The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Baseball Travels to Play SEC Foe Mississippi State on Tuesday
3/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 5, 2007
Game Notes
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team travels to Starkville, Miss. on Tuesday to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field at 4 p.m. for the only meeting between the two teams this season. The Blazers, 4-7, will be looking to end a nine-game losing streak against the Bulldogs that dates back to the 2001 season. Mississippi State enters Tuesday's game with a record of 6-1.
UAB hopes to build on its three-game series from this past weekend against Central Arkansas as the Blazers won two of the three games after back-to-back solid pitching performances by sophomore right-hander Mitch Kloskowski and freshman lefty Shay Crawford who each shut down the Bears to lead the Blazers to consecutive 8-0 victories.
On the year, UAB is led by junior first baseman Ryan Keedy who is hitting .367 with five RBI, while senior third baseman Ryne Lovdahl holds a .342 batting average with four doubles and three RBI.
The Blazers will look to some returning players to continue their success against Mississippi State. Junior outfielder Phil Bell is 4-for-9 (.444) in his two career games against the Bulldogs with four runs scored, two doubles and one RBI. Senior catcher Danny Sawyer has also enjoyed success against MSU, going 3-for-6 (.500) at the plate in two games played.
Junior right-hander Brandon Wallace is expected to start on the mound for the Blazers. Wallace has been effective this season, however is still in search of his first win. He holds a 5.65 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched.
UAB head coach Brian Shoop, who is just six wins away from his 700th career head coaching victory, will be returning to Starkville where he spent seven years as an assistant coach under current Bulldog head coach Ron Polk. Over a seven-year span (1983-89), Shoop helped the Bulldogs win three Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships and earn six NCAA regional appearances and a College World Series appearance in 1985. During his tenure in Starkville, Shoop coached Major League standouts Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Brantley and Bobby Thigpen.
Mississippi State is expected to start left-hander Tyler Whitney who is 1-0 on the year with a 1.80 ERA.
The Bulldogs are led by Edward Easley who is hitting .556 for the year with 11 RBI and two home runs. Brandon Turner has also been impressive, hitting 423 with 10 RBI.
