Baseball Team Hosts Tennessee in SEC Series
4/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 2, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - After playing the last two weekends on the road, the Alabama Crimson Tide returns home to host the Tennessee Volunteers in a three-game SEC series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The series opener is Friday, April 3, at 6:35 p.m. (CDT). The two long-time SEC rivals will also meet on Saturday, April 4, at 4:05 p.m. (CDT) and Sunday, April 5, at 2:05 p.m. (CDT). Alabama, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt are the only two SEC teams to have played back-to-back road series thus far. The Crimson Tide played at No. 12 Mississippi and No. 23 Florida the last two weeks.
Alabama (17-10, 3-6 SEC) is coming off a 9-4 win over Mississippi Valley State Wednesday night. Freshman left-fielder Taylor Dugas had four hits and scored two runs in the win. Junior right-hander Adam Scott made his first career start and allowed one run and four hits in four innings, with seven strikeouts.
"It was good to get a win (Wednesday) night," Alabama head coach Jim Wells said. "We continue to swing the bats well. I thought Adam Scott did a good job on the mound. He has been out for a while and his velocity was really good. That was good to see."
Tennessee (12-16, 1-8 SEC) posted an 8-2 win over Charleston Southern Wednesday night in Knoxville. The Vols hit three home runs in the win.
"Alabama is a really good club," Tennessee head coach Todd Raleigh said on Thursday's SEC Teleconference. "They are a strong offensive team and they play really well at home."
2009 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE BASEBALL
Tennessee (12-16, 1-8 SEC) at Alabama (17-10, 3-6 SEC)
Friday, April 3 (6:35 p.m.)
Saturday, April 4, (4:05 p.m.)
Sunday, April 5 (2:05 p.m.)
Sewell-Thomas Stadium (6,571) - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
GAME INFORMATION
Site: Sewell-Thomas Stadium
Series: Alabama leads, 62-28
Tickets: Available at Sewell-Thomas Stadium
$5 Adults/$3 Youth (13 and under)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network
WFFN-FM (95.3) - Tuscaloosa
WAPI-AM (1070) - Birmingham
Chris Stewart and Mick Gillispie
Alabama Starting Pitchers:
1 - RHP Austin Hyatt (6 GS, 4-1, 3.24 ERA)
2 - LHP Del Howell (3 GS, 2-1, 4.20 ERA)
3 - TBA
Tennessee Starting Pitchers:
1 - RHP Aaron Tulio (8 G, 1 GS, 1-3, 4.56 ERA)
2 - LHP Nick Hernandez (7 G, 6 GS, 1-3, 5.35 ERA)
3 - LHP Bryan Morgado (9 G, 4 GS, 1-0, 5.27 ERA)
UA Promotions:
April 3 - "Friday Night Fireworks" Catch the fireworks show after the game.
April 4 - "Crimson Tide Rally Towels" The first 1,000 fans will receive a free Crimson Tide rally towel.
"Tuscaloosa County Alumni Chapter Day" Members of Tuscaloosa County Alumni Assn receive two free tickets to the game.
April 5 - "Kids Day" All kids run the bases after the game.
HEAD COACH Jim Wells: Coach Jim Wells became the seventh coach in Southeastern Conference history to win 600 games when the Tide posted a lopsided 24-0 win over Alabama A&M on March 17. Wells joins former SEC greats Ron Polk (1,218), Skip Bertman (870), Keith Madison (735), Rod Delmonico (699), Roy Mewbourne (655) and Hal Baird (634) as the only coaches with 600 wins at an SEC school. Wells has compiled a 605-310 (.661) record in his 15th season as the Crimson Tide's head coach. He was named the school's 29th head baseball coach on June 4, 1995. He was inducted into the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Jan. 16, 2009. Overall, Wells has compiled a 798-398 (.667) record in 1,196 games over 20 seasons 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.
