The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Baseball Season Wrap-Up
5/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 29, 2009
2009 Final Stats | Stats in PDF Form 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team improved its win total in 2009 for the third consecutive season under head coach Brian Shoop.
The Blazers (31-26) reached the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2005 and closed the regular season in dramatic fashion by winning two out of three games at home from Rice, which entered the series leading Conference USA and ranked fourth in the country.
With an 11-12 league record, UAB finished in sixth place in Conference USA, but the Blazers were only a game and a half out of third place. The team won its opening game at the league tournament for the second straight year and placed four players on all-conference teams.
Here is a look back at the Blazers' 2009 season:
TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Finished with 31 wins, marking the program's most wins since 2005 and just the third 30-win season since 1997.
• Closed the regular season by winning two out of three games against then-No. 4 Rice, the highest-ranked opponent the program has ever defeated in a game or a series.
• Won four of its final six Conference USA series.
• Set a school record with 461 runs scored, topping the previous mark of 459 (1998).
• Set another school record with 129 doubles, besting the previous mark of 127 (2004).
• Also cracked the top 10 in the school's single-season team record book for RBI (406, 2nd), stolen bases (114, 2nd), walks (284, 3rd), home runs (58, 6th), hits (605, 9th) and batting average (.305, 10th).
• The Blazer pitching staff struck out 395 batters, the third-highest team total in school history.
• Academically, 30 of UAB's 35 players earned a GPA of at least 3.0 in one semester with 16 reaching the 3.0 mark in both semesters. Seven players managed a 4.0 GPA in at least one semester with two players -- James Oliver and Keith DePew -- posting perfect marks in both terms.
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
(STARTING POSITION PLAYERS)
Allen Aubin (Sr., C)
• Started 38 games between catcher, first base and designated hitter to reach 110 starts for his three-year UAB career.
• Finished the year with 11 doubles and 18 RBI.
Jamal Austin (Fr., OF)
• Conference USA All-Freshman Team
• Posted the team's second-best batting average in conference play at .337.
• Tied for second on the team with 20 stolen bases.
Nick Crawford (So., 2B)
• Conference USA All-Academic Team
• Ranked second in Conference USA with 12 sacrifice bunts.
• Posted a .989 fielding percentage with just three errors all season at his second base position.
Brint Hardy (Sr., OF)
• All-Conference USA First Team
• Led the nation in steals through the regular season with 46.
• His 46 steals rank second in UAB single-season history, and his 88 career steals rank second in the Blazers' all-time record book.
• His 65 runs scored rank third in UAB single-season annals.
• Finished his career ranked sixth all-time at UAB with nine career triples.
Andrew Manning (So., 3B)
• Led UAB in conference play with a .365 batting average, a .676 slugging percentage and a .515 on-base percentage in 23 league games.
• Ranked in the top 10 in Conference USA for each of those categories in league games only.
• Finished third on the team with 10 home runs.
Cody McMurry (Sr., OF)
• All-Conference USA Second Team
• Finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 in Conference USA in nine offensive categories.
• His 50 walks are the fifth-most in a season at UAB, while his 18 doubles rank seventh and his 58 runs scored rank 10th on the school's single-season chart.
• His 34 career doubles rank 10th on the school's all-time list.
Jonathan Merritt (Jr., SS)
• ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District IV Second Team
• Tied for second on the team with 20 stolen bases.
• His 18 doubles rank seventh on the UAB single-season list.
• Moved into the top 10 in the UAB career record book for runs scored (147, 5th), doubles (39, 5th), stolen bases (48, 6th) and hits (206, 7th).
Luke Stewart (Jr., 1B)
• Conference USA Hitter of the Week (March 30)
• His 15 home runs led UAB and ranked fourth in Conference USA through the regular season.
• Walked 51 times to lead UAB and rank fourth in the school's single-season record book.
Austin Taylor (Sr., OF/DH)
• Tallied nine doubles and four home runs to go along with 20 RBI for the season.
• Made 23 starts as the team's designated hitter and 14 in left field.
Digger Towe (Jr., C/DH)
• All-Conference USA Second Team
• Two-time Conference USA Hitter of the Week (March 16 & May 17)
• NCBWA Pro-Line Athletic National Hitter of the Week (March 17)
• Finished as the team leader in batting average (.353) and RBI (61).
• His 61 RBI rank 10th on the UAB single-season list.
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
(PITCHERS WITH AT LEAST 15 APPEARANCES)
Shay Crawford (So., LHP)
• Moved into ninth place all-time at UAB with 32 career starts on the mound.
• Posted the team's highest single-game strikeout total in 2009 with 10 against Savannah State on March 27.
• Led the pitching staff with 71 strikeouts on the season.
Tristan Farrell (Jr., RHP)
• Led the UAB staff with 23 appearances out of the bullpen.
Nick Graffeo (Jr., RHP)
• Led UAB and ranked seventh in Conference USA with six saves.
Blake Huddleston (So., RHP)
• Posted UAB's best record on the mound at 5-0.
• Ranked second in Conference USA with a 1.93 ERA in league games only.
Mark McKinley (Jr., RHP)
• Held opponents to a .237 batting average.
• Struck out 23 batters in just 19.2 innings over 17 appearances.
Colin McMurry (Fr., LHP)
• Made 16 appearances, including four starts, as a true freshman.
• Compiled a winning record on the mound at 3-2.
James Oliver (Sr., RHP)
• Conference USA All-Academic Team
• One of 30 initial nationwide candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Beau Pender (Jr., RHP)
• Completed his first season as a member of the Blazers' weekend rotation.
• Finished third on the team with 60 strikeouts in 61.1 innings.
Kyle Roberson (Sr., RHP)
• Conference USA Pitcher of the Week (April 20)
• Carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning April 18 at Southern Miss.
• Led UAB with six wins on the season.
• Finished his career sixth all-time at UAB with 160 career strikeouts and 35 career starts on the mound.
