The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Wrap Up Successful Fall Season Of Practice
12/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dec. 22, 2003
The UAB baseball team wrapped up a successful fall season of practice, one that left the coaching staff feeling optimistic about the upcoming season. Improvements came in all phases of the Blazers' game and UAB head coach Larry Giangrosso was excited about the level of play and the depth the squad showed in all positions.
"We've got a lot of guys that can play," said Giangrosso. "For the first time since we've been here, we feel like we have some depth. We feel like our veterans can play and do well in the league. All of our veterans came back and had a better fall than they had last spring. They all showed improvement over last spring. Our veterans are better.
"The freshman group is our future. We are real proud of that group. All of our freshmen are good athletes. Overall, all of our newcomers will be able to contribute. Our goal was to go out and get depth and I think we were able to accomplish that. We are real pleased with our newcomers. They will give us some quality depth."
CATCHER
Senior Eugene Rodriguez, who started 46 games for the Blazers behind the plate last season, will be the starter at catcher. With that position intact, Giangrosso will be looking for someone to fill the back-up role.
"We are very fortunate to have Eugene back," said Giangrosso. "Last year he hit .316 for us and he caught the majority of the games. He is healthier this year. We feel very fortunate to have Eugene returning because he has a lot of experience and a lot of success in the league, but at the same time we are trying to groom that second guy. My concern in the catching position is who can help out. We have a guy returning that is solid. Eugene is a switch-hitter and he calls a good game and runs our pitching staff very well. Everybody else will be new. We converted Drew Connell (started 24 games for the Blazers at third base last season) and moved him behind the plate. He has made a lot of progress. Ben McCullars, a transfer from Bevill State Community College, had a solid fall and freshman Donny Muth also had a good fall. Those three guys have to take up the slack. The position is solid, the depth is there, but we need someone to step up and fill in the back-up role."
FIRST BASE
The Blazers have a veteran of 53 games at first base coming into the 2004 campaign. Senior Daniel Hill was the only Blazer to start all 53 contests last season.
"Daniel had a very good fall at first base," said Giangrosso. "He continues to improve defensively for us. Every category was an improvement for Daniel in the fall. Defensively, he was better and his speed was better. We are very excited about Daniel because not only can he hit the long ball for us, but defensively he has gotten better. He has gotten very comfortable with the first base position and we feel like that is going to be a very productive offensive and defensive position."
MIDDLE INFIELD
With the return of three veterans with significant playing experience in the middle infield, Giangrosso is especially excited about this area of the Blazer defense.
"Our middle infield is the best since I've been here and may be the best in quite a while," Giangrosso added. "Drew Goneke and Seth Rollin both had productive falls. They are very solid. Drew especially is very solid defensively. Seth has a chance to bring a little bit more offense and Drew does a lot with the on-base percentage. Josh Miljavac had an outstanding fall at shortstop. He could also play second base. He has gotten a lot stronger. We look for a lot out of Josh offensively and defensively. Dan Stucky, a transfer from the University of Kansas, is a switch-hitter and had a very, very good fall for us, not only offensively, but defensively as well."
THIRD BASE
Giangrosso will look to two newcomers to fill the gap at third base.
"Nathan McCorkle, a transfer from Lipscomb, had a good fall at third base, especially offensively. He is a big, strong, physical guy who can really swing the bat. He is very versatile. He can play outfield or first base. He is a middle-of-the-order type hitter. Zac Ward, a freshman, really did well defensively this fall. He can play the position like you would want it played at the collegiate level. As the fall went on, he continued to get better and better offensively. I feel that we are very solid at third base."
OUTFIELD
For the most part, Giangrosso will have a veteran group comprising the outfield, but several freshmen will also have a chance to make an impact.
"Sam Clark has worked real hard on his short game to get on base," said Giangrosso. "He is one of our team leaders and we are fortunate to have him back. He will be the starter in center field. Levi Patmon, a freshman, will back him up. He made a lot of progress in the fall. He is very solid defensively. Matt Womble will be in left field. He has worked very hard on his defense. He has a combination that we really like. He can hit the long ball and he has very good speed. He has improved a lot since last year and this will be his third year in the league, so I think he will have a good year. Jeremy Moran, one of our team leaders, had an outstanding fall in right field. He did a lot of things well this fall. He hit the ball better, his defense was better, every facet of his game improved. J.R. Bond, another one of our freshman, was impressive in the fall. Every day of fall practice he went out and got better and better. In four weeks, he made a tremendous amount of improvement. He's a big, strong guy. He does a lot of things well."
PITCHING
One question mark this season for the Blazers comes on the mound. UAB lost three weekend starters and their top reliever to graduation.
"We lost Friday, Saturday and Sunday starters and our first guy out of the bullpen, so that is a concern," said Giangrosso. "That is a big blow to a pitching staff, who I thought, most of the time on the weekends, gave us a chance to win. At the same time, we feel like we have some really good arms and good pitchers.
"We will really be counting on Jeff Brown this season because he has a lot of experience. This will be his third season with us and he has the ability to be a weekend starter or come out of the bullpen. Our guys really have a lot of confidence when Jeff is on the mound. Jeff is stronger and has better command of his pitches. His velocity has also gone up.
"Adam Price had an outstanding fall. He was redshirted last year. He throws in the high 80s and low 90s, has a very good breaking ball and is a great competitor. We look for him to be a weekend guy. He can move the fastball around and throw with some velocity.
"Eric Roberts, a transfer from the University of Georgia, had a great fall. We found out in the fall that the more he pitches, the better he is. He can throw in the high 80s and he has a chance to do some good things for us. We will use him out of the bullpen.
"Griffin Zarbough had a very good fall. He is a left-hander and has matured a lot. He is a power left-hander. He can overpower with the fastball and he has developed his changeup. His changeup was a really good pitch for him this fall.
"Jacob Legg is a transfer from the University of Alabama and can pitch and play the outfield. He played well in the outfield during the fall. He throws a lot of strikes and gets a lot of ground balls. He has a good fastball and breaking pitch. He also has great command. I think he can give us some valuable innings. In addition, he's a tough out at the plate, swinging from the left side.
"Chris Thorup threw well this fall. If he pitches to his potential, he could have an outstanding year for us. At times, Chris would dominate in the fall. He has a good sinking fastball and a good breaking pitch.
"Grant Addison is a guy I'm really proud of. His mound presence was very good this fall. You don't see that very often in freshman. He has worked real hard on his control and his command. We are excited about him.
"Lyle Northington has made a tremendous amount of improvement. I think he will be able to help us. He competes better and understands more.
"Ryan Huffman had a good fall. As the fall went on, he made some adjustments and I think he will help us. He made some big progress in putting away hitters.
"In addition, Matt Fowles, a transfer from Saint Louis Community College, could be a starter or a closer for us."
OVERALL
Overall, Giangrosso feels the Blazers have improved in all phases of the game. UAB should boast the look of a powerful offensive lineup and a solid defensive squad in 2004.
"I think we will be a very solid defensive team," said Giangrosso. "We have a lot of guys that can play different positions. The place we have the most depth is in the middle, shortstop and second base. I think we are solid on the corners. I think we will have enough speed in the outfield. I like our defense. By what we saw in the fall, I think we are very, very good in that area.
"We set out offensively to have more power in the lineup and more guys that hit for power in the lineup. With the guys returning, and what they did in the fall, we feel like we've addressed that. We feel like throughout the lineup we have a lot more power. Everybody coming back has improved and gotten stronger. We have a lot more guys that have extra-base capability. I think in college baseball today, you have to have that. We are a much more physical team offensively than we were a year ago. I think that will help us with run production.
"I think we will be able to play extremely good defense, but I think we will also be able to score a lot of runs. We feel like we have improved our overall defense. We feel like we have improved our offense. I think the most important thing is that we have some very, very strong leadership on this team. I think this group has a lot of confidence in each other and in what we are doing."
UAB opens the season Feb. 17 at Alabama State at 1 p.m. The Blazers return home to Young Memorial Field to host Murray State in a three-game series Feb. 20-22.
