 10) and McNeese State (March 4).
STREAKING TIDE: In an 18-game stretch from March 5-30, the Alabama baseball team posted a six-game winning (March 5-12), followed by a six-game losing streak (March 14-21), followed by another six-game winning streak (March 22-30). The six-game winning streak was the longest by the Crimson Tide since a six-game winning streak last season. The six-game losing streak was the longest by Alabama since the 2001 season when UA lost seven straight games.
6-Game Winning Streak 6-Game Losing Streak 6-Game Winning Streak March 5-12, 2008 March 14-21 March 22-30 Batting Average .328 .251 .289 Runs Per Game 10.3 3.7 7.8 Hits Per Game 11.3 8.7 9.8 Home Runs 12 4 8 RBI 57 19 41
ERA 3.29 7.76 3.17 Innings Pitched 52.0 51.0 54.0 Runs Allowed Per Game 3.7 7.3 4.0 Hits Allowed Per Game 7.0 9.0 7.5 Walks 23 37 25 Strikeouts 48 45 51
Fielding Pct. .959 .948 .951 Errors 9 11 10 Double Plays 2 5 7
STREAK BUSTERS: In a span of six days from March 28-April 2, the Crimson Tide pitching staff halted two impressive hitting streaks. Hyatt and Copeland combined to end Ole Miss third-baseman Cody Overbeck's SEC-leading 24-game hitting streak on March 28. Overbeck went 0-for-5. Six days later, Kebodeaux, Kilcrease, Nelson and Hoehn combined to stop UAB first-baseman Ryan Keedy's 19-game hitting streak on April 2. Keedy was just three games away from the UAB all-time record. Keedy was 0-for-3 with two walks.
WALK; BUT DON'T RUN: In its 6-5 win over LSU in 11 innings on April 5, a trio of Alabama pitchers combined for 11 walks in the game. Austin Graham walked three batters in 3 2/3 innings. Will Stroup issued two walks in three innings, including a bases loaded walk to DJ LaMahieu in the seventh inning that allowed LSU to tie the game at 5-5. Josh Copeland walked six LSU batters in 4 1/3 innings on the mound. Oddly enough, none of the 11 walks came around to scored and the Tide eventually won the game on a squeeze bunt in the 11th inning.
STARTING LINEUPS: Alabama has used 19 different starting lineups in its first 34 games of the season, including each of the last seven games. The Crimson Tide has used five different lineups in each of its last five games. The most common lineup has been Rutledge (SS), Wilson (2B), Avila (DH), May (LF), Bentley (1B), Matthes (RF), Smith (3B), Sharp (C) and Kubal (CF). That combination has started 10 games and posted a 5-5 (.500) record for the Tide. The second-most used lineup consists of Rutledge (SS), Wilson (2B), Avila (C), May (LF), Bentley (1B), Matthes (RF), Rhoden (DH), Smith (3B) and Kubal (CF). That combination has gone 3-1 (.750) in four starts this season.
1-0, (1.000) 0-1 (.000) 0-1 (.000) 0-1 (.000) 5-5 (.500) Rutledge, CF Rutledge, CF Rutledge, SS Rutledge, CF Rutledge, SS Wilson, LF Wilson, LF Wilson, 2B Wilson, 2B Wilson, 2B Avila, C Avila, C Avila, DH Avila, C Avila, DH May, 2B May, 2B May, 3B Bentley, 1B May, LF Bentley, 1B Matthes, RF Bentley, 1B May, LF Bentley, 1B Matthes, RF Bentley, 1B Howell, LF Matthes, RF Matthes, RF Rhoden, DH Rhoden, DH Matthes, CF Rhoden, DH Smith, 3B Smith, 3B Smith, 3B Odle, RF Smith, 3B Sharp, C Texada, SS Texada, SS Sharp, C Texada, SS Kubal, CF
3-1 (.750) 1-0 (1.000) 0-1 (.000) 1-0 (1.000) 1-0 (1.000) Rutledge, SS Rutledge, SS Wilson, 2B Rutledge, SS Rutledge, SS Wilson, 2B Wilson, 2B May, LF Wilson, 2B Wilson, 2B Avila, C Avila, C Avila, C Avila, DH Avila, C May, LF May, LF Matthes, RF May, LF May, LF Bentley, 1B Bentley, 1B Howell, DH Bentley, 1B Bentley, 1B Matthes, RF Matthes, RF Smith, 3B Matthes, RF Matthes, RF Rhoden, DH Odle, DH Odle, CF Odle, CF Rhoden, DH Smith, 3B Smith, 3B Henderson, 1B Sharp, C Odle, CF Kubal, CF Kubal, CF Texada, SS Texada, 3B Smith, 3B
1-0 (1.000) 2-1 (.667) 1-0 (1.000) 0-1 (.000) 0-1 (.000) Rutledge, SS Rutledge, SS Rutledge, SS Kubal, CF Rutledge, SS Wilson, 2B Wilson, 2B Wilson, 2B Wilson, SS Kubal, CF Avila, DH Avila, C Avila, C Avila, DH Avila, C May, LF May, LF May, LF May, 2B May, LF Bentley, 1B Bentley, 1B Bentley, 1B Bentley, 1B Wilson, 2B Matthes, RF Matthes, RF Rhoden, LF Matthes, RF Bentley, 1B Odle, CF Odle, CF Odle, CF Odle, CF Rhoden, DH Smith, 3B Rhoden, DH Texada, 3B Sharp, C Matthes, RF Moore, C Smith, 3B Kubal, CF Smith, 3B Smith, 3B
0-1 (.000) 0-1 (.000) 1-0 (1.000) 1-0 (1.000) Rutledge, SS Rutledge, SS Kubal, CF Kubal, CF Odle, RF Kubal, CF Odle, RF Odle, RF Avila, DH Avila, C Rutledge, SS Rutledge, SS May, LF May, LF May, 2B May, LF Bentley, 1B Matthes, RF Rhoden, LF Bentley, 1B Wilson, 2B Bentley, 1B Howell, DH Wilson, 2B Smith, 3B Wilson, 2B Smith, 3B Henderson, 1B Sharp, C Rhoden, DH Henderson, 1B DiFazio, C Kubal, CF Smith, 3B Moore, C Smith, 3B
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 Braves 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 leukemia. 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.
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.
CRIMSON TIDE DEBUTS: The Crimson Tide has used a total of 11 first-time players in its first 12 games of the 2008 season. The list includes five position players and six pitchers. Seven players made their Alabama debut in the season-opening series against Cal Poly. Another four players saw their first game action for the Tide at the Southwest Diamond Classic (Feb. 28-March 1) in Frisco, Texas. The list of first-time players against Cal Poly included Kilcrease, Manning, Nelson Phares, Rutledge, Sharp and Wilson. The four players making their debut at the SWDC included Evans, Hoehn, DiFazio and Kubal. Alabama opened the season with 17 players on its roster that had never played in a game for the Crimson Tide. The list has now be reduced to pitchers Jarrod Hewes, Patrick Nappi and Tyler White; catcher David Woods; and infielders Jon Kelton and James Tullidge.