WHO TO WATCH: Freshman left-fielder Taylor Dugas (.449, 2 HR, 18 RBI) continues to be one the SEC's hottest hitters as he leads the league in hits (48) and doubles (13) heading into this weekend's series with Tennessee. The Lafayette, La., native is riding a 17-game hitting streak, the second-longest by an Alabama player this season. Senior right fielder Kent Matthes opened the year with an 18-game hitting streak. Dugas went 4-for-5 in the Tide's win over Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday night and has seven hits in his last two games. He has also recorded seven straight multi-hit games. Matthes (.390, 16 HR, 44 RBI) continues to lead the nation with 16 home runs. He has more home runs than 133 of the 298 Division-I schools. He has at least one home run against 10 of the Tide's first 14 opponents this year. In seven career games against Tennessee, Matthes is hitting .453 (11-for-26) with six runs scored, one home run and four RBI. Junior third baseman Jake Smith (.370, 9 HR, 23 RBI) is also having a career-year for the Tide. The nine home runs are a career-high and he has homered in three of his last four games. Smith is riding a personal-best 10-game hitting streak and has hit safely in each of the last 17 games. Since Feb. 28, he is batting .437 (31-for-71) with nine home runs and 21 RBI. He was 3-for-21 (.143) in his first six games. Sophomore second baseman Ross Wilson (.356, 6 HR, 27 RBI) is riding a six-game hitting streak. He homered in all three games at Florida last weekend. Junior Brandon May (.309, 3 HR, 23 RBI) is hitting .455 (5-for-11) in his four-game career against the Vols, with two home runs and three RBI. Senior right-hander Austin Hyatt (6 GS, 4-1, 3.24 ERA) has won seven of his last eight decisions dating back to the 2008 season. The Crimson Tide has swatted 57 home runs in 27 games this season, an average of 2.11 per game. The 57 homers are the most in the Wells era through 27 games. The 1997 and 1998 teams shared the record with 53 home runs in 27 games. The 1997 team finished the year with a school-record 160 home runs.
NCAA STATS UPDATE: The NCAA stats were released on Tuesday, March 31, and for the second straight week, the Crimson Tide offense was among the national leaders in a number of categories. Alabama is fourth nationally in home runs (58), fifth in home runs per game (2.08), fifth in slugging percentage (.594), eighth in runs scored (242) and ninth in hits (317). The Crimson Tide ranks in the Top 20 nationally in doubles (12th, 66), runs per game (17th, 9.3) and batting average (19th, .338). The Crimson Tide pitching staff ranks 14th nationally with 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
MATTHES PACES NCAA: Alabama senior right fielder Kent Matthes leads the nation in home runs (16), home runs per game (0.64), RBI (41), total bases (96) and slugging percentage (1.000) this season. He is third in RBI (43), fourth in RBI per game (1.72) and 29th in runs scored (34).
TIDE PLAYERS AMONG NCAA LEADERS: Matthes is not the only Crimson Tide player among the NCAA stats leaders this week. Freshman left fielder Taylor Dugas is 11th nationally in doubles (13), 16th in hits (44), 18th in doubles per game (0.54), 35th in runs scored (33) and 54th in hitting (.431). Senior right-hander Austin Hyatt is 17th in the nation in fewest walks per nine innings (0.86) and 33rd in wins (4).
TENNESSEE SERIES: Alabama leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 62-28, 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 through the 1968 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 73 times, with the Crimson Tide holding a 48-24 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 pair of neutral site games in 1984 and 1985 in two of the Southern League's ballparks. 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. The Tide and Vols began meeting on a regular basis in 1986 and since then UA has won 12 of the 18 series (UT has seven series wins and the two teams split a rain-shortened two-game series in 1988). The two teams have met every year since 1986 with the exception of 1992, 1993, 2004 and 2005. The Crimson Tide owns series wins in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006 and 2007. Tennessee owns series wins in 1988, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2008. The Crimson Tide won all four games against the Vols in 2002, including a 9-0 win in the Hormel Foods Classic at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. Alabama closed out the 2006 season with a three-game series sweep in Knoxville to clinch a tie for the 2006 SEC Championship. Alabama holds a 38-14 lead in games played in Tuscaloosa. The Tide also owns a 19-13 lead in games played in Knoxville. Alabama holds the upper hand in neutral site games, winning five of six. Coach Wells is 24-14 (.632) in his career against the Vols. He owns an 11-4 mark in Tuscaloosa and has won four of the five series between the two schools at the Joe. Wells is 11-10 in games played in Knoxville, but has lost four of the seven series. During his tenure, UA has posted three, five-game winning streaks against the Vols.
