Baseball Hosts South Alabama
4/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 28, 2009
2009 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE BASEBALL
South Alabama (21-22) at Alabama (29-15, 12-9 SEC)
Wednesday, April 29 (6:35 p.m.)
Sewell-Thomas Stadium (6,571) - Tuscaloosa, Ala.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama closes out a brief four-game home stand when the Crimson Tide hosts the South Alabama Jaguars on Wednesday, April 29, at 6:35 p.m. (CDT) at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide has only one other non-conference game left on the schedule and that comes May 12 against Jacksonville State.
Alabama (29-15, 12-9 SEC) has won five of six and nine of its last 12 SEC games, but will look to put an end to a two-game non-SEC losing streak on Wednesday night. Alabama has scored 29 runs and had two players hit for the cycle in its last two midweek games, but have suffered losses to Samford (14-13, 10 innings) and South Alabama (21-16) the previous two Wednesday nights.
The Crimson Tide and the Jaguars played a nearly four-hour game last Wednesday night at Stanky Field. The teams combined for 37 runs, making it the highest scoring game in series history. The previous high was 33 runs when the Tide posted a 17-16 win in Tuscaloosa during the 2003 season. The Jaguars scored 10 runs in the third inning last Wednesday night for its third straight win over the Tide. USA third baseman Jake Overstreet had four extra base hits, including a three-run home run and three-run triple in the third inning. Alabama shortstop Josh Rutledge went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and hit for the cycle in the loss. Third baseman Jake Smith hit for the cycle in the Tide's loss at Samford on April 15.
South Alabama (21-22) will send left-hander Chris LaGrow (12 G, 1-0, 8.8 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday. LaGrow started last week against the Crimson Tide and gave up five runs and four hits in two-plus innings before leaving with a 5-4 deficit. Alabama had not settled on starting pitcher at the close of practice on Tuesday.
RANKINGS: After is series win over Kentucky at Sewell-Thomas Stadium this past weekend, Alabama held steady in the national rankings released on Monday, April 27. Alabama is ranked 22nd by Baseball America, its highest ranking of the week. The Tide is also ranked 23rd by Rivals.com and Collegiate Baseball newspaper and 27th by the NCBWA.
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 616-315 (.662) 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 808-404 (.667) record in 1,212 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: Senior right fielder Kent Matthes (.379 23 HR, 67 RBI) continues to lead the nation with 23 home runs. Bryce Bentz (Middle Tennessee) is second with 21 homers, followed by Rich Poythress (Georgia) with 20 home runs. South Alabama has faced the nation's top two home run hitters in their last five games and yielded only one home run to Bentz in the series opener last Friday night in Mobile. Matthes has homered in 19 of 42 games this year, with multi-homer games against SE Missouri State (Feb. 22), Texas A&M Corpus-Christi (March 7), Mississippi (March 22) and Troy (April 7). He has homered in all seven SEC series'. Sophomore second baseman Ross Wilson (.337, 9 HR, 39 RBI) is riding a five-game hitting streak, the longest active streak by a Tide player. Wilson had an RBI single in the Tide's 3-2, series-clinching win over Kentucky on Sunday. Junior third baseman Jake Smith (.357, 15 HR, 43 RBI) has a career-high 15 home runs this season, including a team-best two grand slams. He hit a go-ahead grand slam in the Tide's 11-6 win over Kentucky on April 24. Smith's grand slam gave the Tide an 8-6 lead and highlighted a seven-run inning. Freshman Taylor Dugas (.370, 18 2B, 2 HR, 24 RBI) continues to lead the league in doubles. Dugas is also UA's leading hitter in non-SEC games, with a .417 average.
ALABAMA OFFENSE AMONG NCAA LEADERS: The NCAA stats were released on Tuesday, April 28 and for the sixth straight week, the Crimson Tide offense is among the national leaders in a number of categories. Alabama is among the Top 10 teams in the nation in home runs (5th, 88), home runs per game (5th, 2.0), runs scored (5th, 409), doubles (6th, 114), slugging percentage (6th, .587), hits (9th, 534) and doubles per game (10th, 2.59).
SEC STATS UPDATE: The Crimson Tide continues to field one of the most productive offenses in the nation and leads the SEC in 10 offensive categories, including hitting (.336), slugging (.587), on-base percentage (.420), runs scored (409), hits (534), RBI (381), doubles (114), total bases (94) and plate appearances. The Crimson Tide ranks second in the league with 88 home runs. Alabama has three of the league's top 12 hitters, including Matthes (2nd, .379), Dugas (4th, .370) and Smith (12th, .357). The Tide also has three of the league's top five players in runs scored, including Dugas (3rd, 54), Matthes (4th, 52) and Rutledge (4th, 52). Matthes leads the SEC in home runs (23) and total bases (143), while Dugas paces the league in doubles (18) and ranks second in hits (66).
SOUTH ALABAMA SERIES: Alabama leads the all-time series with South Alabama, 50-48. 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. South Alabama has won the last three meetings, including a 21-16 victory last week (April 22) in Mobile. Alabama's last series win was a 7-6 victory at Stanky Field in 2006. The Crimson Tide has not won in Tuscaloosa since a 9-8 win in 2005. Alabama holds a 33-20 series lead in games played in Tuscaloosa. The Jaguars posted a 5-4 win over the Tide in its last trip to Tuscaloosa in 2005. The Jags own a 28-16 series lead in games played in Mobile. Alabama head coach Jim Wells is 14-8 (.636) in his career against South Alabama, including a 9-2 (.818) mark at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. South Alabama head coach Steve Kittrell is 11-18 (.379) in his career against Alabama. His first career win with the Jags came against Alabama.
SOUTH ALABAMA SCOUTING REPORT: South Alabama (21-22, 9-12 Sun Belt) has won eight of its last 11 games entering Wednesday's game at Alabama. The Jags are 3-1 against SEC teams this season, with wins over Mississippi, Auburn and Alabama. South Alabama is 7-12 (.368) away from home this season and its current four-game road winning streak is tied for the fifth-longest nationally. Cal State Fullerton and Central Connecticut State lead the nation with seven straight road wins. The Jaguars are hitting .318 (494-for-1,552) with 29 home runs and 277 RBI in 43 games. They are averaging 7.07 runs and 11.49 hits per game. Junior outfielder Adam Heisler (37 G, .403, 3 HR, 36 RBI), senior catcher David Doss (43 GS, .371, 9 HR, 46 RBI) and senior shortstop Derrick O'Reilly (.42 G, .340, 26 RBI) are the top three hitters on the team. Doss is the school's all-time hits leader, breaking the previous record set by former Jag Mike Mordecai. Doss has raised his batting average 12 points in the last five games. The pitching staff is 21-22 with a 6.06 ERA this season. The Jags have one complete game and eight saves. Lefty Chris LaGrow (12 G, 5 GS, 1-0, 8.84 ERA) will make his second start against the Tide this season. Last week, Lagrow lasted only two innings and allowed five runs and four hits in the slugfest with Alabama. He did not factor into the decision. The pen consists of junior left-hander Lance Baxter (16 G, 7 GS, 3-2, 4 SV, 3.90 ERA) and senior right-hander Greg Johnson (22 G, 4-4, 2 SV, 6.62 ERA). Baxter leads the club in wins and saves. Johnson was the winning pitcher last week against Alabama. The Jags are fielding .965 (58 errors) as a team.
GAME INFORMATION
South Alabama at Alabama
Site: Sewell-Thomas Stadium
Series: Alabama leads, 50-48
Tickets: Available at The Joe ($1 for all tickets)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Chris Stewart)
WFFN-FM (95.3) - Tuscaloosa
WAPI-AM (1070) - Birmingham
Internet: www.RollTide.com
Alabama Starting Pitcher:
1 - TBA
South Alabama Starting Pitcher:
1 - LHP Chris LaGrow (12 G, 5 GS, 1-0, 8.84 ERA)
Baseball Promotions
Wednesday, April 29
"Dollar Day" All general admission seats are $1
"Family Night" A family of four can receive four tickets, four hot dogs, four bags of chips and four
cokes for $20.
"Future All American Night" All kids can take the field with the Crimson Tide during the national anthem.
UA Next Game:
Alabama at Mississippi State
Friday, May 1 (6:30 p.m.)
Polk-Dement Stadium (Starkville, Miss.)