ALABAMA BASEBALL DEBUTS (Position Players) Player Opponent Date Stats Notes Alex Avila Winthrop Feb. 11, 2006 1-for-3, 2 R Singled in first career AB Brock Bennett Canisius Feb. 16, 2007 1-for-1 Singled in first career AB Matt Bentley at Hawaii Feb. 13, 2005 1-for-4, R, 2B First career extra base hit Brian Clark Lipscomb Mar. 29, 2006 0-for-1 Caught in 9th inning Vin DiFazio UT Arlington Feb. 28, 2008 0-for-1 Flied out as PH Wes Henderson Samford Feb. 14, 2006 0-for-1 Struck out as pinch-hitter Del Howell Canisius Feb. 16, 2007 1-for-1, 2B, RBI Doubled in first career AB Alex Kubal UT Arlington Feb. 28, 2008 0-for-0 Pinch-runner in 9th inn. Kent Matthes Winthrop Feb. 13, 2006 None Pinch-runner in UA debut Brandon May Georgia State Feb. 11, 2007 1-for-1, 2B Doubled in first career AB Kyle Moore Samford Feb. 14, 2006 2-for-5, HR, 4 RBI HR in second career AB Tyler Odle Winthrop Feb. 11, 2006 None Pinch-runner in UA debut Ryan Rhoden Winthrop Feb. 12, 2006 0-for-4 Hitless in debut with 1 K Josh Rutledge Cal Poly Feb. 23, 2008 0-for-5 Hitless in debut with 1 K Mike Sharp Cal Poly Feb. 22, 2008 0-for-0 Caught 9th inning opener Jake Smith Georgia State Feb. 10, 2007 2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI RBI single in 1st AB Jeff Texada Samford Feb. 14, 2006 0-for-1 Struck out as pinch-hitter Ross Wilson Cal Poly Feb. 22, 2008 3-for-5, 3 RBI Tallied 3 runs and 1 2B
ALABAMA BASEBALL DEBUTS (Pitchers) Player Opponent Date Stats Notes Josh Copeland at Hawaii Feb. 12, 2005 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R Retired all three batters Austin Evans Nevada Feb. 29, 2008 1 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 K HR to first batter faced Austin Graham Winthrop Feb. 13, 2006 2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER Suffered loss in first GS Connor Hoehn UT Arlington Feb. 28, 2008 0 IP, 1 BB, 1 HBP Walked first batter Austin Hyatt Butler Mar. 16, 2005 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 K Pitched in middle relief Casey Kebodeaux at Hawaii Feb. 13, 2005 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R Earned save in UA debut Nathan Kilcrease Cal Poly Feb. 23, 2007 2.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K Three Ks in debut Jamie Manning Cal Poly Feb. 23, 2007 1.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 BB Allowed 2 ER Jimmy Nelson Cal Poly Feb. 23, 2008 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 K 4 BBs, 2 WPs Robert Phares Cal Poly Feb. 23, 2008 2.1 IP, 1 H, 2 K Retired 7 of 9 batters Miers Quigley Samford Feb. 14, 2006 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 5 K Retired first 10 batters Will Stroup Georgia State Feb. 10, 2007 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB Retired 6 of 8 batters
STARTERS: Alabama's starters are hitting .300 (341-for-1,135) with 33 home runs and 201 RBI in 34 games. A total of 16 different players have started at least one game for the Crimson Tide this season. Sophomore LF Brandon May is the only player to start all 34 games for the Crimson Tide this season. Freshman 2B Ross Wilson has 33 starts, while freshman SS Josh Rutledge, senior 1B Matt Bentley and junior C/DH Alex Avila have 32 starts. Alabama's opponent starters are hitting .262 (284-for-1,083) with 24 home runs and 146 RBI. Alabama's starting pitchers are 13-13 (.500) with two complete games and 5.36 ERA this season. The Crimson Tide has used eight different starting pitchers this year. Junior RHP Austin Hyatt leads the way with a career-high six starts. The Tide has 13 quality starts (6 IP, 3 ER or less) on the mound this year. Opponent starters are 9-15 (.375) with a 6.29 ERA this season. In SEC play, Alabama has had five players start all 12 games, including Avila, Bentley, May, Rutledge and Wilson. Matthes and Smith have started 11 of the 12 SEC games.
RESERVES: The Crimson Tide bench is 10-for-39 (.256) with eight runs scored, two doubles, one home run and four RBI this year. Alabama's pinch-hitters are 6-for-23 (.261) this season. Junior OF Tyler Odle is the leading hitter off the bench this season. He is 2-for-5 (.400) in his five pinch-hit opportunities. Junior Vin DiFazio is 0-for-6 in his pinch-hit chances this season, while junior Ryan Rhoden is 3-for-9 (.333) with a team-best three RBI. In SEC play, UA pinch-hitters are 4-for-6 (.667). The bench is 5-for-10 (.500) in SEC play, with on home run and three RBI in 12 games. Odle is 2-for-2 as an SEC pinch-hitter, while Rhoden is 1-for-2 and with two-run, pinch-hit single against Vanderbilt on March 22. Alabama has used 13 different relief pitchers this season. The Tide bullpen is 6-2 (.750) with six saves and a 3.19 ERA. The bullpen has worked 118 2/3 innings and allowed 62 runs (42 ER) and 106 hits, with 119 strikeouts and 70 walks. The bullpen has recorded 16 scoreless outings this season. From March 22-April 1, the Alabama bullpen allowed only three earned runs (1.30 ERA) in 20 2/3 innings and accounted for three wins and three saves in seven games. UA opponents have compiled a 6-4 (.600) record with seven saves and a 4.89 ERA.
