Baseball Team Hosts Minnesota in Midweek Series
3/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 15, 2010
Alabama Game Notes (Minnesota Series) 
Alabama (12-1) vs. Minnesota (5-9)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 (6:35 p.m.)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 (6:35 p.m.)
Sewell-Thomas Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Radio Crimson Tide Sports Network
Play-by-play Chris Stewart and Mick Gillispie
Station WFNN-FM (95.3 FM)
Alabama Starting Pitchers
Game 1 Tucker Hawley (RHP, 1st Career Game)
Game 2 Jonathan Smart (LHP, 4 G, 1-0, 4.30 ERA)
Minnesota Starting Pitchers
Game 1 Austin Lubinsky (RHP, 2 G, 0-0, 3.00 ERA)
Game 2 Allen Bechstein (RHP, 4 G, 0-0, 7.15 ERA)
TODAY'S GAME: The Alabama baseball team continues its nine-game home stand with a two-game midweek series with the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 17. Both games begin at 6:35 p.m. (CST). Alabama brings a 12-1 record into Tuesday's game and is off to its best start since the 1997 season when UA opened the year with a 15-0 record. The Crimson Tide is coming off a four-game sweep of Stony Brook this past weekend. It was the first four-game sweep by an Alabama team since 1946, when first-year head coach Millard "Dixie" Howell led the Tide to a four-game sweep of Mississippi State. Minnesota brings a 5-9 record to Tuscaloosa, after dropping two of three games this past weekend at the 2010 Diary Queen Classic at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers were 40-19 last season and finished second to national champion LSU in the 2009 Baton Rouge Regional. Minnesota was second in the Big Ten standings with a 17-6 slate. Alabama will send true freshman Tucker Hawley to the mound in the series opener. Hawley, a native of Aiken, S.C., will be making his Crimson Tide debut on Tuesday.
HEAD COACH Mitch Gaspard: Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard is 12-1 (.923) in his first season as the Crimson Tide's head coach. Overall, he has compiled a 223-129 (.634) record in seven seasons as a head coach. He was named the school's 30th head coach on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, replacing Jim Wells, who retired after 15 seasons. Gaspard begins his 10th overall season with the Crimson Tide baseball program this spring, after serving two stints as an assistant coach under Wells from 1995-2001 and 2008-09, where he helped land some of the nation's top recruiting classes. Gaspard spent six years as the head coach at Northwestern State, where he compiled a 211-128 (.622) record from 2002-07. He led the Demons to a pair of Southland Conference championships, one SLC Tournament title and a berth into the 2005 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.
Gaspard on the Minnesota series:
"Well, I think first of all, due to weather we haven't had two midweek games. I think is an opportunity for us to play back-to-back and also give us a chance to pitch some younger guys that haven't had the opportunity to get out much. We are going to start Tucker Hawley tomorrow night and give him an opportunity. We know Minnesota is going to be a very competitive team. They were a top-30 team starting out. They've gotten out of the gates a little bit slow, but they are very well coached and will be very competitive."
WILSON HONORED: Junior second baseman Ross Wilson was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon. He had a monster series at the plate, hitting .467 (7-for-15) with three home runs and 10 RBI in the four-game series sweep against Stony Brook. He also had two game-winning RBI. The Hoover, Ala., native added one double, two walks and scored five runs. He compiled a 1.133 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base mark.
THE RANKINGS: Off to its best start since the 1997, Alabama is ranked 21st in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll and Collegiate Baseball newspaper polls. The Tide is ranked 23rd by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
14-GAME HOME WINNING STREAK: Alabama enters the Minnesota series riding a 14-game home winning streak dating back to the 2009 season. It's the longest home winning streak since the 2001-02 seasons when the Crimson Tide won 27 straight home games. Alabama has had two other double-digit home winning streaks in this decade, posting a 13-game winning streak from Feb. 15-March 24, 2004 and an 11-game hitting streak from Feb. 18-March 9, 2005. The Crimson Tide had a nine-game and seven-game home winning streak last season. The Crimson Tide's current home winning streak began with a 3-2 series-clinching win over Kentucky on April 26, 2009. The Crimson Tide closed out the 2009 season with six straight home wins, including a three-game sweep of then No. 11 Arkansas. Alabama is 8-0 at home this season, with a win over South Alabama and series wins over Illinois-Chicago and Stony Brook.
