The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Host UCF In Weekend Conference USA Series
4/24/2009 12:00:00β―AM | Baseball
April 24, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team will look to continue its recent success in Conference USA games this weekend when UCF visits Young Memorial Field for a three-game series.
Friday's series opener is scheduled for a 7 p.m. (CT) first pitch, while the weekend's second game is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's series finale will get underway at Noon.
The Saturday and Sunday games will air live in Birmingham on WSPZ-AM 690. Gametracker live stats will be available for each game at www.uabsports.com, with live streaming video also available through the website's All-Access package.
UAB settles in for the first of two consecutive home conference series after winning two out of three league games on the road in each of the past two weekends. Last weekend, the Blazers dropped the series opener at Southern Miss but rebounded to sweep a Saturday doubleheader to win the series.
This weekend, UAB will look to win three consecutive series for the first time since the end of the 2007 season. The Blazers enter the weekend at 23-18 overall and tied with Tulane for fifth place in the conference standings at 5-7. UCF is 13-25 overall and 3-9 in league play.
The Knights are coming off a big comeback Tuesday in a midweek game against Stetson. Trailing 10-0 through three and a half innings, UCF came from behind for a 13-12 win. It was the only game in the past eight days for the Knights, who did not play last weekend in their off weekend from conference play.
UCF will send right-hander Caleb Graham (1-2, 7.78 ERA) to the mound in Friday's series opener against Beau Pender (3-3, 4.40 ERA), the UAB right-hander who will be making his third consecutive Friday start.
The Blazers will follow the same rotation they have used in each of the past two weekends with left-hander Shay Crawford (4-2, 5.51 ERA) throwing on Saturday followed by right-hander Kyle Roberson (6-3, 4.94 ERA) on Sunday. Roberson is coming off Conference USA Pitcher of the Week honors after carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning last Saturday at Southern Miss to help the Blazers secure a doubleheader sweep.
UCF's starting pitchers for the Saturday and Sunday games have not yet been determined.
Offensively, UAB's Brint Hardy continues to lead the nation in steals after swiping another bag Wednesday against Troy to raise his season total to 36. The Blazers split a home-and-home midweek series with the Trojans, falling 11-3 in Troy on Tuesday and bouncing back for a 15-8 win in Birmingham on Wednesday.
Friday's meeting between UAB and UCF will be just the 10th all-time between the programs. The teams met for the first time in 2006 when UCF joined Conference USA. The Blazers won five of the first six meetings in the series, but UCF took two out of three games to win the series last season in Orlando.