WINS: Alabama is hitting .325 (213-for-655) in its 19 wins this season and averages 8.7 runs and 11.2 hits per game. The Crimson Tide has 69 extra base hits, including 40 doubles and 25 home runs. Alabama owns a 36-11 scoring edge in the first two innings and holds a 24-4 scoring lead in the seventh inning during its wins. Hitting Leaders: Rutledge (.417, 35-84, 25 R, 11 RBI), May (.397, 27-68, 17 R, HR, 21 RBI) and Avila (.323, 21-65, 19 R, 7 HR, 20 RBI). On the mound the Tide is 19-0 with a two complete games and a 2.74 ERA this season. The Crimson Tide has worked 171 innings and allowed 65 runs (52 ER) and 132 hits, with 159 strikeouts and 75 walks. Pitching Leaders: Copeland (7 G, 2-0, 0.68 ERA, 3 SV, 13.1 IP, 17 K), Quigley (4 GS, 4-0, 0.87 ERA, 24 IP, 3 ER, 20 K), Kilcrease (4 G, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 10.2 IP) and Stroup (5 G, 3 GS, 3-0, 2.52 ERA, 25 IP, 28 K).
LOSSES: The Crimson Tide is hitting .266 (138-for-519) in its 15 losses this season and averages 4.3 runs and 9.8 hits per game. Alabama has been outscored 78-22 in the first four innings of the 15 losses this season, including a 19-5 deficit in the first inning; 20-5 in the second inning; 21-9 in the third inning and 18-3 in the fourth inning. Hitting Leaders: May (.304, 17-56, 12 R, 2 HR, 7 RBI) and Rutledge (.304, 17-56, 8 R, 3 RBI), Bentley (2 HR, 9 RBI), Matthes and Wilson (8 RBI each). Alabama pitchers are 0-15 with a 6.86 ERA. The staff has worked 127 1/3 innings and allowed 125 runs (97 ER) and 168 hits, with 103 strikeouts and 79 walks. Pitching Leaders: Copeland (5 G, 0-1, 1.29 ERA), Hyatt (4 G, 0-3, 4.95 ERA) and Kebodeaux (7 G, 4 GS, 0-4, 6.33 ERA).
HOME GAMES: The Crimson Tide is 14-6 (.667) at home this season. Alabama has won three of its five home series this season, including back-to-back wins over No. 4 Vanderbilt and No. 15 Ole Miss. The two home series losses came to Cal Poly (Feb. 22-23) and New Orleans (March 18-19). The Crimson Tide posted a five-game home winning streak from March 5-12. In 20 home games this season, Alabama is hitting .298 (199-for-668) with 20 home runs and 130 RBI. Hitting Leaders: Rutledge (.380, 30-79, 21 R, 8 RBI), May (.333, 24-72, 18 R, HR, 20 RBI), Matthes (4 HR, 23 RBI - leads team) and Avila (5 HR - leads team and 12 RBI). Alabama pitchers are 14-6 with a 3.60 ERA and six saves this season. The staff has worked 180 innings and allowed 104 runs (72 ER) and 172 hits, with 153 strikeouts and 78 walks. Pitching Leaders: Copeland (8 G, 1-0, 0.77 ERA, 3 SV, 11.2 IP, 13 K), Kilcrease (6 G, 2-0, 1.23 ERA, SV, 14.2 IP, 12 K), Stroup (4 G, 2 GS, 2-0, 3.18 ERA, 17 IP, 15 K). UA opponents are 6-14 with 6.29 ERA at the Joe this season, with two saves. Alabama is fielding .955 (36 errors) at home this season.
ROAD GAMES: Alabama is 4-8 (.333) on the road this season, including SEC series losses against Kentucky (0-3) and LSU (1-2). Over the last two years, Alabama has lost six of its last seven SEC road series. The Crimson Tide was 1-4 in SEC road series in 2007, winning the final regular-season road series at Mississippi State. Alabama is hitting .296 (127-for-249) on the road this year, with 11 home runs and 62 RBI. The Tide averages 5.7 runs and 10.8 hits per game. Hitting Leaders: Kubal (.455, 17-40, 12 R, HR, 6 RBI), May (.386, 17-44, 10 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI), Rutledge (.333, 17-51, 7 R 6 RBI) and Avila (3 HR, 15 RBI in 12 games). The pitching staff is 4-8 (.333) with a 5.60 ERA this season on the road. The staff has worked 101 1/3 innings and allowed 72 runs (63 ER) and 107 hits, with 93 strikeouts and 68 walks. Pitching Leaders: Quigley (4 G, 1 GS, 1-0, 1.06 ERA, 17 IP, 17 K) and Copeland (3 G, 1-1, 1.17 ERA). The Tide is fielding .954 (20 errors) on the road with eight double plays.
APRIL RECORD: Alabama has compiled a 151-88 (.632) record in the month of April under Coach Wells. The Crimson Tide was 7-9 (.438) last year in April, one of only three losing records in the month since 1995. Alabama also had sub .500 records in 2001 (7-11) and 2004 (7-9). Ironically, the only three times Alabama had a losing record in April were the three years the Tide has not played in an NCAA Regional. Despite its losing record last season in April, Alabama did earn a win at No. 1 Vanderbilt on April 8 and closed the month with series win against South Carolina. In 2006, Alabama posted a 13-5 record in April, which included back-to-back series win against No. 1 Mississippi State and No. 1 South Carolina. The Tide posted a 15-2 record in April, 2002, which included a 10-game winning streak.
ONE-RUN GAMES: Alabama has compiled a 112-91 (.552) record in 203 one-run games under Wells. The Tide is 2-4 (.333) this season in one-run games. Alabama posted a 5-8 record in one-run games last season. Overall, Wells coached teams are 150-115 (.566) in 265 one-run games. He was 38-23 (.623) in one-run games at Northwestern State.
EXTRA INNINGS: Alabama is 65-61-3 (.516) in extra inning games. The Tide is 22-23 (.489) in extra inning games under Coach Wells, including a 1-2 (.333) this season. Alabama was 3-4 (.429) in extra inning games in 2007.
DOUBLE DIPPING: Alabama has compiled a 216-10 (.956) record under since 1995 when scoring 10 or more runs in a game. The Crimson Tide is 6-0 (1.000) this season when scoring 10 or more runs and owns a 32-game winning streak, dating back to 2005. Alabama's last loss when scoring 10 or more runs was an 11-10 loss at No. 9 Ole Miss on April 9, 2005. The Crimson Tide won five straight games when scoring 10 or more runs to end the 2005 season and then went 12-0 in 2006 and 9-0 in 2007. Coach Wells has compiled a 251-13 (.951) all-time record in 264 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 96-3 (.970) 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 Wells coached team. His previous best was 36 consecutive games from 1993-96 at Northwestern State (9-0) and Alabama (27-0).
FEBRUARY: Alabama posted a 2-3 (.400) record in the month of February, its first losing opening month since 1994. The Tide hit .294 (52-for-177) with 35 runs scored, five home runs and 30 RBI. Rutledge was UA's leading hitter in February with a .391 (9-for-23) with seven runs scored. May hit .368 (7-for-19) with six runs scored, one home run and six RBI. The Tide pitching staff struggled with a 5.11 ERA in the month of February. The staff allowed 35 runs and 45 hits in 40 innings. Hyatt (1-0, 1 SV, 0.82 ERA) allowed one earned run in 11 innings in his two appearances. Stroup (1-0, 1.08 ERA) allowed one earned run and two hits in five innings in the season opener. Alabama fielded .951 (10 errors) in February and turned five double plays. The Tide averaged two errors per game in February. The 10 errors led to 12 unearned runs in the month.