Alabama's 14-Game Home Winning Streak
No. Result of Game Date
1 Alabama 3, Kentucky 2 April 26, 2009
2 Alabama 14, South Alabama 3 April 29, 2009
3 Alabama 2, Arkansas 1 May 8, 2009
4 Alabama 8, Arkansas 6 May 9, 2009
5 Alabama 6, Arkansas 5 May 10, 2009
6 Alabama 8, Jacksonville State 4 May 12, 2009
7 Alabama 12, South Alabama 4 Feb. 20, 2010
8 Alabama 9, Illinois-Chicago 4 Feb. 26, 2010
9 Alabama 25, Illinois-Chicago 1 Feb. 27, 2010 (DH)
10 Alabama 4, Illinois-Chicago 3 Feb. 27, 2010 (DH)
11 Alabama 15, Stony Brook 8 March 12, 2010
12 Alabama 5, Stony Brook 0 March 13, 2010 (DH)
13 Alabama 13, Stony Brook 6 March 13, 2010 (DH)
14 Alabama 4, Stony Brook 3 March 14, 2010
OFFENSIVE EXECUTION: Alabama's early season success can be contributed to its new style of play and the team's offensive execution in the first nine games. The Crimson Tide is third in the SEC with a .334 batting average, but finds itself at the top of the league standings in most specialty statistics. Alabama leads the SEC in hitting with runners in scoring position (.387), runners at third base with less than two outs (.778), with two outs (.354) and bases loaded (.530), while UA pinch-hitters are second (.417) in the league in hitting.
OUTFIELD ASSISTS: Alabama has eight outfield assists this season. The eight outfield assists have been recorded by five different players. Freshman left fielder Brett Booth leads the way with three outfield assists. He tied the UA single-game record with two assists in the Tide's 6-2 win at College of Charleston on March 5, when he threw out one runner at home and one at third base.
Booth shares the record with G.W. Keller (vs. Southern Cal, 1997), Chad White (at LSU, 2002) and Gabe Scott (at Mississippi, 2004).
Alabama outfielders have thrown out five runners at home plate, two at third base and one at first base this season. In addition, six of the eight outfield assists have ended innings. Here is a look at the Tide's eight outfield assists this season:
Illinois Chicago (Feb. 26) - Center fielder Taylor Dugas and right fielder Cal Tinsley each had an outfield assist in the win over Illinois-Chicago ... Dugas threw out a runner at home to end the second inning and Tinsley gunned down a runner at the plate to end the third inning.
Illinois Chicago (Feb. 26) - Right fielder Andrew Miller notched his first outfield assist when he threw out a runner at first base to complete a second-inning double play.
at College of Charleston (March 5) - Booth tied the Alabama single-game record with two outfield assists against the Cougars ... he threw out a runner at home to end the first inning and nailed a runner at third base for the final out of the seventh inning.
at College of Charleston (March 7) - John David Smelser picked up his first outfield assist of the season when he threw out a runner at home plate to end the fourth inning.
vs. Stony Brook (March 12) - Booth notched his team-leading third outfield assist when he threw out a Stony Brook runner at home plate to end the fifth inning and stop a potential rally.
vs. Stony Brook (March 14) - Dugas picked up his second outfield assist when he ended a potential multiple run inning by throwing out a runner between third base and home plate in the sixth inning.
MINNESOTA SERIES: Alabama and Minnesota have met twice previously with both teams winning one game. The Crimson Tide claimed an 8-2 win in the first meeting at the 1998 NCAA West Regional in Palo Alto, Calif. The Golden Gophers evened the all-time series with a 5-2 win over Alabama at the 2002 Hormel Foods Classic at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Alabama 8, Minnesota 2 - (May 21, 1998 - NCAA West Regional - Palo Alto, Calif.)
