The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Set To Host UT Martin In Weekend Baseball Series
3/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 17, 2011
Game Notes 
| Friday Gametracker | Watch Live
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team welcomes UT Martin to Young Memorial Field this weekend for its final series before the start of conference play.
The Blazers come into the weekend at 8-8 on the season, while UT Martin checks in at 4-12. The action gets underway Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT
This Weekend's Schedule
Game 1 -- Friday (6:30 p.m. CT)
Pitching Probables: RHP Ryan Woolley (UAB) vs. RHP Dan Tobik (UTM)
Game 2 - Saturday (2:00 p.m. CT)
Pitching Probables: RHP Dillon Napoleon (UAB) vs. RHP Danny Kelley (UTM)
Game 3 - Sunday (1:00 p.m. CT)
Pitching Probables: Michael Busby (UAB) vs. RHP Alex Boshers (UTM)
Live Coverage
Fans can follow this weekend's action through Gametracker live stats (free) and All-Access streaming video (premium) at uabsports.com.
About UAB
UAB (8-8) is looking to snap a five-game losing skid after dropping a pair of midweek games to Samford. The Blazers fell 5-4 to the Bulldogs on the road Tuesday and 9-2 at home Wednesday as they suffered their first home loss of the season.
Jamal Austin tops the Blazer regulars with a .422 batting average, while Nick Crawford has hit .400 over the past 10 games to raise his average to .351. Patrick Palmeiro is hitting .303 and leads the Blazers with eight extra-base hits and 14 RBI. Freshman Ivan De Jesus has returned from injury to start the past four games in the outfield and is hitting .471(8-for-17). For the season, UAB is hitting .275 as a team and out-scoring its opponents 77-68.
UAB will send Ryan Woolley (2-2, 3.12 ERA) to the mound in Friday's series opener, followed by Dillon Napoleon (2-1, 2.42 ERA) and Michael Busby (0-1, 9.00 ERA) in the final two games of the weekend. The Blazers own a team ERA of 3.63 with 108 strikeouts and 54 walks in 139 total innings.
UAB coach Brian Shoop is now in his fifth year with the Blazers. He owns a record of 118-126 (.484) at the school and a career record of 810-433-1 (.653) in 22 total years as a head coach.
Scouting UT Martin
UT Martin (4-12) fell twice in midweek action with an 11-5 loss at Memphis and a 5-3 defeat at Arkansas State. The Skyhawks dropped two out of three games last weekend to Purdue and enter this weekend's series with losses in six of their past seven contests.
Trey Karlen has been the biggest run producer for UT Martin with three home runs and 16 RBI. