Baseball Team Hosts Jacksonville State
3/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2010
Alabama Game Notes (Jacksonville State Game) 
ALABAMA VS. JACKSONVILLE STATE
MARCH 30, 2010 - SEWELL-THOMAS STADIUM • TUSCALOOSA, ALA. (6:35 p.m.)
ALABAMA AT UAB
MARCH 31, 2010 - REGIONS PARK • HOOVER, ALA. (6:30 p.m.)
Radio Crimson Tide Sports Network
Play-by-play: Chris Stewart and Mick Gillispie
Station: Crimson Tide Sports Network - WFFN-FM (95.3)
Alabama Pitchers
vs. JSU 21 Adam Windsor (Fr., LHP, 1-0, 13.50 ERA)
vs. UAB 44 Tucker Hawley (Fr., RHP, 0-0, 4.50 ERA)
Jacksonville State Pitcher
vs. UA Kevin Elwell (Sr., RHP, 6 G, 1-1, 4.82 ERA)
UAB Pitcher
vs. UA Benji White (Sr. RHP, 5 G, 0-0, 5.23 ERA)
TODAY'S GAME: Alabama looks to snap a five-game losing streak when the Crimson Tide hosts the Jacksonville State Gamecocks on Tuesday, March 30, at 6:35 p.m. (CDT) at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The Jacksonville State game begins a stretch of seven straight games against in-state teams for the Crimson Tide. Following the JSU game, the Tide will play UAB at Regions Park on Wednesday and will host arch-rival Auburn in a three-game SEC series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium this weekend. The Tide wraps up its seven-game stretch of in-state teams next week, when it hosts UAB on Tuesday, April 6 and travels to Jacksonville State on Wednesday, April 7. Alabama (16-6, 2-4 SEC) suffered a three-game sweep at No. 15 Arkansas this past weekend to complete a run of seven straight games against nationally-ranked teams. The Crimson Tide held a sixth-inning lead in all three games in Fayetteville. Jacksonville State (13-11, 2-1 OVC) is coming off an Ohio Valley Conference series win at Tennessee-Martin this weekend. The Gamecocks have won five of their last six games.
HEAD COACH Mitch Gaspard: Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard is 16-6 (.727) in his first season as the Crimson Tide's head coach. Overall, he has compiled a 227-134 (.628) 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.
THE RANKINGS: Alabama is ranked in four of the six major polls this week, including USA Today/ESPN Coaches (23rd) poll, Baseball America (25th), National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (29th) and Ping Baseball (29th). The Crimson Tide dropped out of the Collegiate Baseball newspaper and Rivals.com polls this week.
ALABAMA-JACKSONVILLE STATE SERIES: Alabama leads the all-time series with Jacksonville State, 22-7. Alabama has won the last five meetings, including an 8-4 win in Tuscaloosa last season. The current streak began as the Crimson Tide posted a 5-3 win in 2005. Alabama added a 13-1 victory in the 2006 NCAA Regional and swept a two-game, home-and-home series in 2008. Jacksonville State's last win was a 4-3 victory in Jacksonville in 2004. The Gamecocks last win in Tuscaloosa was a 5-3 win in 2003. The two teams first met in 1967, with the Tide winning 5-0 and 8-0 in Tuscaloosa. In fact, Alabama won the first 10 games in the series. Jacksonville State did not record its first win in the series until 1975, winning 9-2 in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide won 13 of the first 14 games against JSU, before the Gamecocks won four of the next six meetings from 1980-2000. The two teams did not play from 1982-1998 before the series was resumed in 1999. Alabama has won eight of the 12 meetings since the series resumed. Alabama owns a 21-4 lead in games played in Tuscaloosa, with a four-game winning streak. JSU's wins in Tuscaloosa came in 1975, 1980, 2000 and 2003. The Gamecocks own a 3-2 lead in games played in Jacksonville. Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard owns a 6-3 (.667) record against the Gamecocks, winning all three series while the head coach at Northwestern State. Jacksonville State head coach Jim Case is 2-6 (.250) against Alabama.
