The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
2009 Preview: UAB In The Field
2/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 14, 2009
With the college baseball season less than one week away, uabsports.com offers a three-day look at the 2009 Blazer baseball team. This is the second in the installment of previews and focuses on the UAB defense. Friday's preview examined the UAB hitters. Be sure to visit uabsports.com Sunday for a look at UAB on the mound.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Not only did the 2008 UAB baseball team rank second in Conference USA in team batting, but it also finished second in the league in team fielding. With a .970 fielding percentage, the Blazers did not allow their opponents many extra chances.
The 2009 team returns six regular position starters and will look to build on its strength in the field.
Good teams are usually strong up the middle, and it's no accident that UAB has assembled its defense with that in mind. The Blazers return their top two catchers, their starting middle infield and their starting center fielder from a season ago.
"Hopefully we will be very good defensively again," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "Last year, we made defense our very No. 1 focus, from putting a tremendous emphasis on pre-game throwing to really competing defensively in all of our drills.
"There's no question our players would tell you that was a focal point for our team. We felt really good about the jump we made, and I'm anticipating that will continue."
In the middle of the infield, UAB returns a pair of starters in Jonathan Merritt at shortstop and Nick Crawford at second base.
Merritt is a two-year starter for UAB who made a major jump defensively last season, improving from 20 errors in 2007 to only 11 in 2008. He teams with another strong defensive player in Crawford, who fielded .985 as a freshman last season and posted 34 consecutive games without an error at one point.
Further up the middle, in center field, UAB has two strong options. The Blazers return Cody McMurry, who started 57 games last season, and they now also have Jamal Austin, a freshman outfielder with tremendous speed who is capable of covering a lot of ground.
UAB also returns accomplished defensive outfielders in Brint Hardy and Austin Taylor. Hardy is a career .980 fielder, and Taylor saw limited action in the field last season while serving mainly as the team's designated hitter.
Bradley Hicks and Danny Volk will also compete for playing time in the Blazer outfield.
Behind the plate, Allen Aubin returns for his senior season after starting 46 games as the UAB catcher in 2008. Aubin provided a strong defensive presence as he posted a .982 fielding percentage and picked off three runners. He also brings a vast amount of experience, having started 122 career games either behind the plate or on the infield.
Aubin and Digger Towe will share the primary catching responsibilities. Towe was expected to see significant playing time in 2008 but had his season cut short by injury. He received a medical redshirt after playing in just 11 games.
Behind Aubin and Towe, Kevin Cope and Andrew Manning will provide two more options at catcher.
"Allen is back, and he was our everyday catcher last year," Shoop said. "Digger is also back, healthy and in the mix. He has a tremendous work ethic and a tremendous mentality. You really want to split that position to keep guys fresh through a long season. Kevin and Andrew also give us very adequate depth at that position."
To round out the infield, senior Luke Stewart makes the move from third base to first base to replace Ryan Keedy, and Manning is penciled in as his replacement at the hot corner.
UAB also returns senior Ben Drust, who saw action in nine games last year on the Blazer infield, and first baseman Devin Hamilton, who sat out the 2008 season as a redshirt.
The Blazers also welcome a pair of freshmen infielders in Keith DePew and Trey Early.
