The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Travels To Mississippi State For Season Opener Tuesday
2/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 22, 2010
UAB vs. MSU Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball program opens its 32nd season of play Tuesday with a trip to Starkville, Miss., to face Mississippi State at 4 p.m. CT at Dudy Noble Field.
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Brian Shoop, the Blazers are opening a season on the road for the first time since 2004, and fans can follow the action with free live stats and streaming video at mstateathletics.com, the official site of Mississippi State athletics.
UAB returns a veteran group of players in 2010, including preseason All-Conference USA selection Jonathan Merritt at shortstop. Merritt, a .317 hitter last year, is joined by returning starters at every infield position from a Blazer team that went 31-26 and set a school record for runs a season ago.
Catcher Digger Towe returns as UAB's leader in batting average (.353) and RBI (61) after a second-team all-conference season in 2009. First baseman Luke Stewart is back as the team's top power hitter after blasting 15 home runs last season. Second baseman Nick Crawford (.292, 15 SB) and third baseman Andrew Manning (.318, 10 HR, 44 RBI) round out the returning starters on the infield.
The Blazers will send junior Shay Crawford to the mound to start Tuesday's contest. The left-hander posted a 5-2 record with a 5.14 ERA last season. Mississippi State will counter with freshman left-hander Luke Bole, who will be making his first collegiate appearance.
Mississippi State (3-0) opened the season over the weekend with a three-game sweep of Rhode Island at home. After coming from behind with four runs over the final three innings for a 9-8 win in Friday's opener, Mississippi State posted a 9-0 shutout on Saturday and closed the series with a 12-6 win on Sunday.
Senior first baseman Connor Powers led Mississippi State with five hits, including two home runs, to go along with seven RBI in the series. Junior second baseman Nick Vickerson and junior outfielder Ryan Collins each drove in five runs over the three games. As a team, the Bulldogs hit .340 against Rhode Island, while Mississippi State pitching held the Rams to a .250 average and posted a 3.33 ERA for the series.
Mississippi State is coming off a 25-29 campaign in 2009 in coach John Cohen's first year with the program. Powers was the Bulldogs' top power hitter a year ago with 19 home runs and 63 RBI, while senior catcher Ryan Duffy is the team's top returner in terms of average after hitting .339 in 2009.
UAB and Mississippi State will be playing for the 41st time in series history with the Blazers trailing 31-9. The teams met twice in 2009 with Mississippi State winning 8-4 in Starkville and 10-0 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.
The Blazers have opened a season on the road only 10 times in program history, winning the past nine of those games. Overall, UAB owns a 24-7 record in season-opening contests.