MARCH: Alabama finished the month of March with a 13-9 record, which included six wins in the last seven games to close out the month. Alabama had two six-game winning streaks and one six-game losing streak in the month of March. The Tide hit .293 (222-for-757) in 22 games, with 26 home runs and 136 RBI. Rutledge led the Tide in hitting for the second straight month with a .363 (33-for-91) average with 20 runs scored and 10 RBI. May was the second-leading hitter for the second straight month, with 20 runs scored, one home run and 14 RBI. The pitching staff went 13-9 with a 4.59 ERA with one complete game and four saves. Copeland appeared in nine games and went 1-1 with three saves and 1.35 ERA. Five pitchers won two games for the Tide in March. Alabama posted a .954 fielding percentage (34 errors) and turned 19 double plays in March.
SWDC RECAP: Alabama went 2-1 to win the 2008 Southwest Diamond Classic championship at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas, on February 28-March 1. The Crimson Tide won its eighth overall regular-season tournament championship with its 8-1 win over DBU on march 1. The other championships include 1951 Rollins College Tournament, 1969 Alabama Classic, 1971 Joe Sewell Classic, 1972 Joe Sewell Classic, 1974 Joe Sewell Classic, 2002 Hormel Foods Classic and 2003 Minute Maid Park College Classic. As a team, the Tide hit .354 (40-for-113) with 24 runs scored, 15 extra base hits (8 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR) and 20 RBI. Alabama averaged eight runs and 13.3 hits per game. On the mound, Alabama was 2-1 with a 5.19 ERA. Hyatt and Stroup were 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA (14.2 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB 16 K) in their two wins against Nevada and DBU.
RUTLEDGE NAMED MVP: Freshman shortstop Josh Rutledge (Cullman, Ala.) was named the 2008 SWDC Most Valuable Player after hitting .643 (9-for-14) in three games with six runs scored, three stolen bases, one triple and one RBI. He also posted a .786 slugging percentage and .600 on-base mark. Rutledge posted back-to-back four-hit games in wins over Nevada (4-for-5, 3 R, 2 SB) and Dallas Baptist (4-for-4, R, 3B, RBI, SB, SFly) going 8-for-9 (.889) in wins over the Wolf Pack and Patriots.
SWDC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: In addition to Rutledge, the 2008 SWDC MVP, Alabama placed four other players on the All-Tournament Team, including junior RHP Austin Hyatt (7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), junior center fielder Alex Kubal (.625, 5-for-8, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI), junior LHP Will Stroup (7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K) and freshman second baseman Ross Wilson (.357, 5-for-14, 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI). Sophomore left fielder Brandon May (.456, 5-for-11, R, 3 2B, 2 RBI) also had a stellar tournament but did not make the All-Tournament team.