LAST MEETING: Alabama defeated Jacksonville State 8-4 on May 12, 2009 at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. The Crimson Tide scored five runs in the middle innings to overcome a two-run deficit for its fifth straight win over the Gamecocks. Brandon May's solo home run tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth inning before the Tide scored three unearned runs in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead. Alex Kubal's solo home run in the sixth made it 7-3. Kent Matthes hit a two-run home run in the first inning for Alabama. David Head earned his first career win on the mound as he held the Gamecocks to one run on three hits over the final 4 1/3 innings. He added five strikeouts. Jacksonville State catcher Andrew Edge hit two solo home runs in the loss.
ALABAMA VS. OVC: Alabama owns a 55-16 record against the current Ohio Valley Conference field. The Crimson Tide was 2-3 (.400) against OCV schools last season and was eliminated from the 2009 NCAA Clemson Regional, with a 6-2 loss to Tennessee Tech, the 2009 OVC Champions. The Crimson Tide dropped a season-opening series to SE Missouri in Tuscaloosa and beat Jacksonville State in a midweek game last season.
UAB SERIES: Alabama leads the all-time series with UAB, 41-14. The teams first met during the 1974 season. Alabama won the first five meetings between the two schools and eight of the first nine. UAB's first win was a 3-2 decision at Rickwood Field in 1979. The two in-state rivals met eight times in the 1970s and nine times in the 1980s. The Tide and Blazers have met every year since 1989, including 20 times in the 1990s. The two teams have met 17 times since 2000, with Alabama winning 15 of the last 19 meetings. Alabama posted two lopsided wins over UAB in 1999, winning by a 52-9 combined score. The Crimson Tide posted a 30-4 win over the Blazers on April 14, 1999 at Jerry D. Young Memorial Field, where Alabama hit an NCAA record 13 home runs in the win. Andy Phillips was 4-for-5 with three home runs and eight RBI in the win. Two weeks later, Alabama handed UAB another lopsided loss, 22-5, in Tuscaloosa on April 28. Phillips went 4-for-6 with a home run and five RBI in that win. Erik Smallwood came off the bench and hit two, three-run home runs as UA hit five more homers. In all, the Tide hit 18 home runs in two wins against UAB in 1999. The Tide posted a 16-0 win over the Blazers in 2007, without the benefit of an extra base hit. UA had 19 singles in the win and Ryan Rhoden tied the school record with five hits in the game on Feb. 28, 2007. Alabama holds a 22-5 series lead in games played in Tuscaloosa, including an eight-game winning streak, including last year's 10-7 win at the Joe on March 24. Alabama owns a 19-9 series lead in games played in the Birmingham. The Tide owns a 10-4 series lead at Jerry D. Young Memorial Field on the UAB campus and has posted a 6-3 record against the Blazers at Regions Park. The Blazers are 3-2 against the Tide at Rickwood Field. Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard has never faced the Blazers. UAB head coach Brian Shoop is 2-10 in his career against the Tide, including a 1-5 mark at UAB.
LAST MEETING: Alabama swept a two-game midweek series with the Blazers last season, winning 10-7 and 10-6.
Alabama 10, UAB 7 (March 24, 2009)
Alabama scored nine runs in the middle innings, highlighted by a five-run sixth inning, to erase a 5-0 deficit en route to a 10-7 win over UAB at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama trailed 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, but closed the gap to 5-4 with two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Josh Rutledge hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to pull the Tide to within a run. UAB came right back with two runs in the sixth to take a 7-4 lead only to see Alabama score five runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 9-7 lead. Alex Kubal knocked in one run with a double and Taylor Dugas' RBI ground out made it 7-6. Brandon May's two-run single gave the Tide its first lead at 8-7. Alabama added another run in the inning on a UAB error and plated its final runs when Dugas doubled and then scored on Rutledge's base hit in the eighth. Austin Graham was the winning pitcher, while Nathan Kilcrease pitched a scoreless ninth for the save. UAB's Tristen Farrell took the loss after he allowed three runs and five hits in two-plus innings. Digger Towe had four hits to lead the Blazers on offense.
