The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Head To East Carolina For Weekend Series
5/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 10, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team travels to Greenville, N.C. this weekend for a pivotal three-game conference tilt against East Carolina. The Blazers (18-31, 5-13 C-USA), who are tied for eighth in league play, look to enhance their chances to earn a trip back to the conference tournament for the third season in a row against a Pirate squad that has an 8-1 all-time advantage against the Green and Gold.
With only six games remaining in conference play, the Blazers stand in a tie for the final spot in the tournament with UCF at 5-13. Due to tiebreakers, if the season ended today UAB would advance to Reckling Park on the campus of Rice University for the C-USA Tournament on May 24-28.
ECU (28-20, 7-11 C-USA) enters this weekend's matchup currently as the fifth-place team in the conference, but has dropped its last four games in a row. The Pirates have been strong at home, going 24-9 this year in games played at Clark-LeClair Stadium. ECU has some solid wins under its belt, including handing the only loss in conference play to No. 1 Rice earlier in the year. The Pirates thrive in all facets of the game and have used good speed, timely hitting and quality pitching to succeed in 2006.
Overall, they are hitting .294 on the season, and have five hitters batting over .300. Adam Whitter has been a source of power, swatting ten home runs and collecting 34 RBIs. Jay Mattox has also been key, smashing a team-high 59 hits to go with 14 stolen bases.
Head coach Larry Giangrosso's squad has found its groove over the past three weekends, posting all five of its conference wins during that span. The series wins over UCF and Memphis put the Blazers right back in the thick for a possible postseason birth, as the Blazers are in control of their own destiny with the final two series in league play remaining.
UAB's lineup has seen improvement from top to bottom, with Jorge Gutierrez and Steven Turner leading the charge down the stretch. Both hitters have seen their averages rise 20 points in the last three weeks, capped off by a stellar performance last weekend in Memphis.
The two juniors hit .500 in the series, and proved to be unstoppable at the plate. Gutierrez has vaulted his average on the season to .288, and has solidified the leadoff spot for the Blazers. Turner now stands at .272, and his speed (11-for-14 on stolen bases) and power (six double and three home runs) have helped lengthen the order and provide a spark from the No. 9 slot.
The pitching staff has climbed on the back of sophomore Jim Crew, who has been dominant in his past two starts. Those performances have entrenched him as the Saturday starter for Giangrosso. Crew hurled his second straight complete game against Memphis, an outing that one-upped what he had done to a ranked Houston team the week before.
Crew is now 6-2 on the year, and his 2.84 ERA is in the top eight in the conference. He leads the team in innings pitched, ERA and strikeouts. Batters have mustered a meager .214 average against the righthander, and have only connected for 11 extra base hits all year.
A newfound starter continued to build momentum for the Blazers, as freshman Drew Murray threw the best game of his young career last Saturday against Memphis. Murray, in only his second start of the year, threw seven strong to help clinch the series win over the Tigers. Used primary in relief, the LaGrange, Ga., native picked up his second win and has earned a spot in the weekend rotation for the upcoming series against the Pirates.
First pitch on Friday is set for 7 p.m. ET, and can be followed online with gametracker. Gametracker is available at ECU's website, www.ecupirates.com. For complete postgame coverage, check www.uabsports.com.
