The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Q&A With UAB Hitting Coach Perry Roth
2/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 20, 2008
For the past couple weeks, UABsports.com has been previewing the 2008 UAB baseball team. Opening day is this Friday when the Blazers host the Ball State Cardinals at 3:00 p.m. at Young Memorial Field. On Tuesday, we sat down with UAB pitching coach Doug Kovash and took a closer look at the Blazer pitchers. Today, we conclude our series of previews as we sit down with UAB hitting coach Perry Roth to discuss the Blazer offense.
UABsports.com: How do you cope with losing the seniors from last year?
Perry Roth: It always hurts when you lose production out of your lineup, but you hope that the guys who you recruited can come in and contribute and then you also hope that your returners have improved from last year. Anytime you lose guys like (J.R.) Bond, (Danny) Sawyer, (Ryne) Lovdahl and (Levi) Patmon, you just have to find players to take over the production and the leadership they provided and generally guys will do that and step up. The job that J.R., Levi, Danny and Lovdahl did for us last year was outstanding and we're thankful to them for their leadership and work.
UABsports: Are the new guys ready to step in and take on productive roles from the beginning?
PR: We hope so. We're excited about our new guys and we're really excited about our returners, because almost to a man, we have seen improvement from last year to this year. We think that we'll have a good offensive club. We'll have balance, we'll have guys that can drive the ball and we'll have some speed.
UABsports: What has been your point of emphasis in working with the hitters throughout camp?
PR: Really, we haven't done anything different than we have in the past. We try to have a balanced offensive approach and an aggressive offensive approach. It's more than just hitting with our offensive system, we want guys that put pressure on the defense with their bunt game, we want really good base runners and we think that if you can not only hit, but bunt and run well then you're putting pressure on the defense. We think that you recruit good players and give them a system to work in and then you practice and drill and then when it comes to the game, you let your horses run and give the kids the chance to go out and play and shine. We're excited about our offensive team.
UABsports: Phil Bell is a returnee that had a great year last year, he really fits the system well does he not?
PR: Phil's a big key to our offense because number one he's one of the best hitters on our team, he can flat out hit. He's a big key for our team from that standpoint, but he's a baseball player to. He's a really good defender, he runs well and can really bunt, so having him healthy is really important to our team, but he does try to do what we ask in terms of the system offensively and he's very much a good player in our system. You look at another guy like Ryan Keedy, who's not the player Phil is in terms of not being a plus runner, but he can flat out hit, he's one of the best hitters in all of Conference USA. He has an opportunity to carry a team and he does the same things Phil does in terms of buying into the system. We really look for a big year out of him, he's really become a mature player with leadership qualities.
UABsports: Could Ryan Keedy be the most underrated hitter in all of Conference USA?
PR: I think absolutely. He had a year last year when he had a very high on-base percentage and generally when you look at good hitters, their walk-to-strikeout ratio is one-to-one and I think that if I'm correct he walked more than he struck out last year. That shows great discipline at the plate and shows great ability to foul off close pitches. I think that really makes a good hitter. I think this year, he's going to drive the ball a lot more."
UABsports: Now you also work with the catchers. Who do you turn to for the task of replacing Danny Sawyer?
PR: It is a loss losing Danny because of the number of games he played back their and his improvement from his junior to his senior year. What a credit to him and his confidence, not being shaken after a rough junior year and then coming back to be first-team All-Conference USA last year. We brought in a junior college kid, Digger Towe, and he ended up having surgery so we still don't know what will happen with him but he is an explosive left-handed hitter and he can really catch and throw and receive very well. If he gets back to being healthy pretty quickly then I don't think there is a lot of drop off there in terms of receiving and throwing ability. He actually probably has more power than Danny did. But right now I think it's between three guys in Allen Aubin, Brint Hardy and Andrew Manning. They are all unique and different. Allen was with us at Birmingham-Southern and is now in his third year with us. He was a catcher out of high school but this will be the first year that he will have caught for us because we've moved him around the infield the past two seasons.