TENNESSEE SCOUTING REPORT: Tennessee (12-16, 1-8 SEC) brings a six-game conference losing streak to Tuscaloosa this weekend, but is coming off an impressive 8-2 win over Charleston Southern Wednesday night in Knoxville. As a team, the Vols are hitting .290 with 42 home runs and 167 RBI and the offense has been built around sophomore catcher Blake Forsythe (.396, 11 HR, 28 RBI) and sophomore first baseman Cody Hawn (.301, 11 HR, 39 RBI). The duo has combined for 22 home runs and 67 RBI this season. Forsythe has started all 28 games, while Hawn has started 26 games. He missed the last two games with a viral infection and his status for the Alabama series in questionable. UT is hitting .267 with seven home runs and 38 RBI in league play. Tennessee has out-hit the opposition in eight of nine SEC games. On the mound, Tennessee has one complete game, two saves and a 5.73 ERA this season. The staff has allowed 270 hits in 245 innings, but has walked only 89 batters. UT has recorded 263 strikeouts in 28 games. The Vols are 1-8 with a 7.18 ERA in SEC play and have yielded 59 runs and 90 hits in 74 innings. The weekend rotation will consist of junior right-hander Aaron Tulio (8 G, 1 GS, 1-3, 4.56 ERA), junior left-hander Nick Hernandez (7 G, 6 GS, 1-3, 5.35 ERA) and sophomore lefty Brian Morgado (9 G, 4 GS, 1-0, 5.27 ERA). Tulio made his first career SEC start last week at No. 1 Georgia and allowed four runs and three hits in four innings. Hernandez, a veteran lefty, has not issued a walk in his last 20 2/3 innings on the mound over his last four appearances. Morgado has six scoreless innings out of the bullpen in his last two games against Georgia and Charleston Southern. He has allowed two hits and fanned eight. Defensively, the Vols are solid with a .974 fielding percentage (27 errors) in 28 games. They have played eight error-less SEC games this season. The Vols have made only two errors (.994 fielding) in SEC play. Sophomore center fielder Kentrail Davis (.277, 4 HR, 15 RBI) hails from Theodore, Ala. He is 5-for-8 with five RBI in two midweek games this week. Junior third baseman Tyler Horne (.214, 3 HR, 7 RBI) played the last two years at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa. He was teammates with Alabama pitcher Adam Scott, first baseman/DH Clay Jones and infielder Cal Tinsley. UT junior infielder Cody Grisham (.260, 1 HR, 9 RBI) and Alabama junior catcher Cody Trotter played together at Itawamba Community College.
2008 TENNESSEE SERIES RECAP: Alabama dropped two of three at Tennessee (April 12-13) last year, losing its third consecutive road series of the 2008 season. The Crimson Tide hit .322 (37-for-115) in the series with seven home runs and 19 RBI. The seven home runs were the most in an SEC series since the Tide belted seven at LSU during the 2006 season. After a rainout on Friday night, the Tide and Vols played a day-night double-header on Saturday, April 12. Alabama won a slugfest, 11-10, in the opener and hit four home runs in the process. Smith, May, Bentley and Sharp all homered in the win, with Bentley and Sharp hitting back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning that put the Tide ahead to stay. The Tide fell 13-5 in game two as UT blew open a close game with a seven-run, sixth inning, highlighted by Kentrail Davis' three-run home run. UT lefty Bryan Morgado (7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 10 K) was too much for the Tide on the mound. The Tide let one slip away in the series finale, falling 6-4. The Tide took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, but 12 men left on base doomed the Tide. Alabama left the bases loaded in the fifth and seventh innings and had two runners thrown out at home. UT left fielder Shawn Griffin hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning for the win.
This Week's SEC Schedule (April 4-6)
Tennessee at Alabama
Arkansas at South Carolina
Auburn at Mississippi State
Florida at Vanderbilt
LSU at Georgia
Kentucky at Mississippi
UA's Next Game:
Troy at Alabama
Tuesday, April 7 (6:35 p.m.)
