The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
2007 Season Preview: The Outfield
1/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 31, 2007
Each Monday and Wednesday leading up to UAB's first game of the season with Central Michigan on Feb. 16, UABsports.com will preview the 2007 Blazers. We now take a look at the Blazers outfield and next week we sit down with UAB assistant coach Perry Roth on Monday to preview the team's offense, while on Wednesday we will preview the pitching staff.
The outfield is an area of great importance at UAB given the large outfield that Young Memorial Field possesses. It is also an area that enters the season with a great deal of competition for starting jobs.
The outfield may be the most experienced area of the field as seniors J.R. Bond, Levi Patmon and Steven Turner all return after each saw a significant amount of playing time last season. Turner was one of the team's leading hitters with a .304 average while leading the team in stolen bases with 13. Bond hit .276 last year, while Patmon hit .227. The three combined for 129 starts.
"Levi and J.R. were hurt all fall so we got to see very little of them," Shoop said. "They both played last year and are both good kids so they are in the hunt. Steven is one of the fastest guys I've ever seen. If he can put the ball in play and cut down on his strikeouts, then he could be a very dynamic player for us. He's got to get better defensively as well."
Two other very talented players will also be in the tight competition for starting jobs in the outfield as junior Phil Bell returns after hitting .280 with nine doubles in 2006, while sophomore transfer Brint Hardy comes to UAB from Birmingham-Southern. Hardy was second on the Panthers' club last year with a .346 batting average while driving in 31 runs and stealing 18 bases.
"Phil is one of the guys who I believe can really hit at this level," Shoop said. "He's never been in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season, yet has always started by the end, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the mix."
"Brint did not start for us right away at Birmingham-Southern last year and ended up being a pretty key component," Shoop said. "He would be considered our second fastest player on the team behind Turner."
Outfielders
- Phil Bell (Jr.) Earned a starting role a few games in to last season and made good use of the opportunity. He hit .280 for the year with nine doubles.
- J.R. Bond (Sr.) Hit .276 in 2006 with nine doubles and a .388 on-base percentage.
- Brint Hardy (So.) Transfer from Birmingham-Southern. Hit .346 with 31 RBI and 18 stolen bases in his freshman season at BSC in 2006.
- Levi Patmon (Sr.) Started in 53 games last season, legging out seven doubles and driving out two home runs. Boasted a fielding percentage of .981.
- Steven Turner (Sr.) The fastest player on the team. Stole 13 bases last season while hitting .304. In 40 starts, Turner hit four home runs and led the team in triples with three.
