UAB Baseball Signs Six Recruits

Dec. 4, 2001

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -

UAB Head Baseball Coach Larry Giangrosso has announced the signing of six players who will be members of the Blazer team for the 2003 season.

First baseman/designated hitter Daniel Hill comes to UAB from Gadsden State Community College, where he hit 19 home runs as a freshman last season and earned NJCAA Division II All-America honors. Hill played his high school baseball at Birmingham's Pleasant Grove High School.

Right-handed pitcher Adam Price comes to UAB from Shelton State Community College (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), where he led his team in victories with a 10-1 record and a 2.2 ERA last season. Price is also a Birmingham metro-area product, who played high school baseball at Hueytown High School.

Outfielder Sam Clark comes to UAB from Gadsden State Community College, where he was both an outstanding baseball player and student-athlete who maintained a 4.0 GPA.? Clark played high school baseball at Jacksonville (Ala.) High School.

Right-handed pitcher/outfielder Blake Green comes to UAB from Hardaway High School in Columbus, Ga., where he went 7-2 with a 2.10 ERA last season, and hit .373 with nine home runs and10 stolen bases.

? Infielder Drew Connell comes to UAB from Childersburg (Ala.) High School, where he hit .564 last season with 53 hits (including four home runs) and 15 stolen bases.

Right-handed pitcher Adam Tennyson comes to UAB from Holt High School in Tuscaloosa, where he had 73 strikeouts in 47 and two-thirds innings and also hit .483 with six home runs and a .622 on-base percentage.

The addition of Price, Green and Tennyson will help shore up a Blazer pitching staff will lose its three primary senior starters - left-hander Joe Yarbrough and right-handers Andre Parks and Ross Dobbins - following the 2002 season.??

"We're very pleased with the six players we signed in the fall," said Giangrosso, who begins his third season as head coach of the Blazers in 2002.

"They're going to help us, they're going to provide depth.? We feel that we have accomplished a large part of our goal - replacing the starters we will lose in our conference pitching rotation.?

I think a guy like Daniel Hill, who is a local guy and someone who always wanted to come to UAB, is someone who will be able to hit in the middle of the lineup and give us more power - he hit 19 home runs as a freshman in junior college.

Adam Price is a right-handed pitcher from Shelton State and Hueytown High School who had an outstanding freshman year.? He pitched a lot of innings and was 10-1 with a 2.2 ERA.? I think the thing with him is that he will be able to provide some immediate innings for us. He's a big, strong kid who can really pitch, and we're looking for him to step in right away.

Sam Clark fits in to our scheme really well, he has outstanding speed.? I think he's a very good defensive outfielder and the things he does offensively fit our style very well.?? He could also step in and play for us right away.

We're really pleased about signing Blake Green.? He's a `dual' player - an outfielder and right-handed pitcher.? He's a pretty good pitcher and an also a very good outfielder.? He plays in a very competitive high school league (Columbus, Ga.).? We especially liked him because of his work ethic, he's really a `blue collar' type worker.

I think Drew Connell is going to be an excellent hitter first of all - and he'll eventually bat in the middle of the order.? He has some power, but he's really more of a `gap-to-gap' hitter. I also think he will become a guy that we can move around defensively.? His approach to hitting is very, very good - he's got excellent mechanics.

Adam Tennyson is an outstanding competitor and is also a guy that can swing the bat pretty well.? He's also a `dual' guy, he gives us a chance to build some depth."

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics

UAB Baseball Signs Six Recruits

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