Alabama 10, UAB 6 (March 25, 2009)
Alabama swept the season series with a 10-6 win over the Blazers in Birmingham. The game was originally played on March 25 at Regions Park, but was halted in the top of the sixth inning due to rain and lightning with the score tied at 2-2 and Alabama at the plate with the bases loaded. The game was resumed on Monday, April 13 at Young Memorial Field and the Crimson Tide erupted scoring five total runs in the inning to take a 6-2 lead. Taylor Dugas provided the big hit in the inning with a two-run double that gave Alabama the lead for good. The Blazers cut the lead to 6-3 in the seventh only to see Alabama score three runs in the eighth for a 9-3 lead. Rutledge and Wilson had key two-out hits in the inning. UAB scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth, but the Tide put the game away with a run in the ninth. Casey Kebodeaux was the winning pitcher for Alabama, while Beau Pender took the loss for UAB.
ALABAMA VS. CONFERENCE USA: Alabama owns a 196-82 (.705) all-time record against the current Conference USA field. The Tide has played 278 games against C-USA teams, including 232 games against Southern Miss (93), Tulane (86) and UAB (55).
MAGIC CITY: The history of Alabama baseball and the city of Birmingham dates back to the very first baseball in Tide lore. The Crimson Tide defeated Sewanee 6-3 on July 1, 1892 at Lakeview Park in the school's first-ever baseball game. Since that first game, Alabama is 75-41 (.646) all-time in the Birmingham area. The Tide has played games at Lakeview Park, Rickwood Field, Jerry D. Young Memorial Field, Scrushy-Striplin Field (BSC), Joe Lee Griffin Field (Samford) and Regions Park (Hoover). Alabama swept a three-game series from Owenton in 1908 and won two of three from Washington & Lee in 1910. Alabama and Auburn met in the 1958 SEC Playoffs at Rickwood Field, with the Tigers winning 3-2 (13) and 5-4. The Tide and Tigers also played at Rickwood Field in 1983 (W, 12-3) and 1984 (W, 15-13). The Crimson Tide is 14-4 at Samford and 5-6 at Birmingham Southern.
ALABAMA AT REGIONS PARK: Alabama owns a 35-20 (.636) all-time record at Regions Park. The Crimson Tide's first-ever game in Hoover took place on April 27, 1989, as UA defeated UAB 14-3. Alabama owns a 27-15 (.643) all-time record in SEC Tournament games at Regions Park and has won four (1996, 1999, 2002 and 2003) championships. The Tide has lost its last five SEC Tournament games at Regions Park. Alabama is 1-0 at Regions Park this season, following its 13-2 win over then-No. 25 Georgia on March 3.
ARKANSAS RECAP: No. 16 Alabama was swept in a three-game series by No. 15 Arkansas at Baum Stadium March 26-28. The Crimson Tide held the lead in the sixth inning in all three games, but suffered three straight late-inning losses.
The Crimson Tide hit .297 (30-for-101) in the series with seven extra base hits and 14 RBI. UA averaged 5.3 runs and 10 hits per game, but hit into seven double plays.
Sophomore DH Jon Kelton had a huge series against the Razorbacks, going 5-for-7 (.714) with two runs scored and four RBI. He reached base nine times in the series. Junior SS Josh Rutledge hit .462 (6-for-13) with one run scored and one RBI.
Alabama pitchers were 0-3 with one blown save and a 7.66 series ERA. The Tide allowed 23 runs and 33 hits in 24 2/3 innings and lost two one-run games.
Junior RHP Jimmy Nelson (6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and a shutout into the seventh inning in his start on March 27, but got a no decision.
Alabama (5) and Arkansas (6) combined for 11 errors, including five in the series opener.
Arkansas 9, Alabama 8 (March 26, 2010)
Arkansas erased deficits of 5-0 and 8-5 en route to a 9-8 come-from-behind win over Alabama in the series opener. The Razorbacks scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a one-run lead, highlighted by Zack Cox game-tying, three-run double. Cox scored the winning run on an error by shortstop Josh Rutledge.
