The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Baseball Team Wraps Up Fall Season
11/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Nov. 10, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-- The 2004 UAB baseball team finished the season with a 30-29 overall record and 13-16 mark against conference opponents. The Blazers ended the season with a strong run in the C-USA Tournament, knocking off Tulane and Memphis before falling to Southern Miss in the semifinals.
The team recently wrapped up its fall season which has head coach Larry Giangrosso excited and optimistic about the Blazers' upcoming 2005 campaign.
"We have a lot of guys returning that have been in the league now for two or three years," said Giangrosso. "But we decided to really put them through the paces in the fall and our guys responded well to the workload and raising their level of play. Our intrasquad scrimmages were very competitive this year which is a good sign. Some of our young guys stepped right in and started impacting us like we hoped they would."
Catcher
The Blazers lost a big part of their lineup and defense in Eugene Rodriguez, but have three returning catchers in Rush Knight (Sr.- Muscle Shoals, Ala.), Ben McCullars (Sr.- Birmingham, Ala.) and Donny Muth (RS Fr.- Slidell, La.).
"I think Rush Knight had a really good fall, not only defensively but he swung the bat better, " said Giangrosso. "McCullars improved on his throwing and Muth made a lot of progress from last year. We're solid back there and I think one of these guys will emerge as a solid player.
First Base
First baseman Daniel Hill led UAB in most offensive categories last season, including average (.343), home runs (14) and RBIs (52), and leaves some big shoes to be filled in 2005.
"We have Nathan McCorkle (Sr.- Hoover, Ala.) taking Hill's place there," said Giangrosso. "He is going to swing the bat and hit in the middle of the order, and I think he had a really good fall. Billy Lichtner (Fr.- Huntsville, Ala.) swings from the left side and had some days where he provided some power. The key for him is going to be consistency and hitting at this level everyday."
Second Base
Seth Rollin (Sr.- Montgomery, Ala.) returns for his senior season at UAB and looks to continue the strong play he has provided for the past three years.
"Seth's hitting has just improved tremendously," said Giangrosso. "He's got great arm strength and he's just a solid player. He's starting to really master hitting the ball the other way, so we feel good about his fall.
"Phillip Bell (Fr.- Gulf Breeze, Fla.) also had a really good fall. He's a guy that has great speed. He can play second base and also in the outfield. I was very pleased with his progress during the fall."
Shortstop
"Dan Stucky (Sr.- Spokane, Wash.) is returning and he had a productive fall," said Giangrosso. "He's another one of those guys who is a good enough athlete to play up the middle or in the outfield. If he's swinging the bat, there will be a position for him."
"Ryan Metcalf (Jr.- Pelham, Ala.) has come in and defensively he really had a good fall. He made some big time plays and he could hit in the early part of our order."
"Brett Hall (Fr.- Prattville, Ala.) played second, third and short and defensively he's very sound. He'll make the plays but he has some work to do at the plate. He did progress as the fall went on."
Third Base
C-USA All-Freshman Zac Ward (So.- Hartselle, Ala.) returns for his sophomore season at the hot corner for the Blazers.
"Zac played every inning for us last year," said Giangrosso. "He came back bigger, stronger and he's swinging the bat better. Every part of his game was better this fall."
Outfield
"Levi Patmon (So.- Clay, Ala.) has made a lot of progress offensively," said Giangrosso. "We know he can play defensively. He swung the bat better and if he'll work on his short game, he can become a complete player."
"Clint Tommey (Fr.- Chickasaw, Ala.) runs well and toward the end of the fall he was really a tough out. His arm speed also improved and we're pleased with his progress."
"J.R. Bond has made a lot of progress from his freshman year. Defensively he's better and offensively he's a pretty big kid with some speed. He can handle some pitches now that he couldn't handle last year and we're encouraged with his progress."
Pitchers
The Blazers return nine pitchers from last season, including two of their three weekend starters.
"Jeff Brown (Sr.- Montgomery, Ala.) had an outstanding fall," said Giangrosso. "He's just a little away from being a dominant pitcher in our league. He came back in great shape and can really throw the ball.
"Grant Addison (So.- Winfield, Ala.) is still working to get some of his secondary pitches over, but he had a productive fall. The experience he gained by throwing for us as a freshman is really going to pay off.
"Cole Helms (Sr.- Southside, Ala.) went through the whole fall without walking a batter. We asked him to come out of the bullpen as a closer last year, but I think he'll be able to start for us this year. He will continue to play in the outfield and hit for us also."
"Jacob Legg (Jr.- Hartselle, Ala.) is improving and as one of our two lefties, we desperately need him to give us some balance in our pitching staff. He also can help us at the plate and in the outfield."
"Lyle Northington (Jr.- Detroit, Ala.) at times had outstanding numbers. He only walked about three guys all fall. For him to be successful, he's going to have to get his breaking ball over a little bit more."
"Ryan Huffman (Sr.- Homewood, Ala.) pitched mainly out of the pen for us last year. He's just very confident. His mound presence this fall was outstanding."
"Eric Roberts (Sr.- Hueytown, Ala.) pitched a lot of short outings in the fall. He will continue to be a very dependable arm out of the bullpen."
"Adam Price (Sr.- Hueytown, Ala.) had a good fall. He's a tremendous competitor and that hasn't changed. He'll log a lot of innings for us this season."
"Randy Mills (Jr.- Theodore, Ala.) is a transfer who had an outstanding fall. In fact, his numbers were second only to Brown's. I was really impressed with his work ethic and his ability to learn our system in such a short period of time."
"Justin Telotte (So.- Atlanta, Ga.) walked very few batters and threw a lot of ground balls. He just competed and always threw a ground ball when he needed to get out of a jam. He has showed great improvement and has a chance to help us this year."
"Brandon Flaherty (Fr.- Clay, Ala.) had good velocity and showed tremendous competitiveness. I think he's got the makings of being a very good pitcher for us this year."
"Jimbo Crew (Fr.- Birmingham, Ala.) has a chance to help us a lot. His best pitch is his breaking ball and when he threw that toward the end of the fall, he really had some good outings."
"Heath Tapscott's (Fr.- Hartselle, Ala.) stuff is as good as anybody we've got. His fastball has a lot of movement and sink, he just has to gain control of it."
The Blazers also have two pitchers who saw limited action in the fall while recovering from injuries. Chandler Miller (Jr.- Dawson, Ga.) and Allen West (Jr.- Saraland, Ala.) both hope to be healthy by the beginning of the season.
The Blazers open up the 2005 season with a home series against Central Michigan Feb. 18-20 at Young Memorial Field.
