The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hits The Road To Take On No. 4 Rice
4/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 6, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team heads to Houston, Texas, this weekend as it travels to Reckling Park to take on the No. 4 Rice Owls. This will be the sixth game this season that head coach Larry Giangrosso's squad will play a ranked team, and the second time it will have faced a team in the top four in the country.
UAB comes into the weekend after a heartbreaking loss against in-state rival and No. 10 Alabama, 4-3, on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa. The Blazers went toe-to-toe with the Tide, with reliever Mitch Thorn having a career outing in relief of starter Lyle Northington. Thorn, a junior from Wetumpka, Ala., tossed five innings and collected five strikeouts, both career bests for the righthander. He kept the Alabama offense in check as the Green and Gold mounted a comeback, but in the end it fell just short as the Crimson Tide picked up its 23rd win of the season.
Rice comes into this weekend in the opposite direction, having won seven in a row and nine out of its last 11. Last weekend the Owls swept No. 11 Tulane, and they also feature wins against top 25 teams TCU, Nebraska and Cal State Fullerton. Rice can get it done on the mound and at the plate, evidenced by its .296 team batting average and a team ERA of 2.66. The Owls feature four hitters over the .300 mark, with eight hitters who have hit at least one home run. Greg Buchanan leads the way at the plate with a .364 average on the year, and a team-high 48 hits. Tyler Henley has belted six home runs, while Josh Rodriguez heads up the ballclub with 30 RBIs.
On the mound for Rice, the trio of Eddie Degerman, Joe Savery and Craig Crow have been lights out, combining for a 13-2 mark in 2006. Degerman has been untouchable, as the Friday starter has an unblemished 6-0 mark with a microscopic 0.98 ERA. He has 76 strikeouts and has allowed only six earned runs on the year. Savery, the preseason C-USA Player of the Year, has a 4-1 mark, and sports an ERA of 1.68. The lefthander has keep opposing lineups in check, with opponents hitting a paltry .229 off of him. Crow has been outstanding in his own right, going 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA while striking out 40 in his 36 innings of work.
The Blazers have swung the sticks better of late, as they now sport a .276 batting average on the year. UAB has lost some close contests during its nine games away from Young Memorial Field, losing four games by three runs or less. Danny Sawyer continues to head up the offense, as the junior catcher now sits at .317 on the season. He leads the team in seven offensive categories, including batting average, at bats (120), hits (38), doubles (11), RBIs (26), total bases (55), slugging percentage (.458) and on-base percentage (.399).
Zac Ward has remained solid all season, batting .305 while hitting a team-high three home runs. The Hartselle, Ala., product has 26 RBIs on the season, and has now started 147 consecutive games for the Blazers during his career. Jorge Gutierrez has been hot of late for Giangrosso as well, as the second baseman has hit safely in five of his last 13 at bats, including two home runs and five RBIs.
Friday's first pitch is set for 7 p.m. CT, and can be followed online with gametracker, which is available at Rice's website, www.riceowls.com. For complete postgame coverage, check www.uabsports.com.
