The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Ready For Tough Competition At Baylor
3/5/2009 12:00:00β―AM | Baseball
March 5, 2009
UAB Gameday Central | QTI Baylor Classic Central
WACO, Texas -- The UAB baseball team is on the road this weekend for three games against top notch competition at the QTI Baylor Classic.
The Blazers open the tournament Friday at 2 p.m. CT against UC Irvine. The team continues play Saturday with a 2 p.m. CT contest versus South Alabama and Sunday with a 3 p.m. CT first pitch against host Baylor.
UAB will be facing its first ranked opponents of the season in UC Irvine and Baylor. Both teams enter the weekend ranked in every major poll with the Anteaters reaching No. 5 and the Bears coming in at No. 6 in the latest Baseball America poll.
"Every year we take a big-time trip like this, and our kids really love it," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "What they find is that we absolutely can play with these teams. Winning and losing is a fine line, but it's good for us to play the best teams in the country, and it prepares us for our league."
UAB has won seven games against ranked teams in the previous two seasons under Shoop, who is now in his third year with the program. The last time the Blazers accomplished the feat was in the first round of last year's Conference USA tournament, when they defeated fifth-ranked Rice for the program's first win over a top five team.
As a program, UAB is familiar with South Alabama. Though they have not met since 2006, the in-state foes have played 83 times since UAB started playing baseball in 1979. South Alabama owns a 52-31 advantage in the all-time series.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Blazers will be meeting both UC Irvine and Baylor for the first time in program history.
"We feel like one of the reasons a young man would want to come to UAB is that he'd have an opportunity to play the highest level of schedule that's available," Shoop said. "It's exciting to be able to play these types of teams, and I think our kids will play really well."
ABOUT UAB
UAB enters the QTI Baylor Classic looking to snap a three-game losing skid. The Blazers started the sea¬son 3-1 before dropping a pair of games last weekend to Presbyterian and falling Tuesday to Jacksonville State, 7-6. UAB is now 3-4 on the season as the Blaz¬ers prepare for their first road weekend of the year.
Through seven games, Cody McMurry leads UAB in virtually every offensive category. The senior out¬fielder is batting .364, and seven of his eight hits have gone for extra bases for a slugging percentage of .773. McMurry also paces the Blazers with nine RBI and a .548 on-base percentage. Nick Crawford (.310) and Andrew Manning (.308) are also hitting above .300 for the Blazers. A big key to the UAB offense so far has been the stolen base. The Blazers have terrorized opponents with 24 steals already, led by Brint Hardy with eight.
In Friday's game, UAB will send right-hander Kyle Roberson to the mound against UC Irvine. Roberson is looking for his first win but has only allowed four earned runs in 10.2 innings while striking out a team-best 10 batters. Lefty Shay Crawford will take the ball in Saturday's contest against South Alabama. The sophomore is 1-1 in two starts with a 6.23 ERA. The UAB starter for Sunday's game versus Baylor has not yet been announced.
SCOUTING UC IRVINE
At 5-3, UC Irvine comes into the weekend ranked in every major poll with a highest ranking of No. 5 in the latest Baseball America poll. After winning two out of three games last weekend at the Houston College Classic, including victories over Houston and UCLA, the Anteaters dropped an 11-3 decision Tuesday in a midweek contest against Loyola Marymount.
Ryan Fisher leads UC Irvine with a .360 batting av¬erage and is one of five Anteater batters hitting bet¬ter than .300. Francis Larson has posted a team-high 10 RBI through eight games to go along with three doubles. As a team, UC Irvine is hitting at a .250 clip.
On the mound, the Anteaters own a team ERA of 5.48. They are scheduled to send Daniel Bibona to the mound in Friday's contest. The left-hander is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in two starts and has struck out 14 batters in 13.0 innings.
SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA
South Alabama won all three games it played last weekend at Stetson's Bright House Invitational. The Jaguars defeated Southern Illinois, Iowa and Stetson to improve their record to 5-4. They did not play a midweek game this week.
Clint Reynolds enters the weekend hitting .500 with a .792 slugging percentage to lead South Ala¬bama offensively. Ryan Bohanon is second on the team with a .389 batting average, followed by Bran¬don Brown at .333. Bohanon and Nathaniel Lami have each posted a team-high five RBI.
On the mound, the Jaguars are slated to start Brandon Sage in Saturday's game. The left-hander is 1-1, and only one of the five runs he has allowed in 13.1 innings has been earned.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
Baylor enters the weekend at 7-2 on the season after earning a 2-1 road win Wednesday at TCU. The Bears went 2-1 last weekend at the Houston College Classic, defeating Houston and UCLA and losing only to Rice, a top 10 team. Baylor is ranked in every major poll with a highest ranking of No. 6 in the most recent Baseball America poll.
Joe Hainsfurther leads the Bears offensively with a .519 batting average and eight RBI. Adam Hornung has matched Hainsfurther with eight RBI and also owns a .345 average. Dustin Dickerson is hitting .361 for the year, giving the Bears three players above the .300 mark entering the weekend.
Baylor has not yet announced a starting pitcher for Sunday's game. As a pitching staff, the Bears own a team ERA of 3.18 with 65 strikeouts through 82.0 total innings.