Alabama held an 8-5 lead after scoring two runs in the seventh inning and one in the eighth inning. Rutledge's RBI single gave the Tide its three-run lead.
Arkansas scored five times in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 5-5. Cox hit a three-run home run and Andy Wilkins tied the game with a two-run blast.
Alabama scored three times in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead and stretched its lead 5-0 with single runs in the third and fifth innings as Kelton collected a pair of RBI hits.
Arkansas 4, Alabama 3 (March 27, 2010)
Seldom-used pinch-hitter Thomas Hauskey delivered a two-out single to center in the bottom of the ninth inning off Tyler White to give the Razorbacks a 4-3 series-clinching win.
Collin Kuhn led off the ninth with a double into the left field corner and it looked like he would be stranded at third as White battled back to record two outs against a tough Arkansas lineup. Hauskey, who was 0-for-2 on the season, pinch hit for the ailing Brett Eibner and drove home the winning run.
Arkansas erased a 3-0 deficit with three runs in the seventh inning to tie the game at 3-3. Cox had a two-out single that plated the tying run.
Alabama had built a 3-0 lead in the fifth on Kelton's two-run single to right-center that scored Clay Jones and Jake Smith. The Crimson Tide had taken a 1-0 lead in the third inning on freshman right fielder Andrew Miller's first career triple and an RBI double by Dugas.
Arkansas 10, Alabama 5 (March 28, 2010)
Arkansas hit four home runs to complete its three-game sweep over Alabama with a 10-5 win in the finale.
The Razorbacks hit three home runs in four-run sixth inning to take a 6-4 lead. Kuhn and Cox hit solo home runs and Wilkins gave Arkansas the lead with a two-run shot. All three home runs came with two outs.
Brett Eibner's three-run home run capped a four-run seventh inning as the Hogs built a 10-4 lead. The Tide bullpen yielded eight runs and eight hits in the series finale.
Alabama scored four runs in the first inning to take a 4-0 lead. The Tide had a three-run lead three pitches into the game. Rutledge lined the first pitch of the game to right-center and Dugas reached when his bunt was mishandled by shortstop Matt Reynolds. Ross Wilson slammed the next pitch over the wall in left and Tide had a quick three-run lead. Jones walked and later scored on Chris Smelley's sacrifice fly.
Arkansas cut the lead to 4-2 with two runs in the bottom of the first.
WALK-OFF WINS: Alabama has two walk-off wins this season against Illinois-Chicago (Feb. 27) and Minnesota (March 16). In the win over UIC, Alabama snapped a 3-3 tie with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning when John David Smelser's sacrifice bunt scored Brock Bennett with the winning run. In the win over Minnesota, Brett Whitaker's pinch-hit single tied the game in the ninth and Josh Rutledge's RBI single scored pinch-runner Cal Tinsley with the winning run in the 5-4 thriller.
EARLY LEADS: Alabama has been a fast-starting team this season, outscoring opponents 63-15 in the first three innings. The Crimson Tide owns a 24-3 scoring edge in the first inning, 15-5 scoring edge in the second inning and a 24-7 scoring edge in the third inning. Alabama has not allowed a first-inning run in 20 of its first 22 games. Alabama is 7-4 this year when scoring in the first inning and 12-4 when scoring first in a game.
UNDER THREE HOURS: Alabama has played only one three-hour game this season. The Crimson Tide's 9-8 loss at Arkansas on March 26 is the only game to go over the three-hour barrier this season. The average length of the Tide's first 22 games is almost 2:42, with the shortest game being 2:14 against UIC (Feb. 27) and Stony Brook (March 13).
NEXT GAME: Alabama will face the UAB Blazers on Wednesday, March 31, at Regions Park in Hoover. The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. The UAB game will be the Tide's second game in Hoover this season, after a 13-2 win over then-No. 25 Georgia on March 3.