FOUR-HIT GAMES: Rutledge has tallied back-to-back four-hit games against Nevada (Feb. 29) and Dallas Baptist (March 1). He is the first Alabama player to post two straight four-hit games since Matt Downs had back-to-back four-hit games at Tennessee on May 18-19, 2006 in Knoxville. Downs was 4-for-10 (.400) with four RBI in the two wins over UT.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: Alabama's offense exploded for 17 runs and 17 hits in a 17-2 win at North Alabama on Tuesday, March 11. The Crimson Tide traveled to Florence, Ala., for the first time since 1967 for the stadium dedication at University Field. An overflow record crowd of 1,874 fans witnessed the Tide's most dominating offensive performance of the season. It was the Tide's largest margin of victory since beating McNeese State, 23-1, on March 6, 2005 in Tuscaloosa. Alabama's offense rolled to 23 runs and 19 hits in the win over the Cowboys. Against UNA, Alabama batted around in the first, third and fifth innings in dispatching the Lions. Avila swatted two home runs and knocked in a career-high seven runs to lead the Tide offense. He hit a three-run home run in the first inning and added another three-run blast in the third inning. Kubal added four hits, two runs scored and two RBI. Kubal ripped a solo home run in the third inning. Rutledge, May, Matthes and Smith all added two hits for the Tide. Junior right-hander Casey Kebodeaux earned his second win on the mound, while redshirt freshman Austin Evans (2 IP, 1 K) and freshman Connor Hoehn (1 IP, 1 BB, 3 K) worked three scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
KENTUCKY SERIES RECAP: Alabama suffered a three-game sweep to open SEC play last weekend at No. 4 Kentucky. The Crimson Tide was outscored 27-8 in the three-game series. The series was Kentucky's first over Alabama since 1993 and it was the first sweep since 1992. Alabama had not been swept since the 2006 season when the Tide lost all three games at Arkansas on May 4-6, 2006. Alabama hit .235 (23-for-102) in the UK series with three home runs and seven RBI. Sophomore left fielder Brandon May hit .421 (8-for-19) in five games last week with six runs scored, one home run and three RBI. He also walked three times. In the three-game series at Kentucky, May hit .500 (5-for-10) with three runs scored, one home run and one RBI. He hit is first career SEC home run in the third inning of the series opener on March 14. May also compiled a .800 slugging percentage and .615 on-base mark in the series. Junior DH Alex Avila hit .300 (6-for-20) with five runs scored, four home runs and 10 RBI in five games last week. Avila hit four home runs in three straight games against UNA, Samford and Kentucky. He hit a pair of three-run home runs and drove in a career-best seven runs in the Tide's 17-2 win at UNA on March 11. He finished the week with a .950 slugging mark. Sophomore LHP Del Howell made his SEC debut on the mound at Kentucky on March 15 and struck out eight batters in five innings, both career highs. Sophomore RHP Austin Graham made his first career SEC start at Kentucky in the series finale on March 16 and held the Wildcats to five runs and six hits in six innings of work. He also added five strikeouts.
MIDWEEK WOES: Alabama suffered its first midweek series loss under Coach Wells as the Tide dropped both games to New Orleans at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide has played 14 midweek non-conference series since 1995 and has nine series wins. The Tide has also split four series with South Alabama (1995), Murray State (1996), Eastern Kentucky (1996) and Nicholls State (2001).
VANDY SERIES RECAP: Alabama won its first series of the 2008 season, taking two of three games from fourth-ranked Vanderbilt at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. After dropping the opener 2-1 to extend its losing streak to six games, Alabama bounced back to take the series by winning the next two games. The Crimson Tide beat the Commodores 9-7 in game two of the series and then posted a lopsided 10-3 series-clinching win in the finale. The Crimson Tide hit .314 (33-for-105) against the Commodores with nine extra base hits, four home runs and 17 RBI. Sophomore left fielder Brandon May (6-for-10, 2 R, RBI), freshman SS Josh Rutledge (7-for-13, 4 R) and freshman 2B Ross Wilson (5-for-13, R, 2B, 2 RBI) were a combined 18-for-33 (.545) in the series with seven runs scored and three RBI. Alabama had a fabulous weekend on the mound after struggling in seven of its last eight starts. The Crimson Tide posted a 2.33 ERA in the three-game series and held the Commodores to a .202 (20-for-92) batting average. All three starters pitched into the eighth inning in the series as the Tide used only four total pitchers on the weekend. Junior RHP Austin Hyatt (9 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) recorded his first career complete game in the series opener with Vanderbilt.
Sophomore RHP Austin Graham (7 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 8 K) recorded his first career SEC and added eight strikeouts in a career-high seven innings in game two of the Vanderbilt series. Junior Robert Phares (7.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), making his first SEC start, notched his first collegiate win in the Tide's series-clinching victory. Senior RHP Josh Copeland made two relief appearances and retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced with seven strikeouts.
MIDWEEK SHUTOUTS RARE: Alabama defeated Jacksonville State 5-0 on Wednesday, March 26, at Rudy Abbott Field in Jacksonville for just the 10th midweek shutout in the Wells era. The JSU game marked the first time since April 19, 2006 the Crimson Tide had posted a midweek shutout as Alabama defeated Mississippi Valley State, 5-0. Junior left-hander Miers Quigley threw a complete-game shutout in the win over Jax State, marking just the second midweek complete-game shutout in the Wells era, and first since the 1996 season. Corey Spiers fired a complete-game shutout at South Alabama on March 26, 1996 (exactly 12 years to the day) at Stanky Field in Mobile, Ala.
OLE MISS SERIES RECAP: Alabama won its second straight SEC series by taking two of three from No. 15 Ole Miss at Sewell-Thomas Stadium (March 28-30). The story of the weekend for both teams was pitching, as both teams hit less than .280 in a three-game series and combined for 22 runs. Bentley was the offensive star in the Tide's 6-5 series-opening win, swatting two home runs of Lance Lynn and Scott Bittle. Bentley capped an incredible 11-pitch at-bat with a solo home run to right center field off Lynn in the sixth inning as UA took a 5-3 lead. He homered again in the eighth off Bittle to give the Tide a 6-5 lead. The home runs by Bentley are the home runs allowed by Lynn and Bittle this season. Copeland earned the win with 2 2/3 innings of relief as Ole Miss stranded seven base runners in the final three innings. The second game of the series was suspended in the third inning due to rain and lightning and resumed on Sunday with the Rebels holding a 3-2 lead. The Crimson Tide came back took the series with a 5-3 come-from-behind win in game two. Kubal and Rutledge had back-to-back two-out hits in the sixth to give the Tide the lead for good. Smith added an RBI single in the seventh for a key insurance run. Alabama missed a chance at a sweep, losing the series finale, 2-1, in nine innings. Ole Miss scored single runs in the first and ninth innings, as Logan Power plated the game-winner for the Rebels. The Crimson Tide managed only four hits and seven base runners, but left the winning run at second base when UM left fielder Fuller Smith's diving catch robbed Avila of a game-winning hit in the eighth inning. Phares pitched into the ninth inning for Alabama in his second career SEC start.
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 team's 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.
ALABAMA'S PRO PLAYERS: Thirteen former University of Alabama baseball players made their 2008 season debuts when professional baseball opened its season the first week of April. The only Major League player in the group is left-hand pitcher Taylor Tankersley, who began his third season with the Florida Marlins earlier this week. Tankersley, who played at Alabama from 2002-04, was a first-round pick of the Marlins in 2004. The Crimson Tide has five former players at the Triple-A level, including Lance Cormier, Wade LeBlanc, Adam Pavkovich, Andy Phillips and Paul Phillips. Three of those Triple-A players are in the International League, including Cormier (Norfolk Tides), Andy Phillips (Louisville Bats) and Paul Phillips (Charlotte Knights). LeBlanc opened the season with the Pacific Coast League's Portland Beavers. Pavkovich is back for his third season with the Salt Lake Bees. Phillips was on the Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster this spring and was one of the last players sent to Louisville. LeBlanc is on the fast-track to the big-leagues in just his second full season with the San Diego Padres. He was mentioned this spring by manager Bud Black as the Padres potential No. 5 starter, but will begin the year in Triple-A. Alabama's lone Double-A player is New York Yankees farmhand David Robertson, who opened his third professional season with the Eastern League's Trenton Thunder. Robertson played in low-A, high-A and Double-A last season and finished the year with more any innings pitched than any other professional pitcher not to allow a home run in 2007. He is also on the fast track to the big leagues with the Yankees. The Crimson Tide has six players at the Single-A level, including Matt Downs, Tommy Hunter, Cale Iorg, T.J. Large, Greg Paiml and Emeel Salem. Hunter, Paiml and Salem began their first full season of pro ball on April 4. Hunter, a supplemental first-round pick by the Texas Rangers in June, 2007, was the opening day starter for the Bakersfield Blaze in the California League. Downs (San Jose Giants) and Large (Lancaster Jethawks) also play in the California League. Iorg, who was taken in the sixth round last season by the Detroit Tigers, opened the 2007 season with the Lakeland Flying Tigers in the Florida State League. Paiml (Kannapolis Intimidators) and Salem (Columbus Catfish) are both in the South Atlantic League.