The No. 2 seed Crimson Tide scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning en route to an 8-2 come-from-behind win over the No. 5 seed Golden Gophers in the 1998 NCAA West Regional. Darren Wood started the one-out rally with a single off UM lefty Ben Birk. Paul Phillips followed with a single and Sam Bozanich walked to load the bases. Andy Phillips put the Tide in front 3-2 with a two-run double to right-center field. G.W. Keller followed with an RBI single to make it 4-1. After Keller was thrown out trying to steal second base, Matt Frick and followed with a solo home run and Drew Bounds capped the scoring with a two-run blast. Minnesota scored two run in the second inning on Matt Brosseau's two-run single. Alabama starter Jarrod Kingrey tossed a complete-game win, holding UM to two runs and five hits with nine strikeouts.
Minnesota 5, Alabama 2 - (March 2, 2002 - Hormel Foods Classic - Minneapolis)
Minnesota built a 3-0 lead through six innings and then held off a late Alabama rally for a 5-2 win in second round action at the Hormel Foods Classic at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis. Jason Kennedy went 4-for-4 with two runs scored, one home and three RBI to lead the Gophers. His two-run home run staked UM to a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning and his sixth-inning RBI single made it 3-0. Alabama scored twice in the eighth on RBI singles by Jeremy Brown and Carlos Sosa, but could not even the scored as UM starter Jay Gagner struck out Grant Redding, leaving runners at second and third. Minnesota added two more runs in the eighth. Gagner went the distance for UM, holding Alabama to two runs and nine hits. Taylor Tankersley, who now pitches for the Florida Marlins and was a 2004 first-round draft pick, took the loss for the Tide.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GOPHERS: Minnesota will bring a 5-9 record to Tuscaloosa this week. The Gophers are taking a spring break trip through the state of Alabama this week. Following its two-game series at Alabama, Minnesota will play a four-game series at Samford this weekend.
The Golden Gophers are hitting .283 (140-for-494) as a team with five home runs and 58 RBI in 14 games. Minnesota averages 4.6 runs and 10 hits per game. The Gophers have tallied 33 doubles in 14 games.
Sophomore second baseman AJ Pettersen leads the Gophers with a .400 (22-for-55) average and 14 runs scored this season. He also has one home run and nine RBI.
Senior catcher/outfielder Michael Kvasnicka is hitting .340 (18-for-53) and leads the team with four home runs and 12 RBI.
The pitching staff owns a 9-5 record with 4.53 ERA. The staff has worked 129 innings and allowed 76 runs (65 ER) and 140 hits with 99 strikeouts and 40 walks.
Minnesota is expected to send junior right-hander Austin Lubinsky and senior right hander Allen Bechstein to the mound in the Alabama series. Lubisnky (2 G, 1 GS, 0-0, 3.00 ERA) has worked three innings this season and allowed one run and three hits with five strikeouts and one walk. Bechstein (4 G, 2 GS, 0-0, 7.15 ERA) has allowed nine runs and 16 hits in 11 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts.
The Gophers have committed 15 errors (.974 fielding) and turned 14 doubles plays in 14 games.
ALABAMA VS. THE BIG TEN: Alabama owns a 53-31-3 all-time record against teams that comprise the Big 10 Conference. The Crimson Tide has played 10 of the 11 schools. Alabama has never faced Iowa and Wisconsin no longer fields a college baseball team.
*Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue have all played in Tuscaloosa. Northwestern (1937-41) is the only one to have never played here at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
*Alabama and Illinois have met 31 times, the most meeting between the Tide and a Big 10 team. The Crimson Tide has faced Ohio State 14 times and Michigan 10 times in its history.
*Alabama was scheduled to play Michigan State on March 10, but that game was rained out.
*Alabama's record breakdown vs. Big 10 teams.
| OPPONENT | RECORD | LAST GAME |
| Illinois | 19-9-3 | 1997 |
| Indiana | 0-1 | 1989 |
| Iowa | 0-0 | N/A |
| Michigan | 5-5 | 1997 |
| Michigan State | 6-2 | 1994 |
| Minnesota | 1-1 | 2002 |
| Northwestern | 6-3 | 1941 |
| Ohio State | 10-4 | 1991 |
| Penn State | 2-3 | 1995 |
| Purdue | 3-2 | 2000 |
| Wisconsin | 1-1 | 1950 |
NEXT GAME: Following the Minnesota series, Alabama will open Southeastern Conference play this weekend against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The series opener is set for Friday, March 19, at 6:35 p.m. (CST).
