The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts Final Non-Conference Weekend Series Against UNC Asheville
3/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 22, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB Blazers continue their longest home stand of the season this weekend when the UNC Asheville Bulldogs come to Young Memorial Field for a three-game series. The series marks the first-ever meeting between the two clubs and will be the last non-conference weekend series for UAB this season. Action gets underway on Friday at 7 p.m. with game two slated for Saturday at 2 p.m. followed by the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Blazers are looking to sustain the momentum generated in their mid-week games this week as they are coming off a key win over Troy and a blowout victory over Alabama A&M on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The Blazers' win over Alabama A&M Wednesday night marks the fifth-highest run total by a UAB club all-time at 22.
UAB enters the weekend with a record of 11-11 and is expected to turn to sophomore right-hander Mitch Kloskowski to take the hill on Friday. Kloskowski comes in with a record of 3-1 and an ERA of 2.08, while leading the team in strikeouts (16) and innings pitched (30.1). Opponents are hitting just .179 against Kloskowski.
Kloskowski is expected to matchup with right-hander Alan DeRatt who is 1-2 with a 6.05 ERA.
On Saturday, freshman southpaw Shay Crawford will start on the mound for UAB, while right-hander Andrew Alexander is projected to get the nod for UNC Asheville.
The Blazers are looking to win their third-straight home series and will look to senior Ryne Lovdahl and his Conference USA leading batting average of .413 to help make that happen. Lovdahl leads the club in RBI with 21 and also tops the team with his three home runs.
Senior outfielder J.R. Bond has also been locked in at the plate, hitting .390 with 21 RBI and seven doubles, while junior outfielder Phil Bell is batting .345 with 10 RBI and junior first baseman Ryan Keedy is hitting .353 with 11 RBI to aid the Blazers' offensive output.
UNC Asheville, a 2006 NCAA Tournament team, comes in with a record of 6-17 having played a very formidable schedule. The Bulldogs began the season playing No. 10 Florida State and then played No. 28 Tulane. In the team's last game, No. 2 South Carolina was the beneficiary of a 9-2 decision.
The Bulldogs are led this season by David Williams and his .323 batting average, while driving in 12 runs. Rob Vernon has also been dominant, hitting .316 and leading the club in home runs (3) and RBI (19).
Fans can follow each game live on GameTracker through UABsports.com and can watch each game through the web site's All-Access section.
