The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Baseball Travels to Play No. 16 Alabama on Wednesday
2/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 27, 2007
Game Notes
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team will look to end its three-game losing streak when it travels to take on Alabama on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Crimson Tide is ranked 16th in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll, marking the fourth-straight game that the Blazers will be playing against a ranked opponent, having just finished a three-game series at No. 14 Arizona State.
UAB travels to Tuscaloosa looking to get back on track as the Blazers were swept by the 14th-ranked Sun Devils last weekend after the team had handled Alabama A&M last Wednesday, 15-2.
The Blazers are 2-5 on the season, while Alabama is 8-2 after winning its last two games against Villanova this past weekend.
Wednesday's contest will be the fourth-straight meeting between the two teams in which Alabama has come in ranked in the top 25. The last two games at Sewell-Thomas Stadium have both been one-run decisions with the Crimson Tide winning both. The last time UAB beat Alabama was in 2005 when the Blazers pulled away for a 7-1 victory at Young Memorial Field.
Junior right-hander Brandon Wallace is expected to start on the mound for UAB. The outing will be the third start of the season for Wallace who holds an ERA of 2.53, having given up just three earned runs in 10.1 innings of work.
Alabama is expected to start Bernard Robert for the first time this season. Robert has appeared in one game in 2007 in which he threw 4.0 innings and allowed two earned runs while striking out five batters.
The Blazers are led by junior first baseman Ryan Keedy who is hitting .462 for the year with two RBI, while senior third baseman Ryne Lovdahl is batting .391 with one RBI and a team-best eight runs scored.
Alabama is led by Kent Matthes and Emeel Salem. Matthes is hitting .425 with four home runs and 17 RBI, while Salem is batting .395 with eight RBI and eight stolen bases.
The game can be heard on WACT 1420-AM in Tuscaloosa as well as online at www.RollTide.com. Tickets for the `Business Person Special' game are $1.
