The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Baseball Season Gets Underway Friday At Young Memorial
2/19/2009 12:00:00β―AM | Baseball
Feb. 19, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The waiting is finally finished.
The UAB baseball team is set to open the 2009 season Friday with the first game of a three-game series against Big South opponent Radford. Friday's first pitch is slated for 3 p.m. CT at Young Memorial Field.
"Opening day is always exciting," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "It's exciting for the players, the families, the fans. We're happy to be a part of it, we're happy to play in front of a home crowd here on campus, and we're looking forward to playing a good Radford team."
UAB will send senior right-handed pitcher Kyle Roberson to the mound Friday to square off against Radford sophomore righty Shane Pysh. Roberson led UAB with a 4.64 ERA and tied for team-high honors with six wins in 2008, while Pysh will be making his first collegiate start after appearing in 21 games out of the bullpen as a freshman a season ago.
Offensively, the Blazers will look to continue a trend of improvement each season under Shoop, now in his third year with the program. Led by Preseason All-Conference USA selection Brint Hardy, UAB returns seven everyday starters from a 2008 lineup that ranked second in the league with a .311 batting average.
Radford will counter offensively with Big South Preseason Player of the Year Alex Gregory, a first baseman who has posted back-to-back seasons with a batting average better than .400. The Highlanders also feature Brooks Wallace Award candidate Reggie Keen in the outfield.
UAB and Radford have met just twice previously. The teams played a doubleheader in Birmingham on Feb. 23, 1990, with the Blazers earning a pair of victories, 1-0 and 11-1.
The Blazers have been successful in season openers, posting an all-time record of 22-8 in their first time out. UAB has won six openers in a row, including an 8-7 victory over Ball State in the first game last season. Friday's contest with Radford marks the first time since 2004 that UAB has not opened with a Mid-American Conference opponent after starting the 2005 and 2007 seasons with Central Michigan and the 2006 and 2008 campaigns with Ball State.
The second game of this weekend's series is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. CT and is slated to feature UAB sophomore left-hander Shay Crawford against Radford junior right-hander Aerik Taylor. Sunday's series finale, scheduled for 1 p.m. CT, has a projected match-up of Blazer senior righty James Oliver versus Highlander freshman lefty Paul DeVito.
All games of the series will be available on Gametracker through uabsports.com, while the Friday and Saturday games will also feature All-Access live video on the website.
