Tide Baseball Hosts Lipscomb; Travels to South Alabama
4/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 21, 2008
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama baseball team plays its final regular-season non-conference home game on Tuesday, April 22, before heading to Mobile, Ala, for a another in-state, non-conference game on Wednesday, April 23.
The Crimson Tide hosts the Lipscomb Bisons on Tuesday night in the final non-conference home game of the 2008 season. The game is set for 6:35 p.m. (CDT). Alabama has compiled a 14-9 (.609) non-conference record this season, including a 10-4 (.714) mark at home. The Crimson Tide has won its last four non-conference home games against Jacksonville State, UAB, Mississippi Valley State and Southeastern Louisiana.
Alabama makes its first appearance in the port city of Mobile since the 2006 season when the Crimson Tide and South Alabama Jaguars meet at 6 p.m. this Wednesday at Stanky Field. The Crimson Tide has posted a 6-2 (.750) record against in-state teams this season and will be playing its fifth in-state road game of the year. Alabama has also visited Montgomery, Florence, Jacksonville and Hoover on its tour of the state this season. The Crimson Tide will add another stop next week when the Tide visits Samford in Birmingham on Tuesday, April 29.
Coach Jim Wells has not announced his starting pitchers for the Lipscomb and South Alabama games, but two likely candidates are junior right-hander Casey Kebodeaux (10 G, 6 GS, 2-5, 5.21 ERA) and senior left-hander Will Stroup (11 G, 4 GS, 4-1, 4.54 ERA).
Neither Lipscomb nor South Alabama announced a starter for the Alabama game.
LIPSCOMB SERIES: Alabama defeated Lipscomb, 15-2, on March 29, 2006, in the only other meeting between these two schools. The Crimson Tide broke open a close game with seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to post an easy win. Alex Avila went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs for Alabama. Matt Bentley was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI. Bentley and David Ferazza tied the school single-game record with two hits apiece in the seventh inning. Alabama finished the game with 17 hits.
LIPSCOMB SCOUTING REPORT: Lipscomb (21-18, 15-9) heads to Tuscaloosa on Tuesday having lost four of its last five games, including an Atlantic Sun Conference series at South Carolina Upstate this past weekend in Spartanburg, S.C. The Bison are 15-9 in A-Sun Conference play and trail league-leading Florida Gulf Coast by four games in the standings. Lipscomb will be playing its fourth game against an SEC team this season when the Bison meet the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. Lipscomb is 1-2 against Tennessee (W, 5-4) and Vanderbilt (L, 4-12 and L, 1-8) this season. Through 39 games, the Bison are hitting .298 (407-for-1367) with 29 home runs and 223 RBI. They average 6.3 runs and 10.4 hits per game this season. The offense is led by junior catcher Caleb Joseph (39 GS, .377, 12 HR, 46 RBI), who leads the team in hitting (.377), total hits (.61), home runs (12), RBI (46), total bases (109) and slugging percentage (.673). Junior outfielder Allen Bolden (39 GS, .345, 6 HR, 32 RBI) and senior outfielder Shane Simpkins (37 G, .339, 0 HR, 15 RBI) are also having solid years at the plate. Senior infielder Ben Williams (14-16) and junior infielder Brad Gooch (13-18) have combined for 27 stolen bases this season. The Bison are 46-for-63 in stolen bases as a team. On the mound, Lipscomb is 21-18 with a 5.61 ERA, with seven saves, four complete games and three shutouts. The staff has worked 342 innings and allowed 2141 runs (213 ER) and 406 hits, with 317 strikeouts and 169 walks. The ace of the staff is junior RHP Brandon McClurg (10 G, 6 GS, 5-2, 2.72 ERA), who has held opponents to a .209 batting average in 53 innings this season. He threw a no-hitter against Kennesaw State (9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K) on March 29. He faced seven batters over the minimum in the 4-0 win. Defensively, Lipscomb has made 53 errors (.965) in 39 games and turned 33 double plays. Senior infielder Jorge Gutierrez, a transfer form UAB, leads the way with nine errors, while Simpkins is second with seven errors.
SOUTH ALABAMA SERIES: Alabama leads the series with South Alabama, 50-45. The two teams first met during the 1967 season, with the Crimson Tide winning a pair of one-run games in Tuscaloosa. South Alabama earned its first series win with a 5-4 victory in Mobile in 1968. The Tide and Jags have met every year since 1995. Alabama is 16-26 (.381) against the Jags in Mobile, but has won its last two visits to the port city. The Crimson Tide posted a 12-1 win at Hank Aaron Stadium in 2004 and won 7-6 at Stanky Field in 2006. The Tide has won 13 of the last 23 games played in Mobile. Alabama head coach Jim Wells is 14-6 (.700) in his career against South Alabama, including a 5-2 (.714) record in Mobile. South Alabama head coach Steve Kittrell is 10-18 (.357) in his career against Alabama.
SOUTH ALABAMA SCOUTING REPORT: South Alabama (22-18, 9-9 Sun Belt) hosts Jackson State and Alabama in a pair of midweek games at Stanky Field this Tuesday and Wednesday. South Alabama is 3-4 (.429) against SEC teams this season, including two wins over Auburn (W, 4-3 and W, 7-1) and one win over Mississippi State (W, 6-5, 10 innings). The losses have come to Kentucky (L, 10-3) Mississippi State (L, 7-6) and Ole Miss (L, 6-5 and L, 10-2). The Jaguars have lost seven of their last 11 games entering Tuesday's game with Jackson State. Through 40 games, South Alabama is batting .301 (421-for-1401) with 50 home runs and 281 RBI. The Jags are averaging 7.7 runs and 10.5 hits per game this season. South Alabama has also recorded 93 doubles (2.3 per game) this season, with four players in double figures. Senior outfielder Ray Kruml is the Jaguars leading hitter with a .355 (61-for-173) with three home runs and 29 RBI. Kruml leads the team in at-bats (173), runs scored (44), hits (61) and stolen bases (27) this season. Junior infielder David Doss (40 GS, .333, 9 HR, 35 RBI), junior first baseman Ryan Bohanan (37 G, .333, 7 HR, 31 RBI), senior infielder Ryne Jernigan (40 GS, .318, 11 HR, 48 RBI) and senior Bunky Keaton (37 G, .313, 4 HR, 25 RBI) are all hitting above .300 this season. On the mound the Jaguars are 22-18 with a 5.95 ERA this season, with three complete games and eight saves. The staff has worked 352 1/3 innings and allowed 280 runs (223 ER) and 437 hits, with 311 strikeouts and 149 walks. USA opponents are hitting .308 this season with 46 home runs and 241 RBI, while averaging seven runs and 10.9 hits per game. Junior RHP Greg Johnson is the workhorse out of the bullpen with a 1-1 record, eight saves and 4.76 ERA in 18 appearances this season. Defensively, South Alabama has made 57 errors (.964) in 40 games and turned 46 double plays. Keaton and fellow middle infielder Derrick O'Reilly lead the team with eight errors each.
Ross Wilson NAMED SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: University of Alabama freshman second baseman Ross Wilson (Hoover, Ala.) was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week after leading the Crimson Tide to an SEC Western Division series win over long-time rival Mississippi State over the weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Wilson was Alabama's leading hitter against Mississippi State, going 4-for-9 (.444) with three home runs and five RBI. He also scored five runs, added four walks and posted a 1.444 slugging percentage with 13 total bases in the series. He tied the Alabama single-game record with two home runs in the seventh inning in the series opener against MSU. He led off the inning with a solo home run off Forest Moore and capped the inning with a two-run home run off former Hoover High School teammate Greg Houston. Wilson hit a game-winning two-run home run in the seventh inning in the series finale as Alabama claimed the series with a 4-3 win. For the season, Wilson is hitting .251 (42-for-167) with six home runs and 28 RBI in 40 starts for the Tide.
MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES RECAP: Alabama won its third SEC home series of the season and sixth in-a-row dating back to last year, by taking two of three from long-time SEC Western Division rival Mississippi State at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide hit .304 in the series with five home runs and 24 RBI. Alabama posted a resounding 21-7 win in the series opener, scoring six runs in the fourth inning and blowing the game open with eight runs in the seventh inning. The Tide hit four home runs in the series opener to match its season high. Avila, Wilson and Howell all homered in the win. Avila's three-run home run capped the six-run fourth inning. Wilson tied an Alabama record with two home runs in the seventh inning off two different pitchers. Howell added a seventh-inning grand slam, the first of his career. Alabama's 21 runs in the series opener marked the third time in series history the Tide had scored 20 runs against the Bulldogs and were the second-most runs scored by UA in series history. UA beat MSU 29-10 in 1943 for the most runs scored in series history. Alabama also beat Mississippi State 20-1 in 1946. The Bulldogs bounced back to win the second game of Saturday's double header 6-4. MSU erased a 4-1 deficit by scoring two runs in the sixth and seventh innings. The Crimson Tide won the series with a 4-3 victory in Sunday's rubber game. Wilson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning off Michael Busby to win the game. It was one of only five hits by the Tide offense in the series finale. Wilson hit three home runs in the series to double his season total to six homers. Sophomore RHP Austin Graham pitched three scoreless innings for the win in relief. Mississippi State hit .333 (37-for-111) in the series and all 11 extra base hits were doubles. The Bulldogs had at least one base runner in all 27 innings, but left 38 men on base in the three-game set.
WILSON TIES HOME RUN RECORD: Wilson tied an Alabama single-game record with two home runs in the seventh inning against Mississippi State on April 19. Wilson led the Crimson Tide's eight-run seventh inning with a solo home run off MSU reliever Forrest Moore. After the Tide batted around, Wilson hit a two-run home run off a second MSU relief pitcher Greg Houston, a former teammate of Wilson's as Hoover (Ala.) High School, to cap the eight-run inning. Wilson become the fourth player in school history to swat two home runs in an inning, joining Frank Velleggia (vs. Columbus State, 1983), Joe Caruso (vs. UAB, 1996) and G.W. Keller (vs. Niagara, 1999).
RUTLEDGE LEADS SEC ROOKIES: Alabama freshman shortstop Josh Rutledge (Cullman, Ala.) is the freshman leader in the Southeastern Conference in hitting, total hits and multi-hit games. Through 41 games, Rutledge leads all SEC freshmen with a .380 (65-for-189) average. He also paces the league in hits (65) and multi-hit games (21). Overall, Rutledge is the only freshmen among the league leaders in hitting and total hits. He is 9th in the league with his .380 batting average, while his 65 hits are third behind Georgia "Player of the Year" candidate Gordon Beckham (67 hits) and Kentucky's Sawyer Carroll (67 hits).
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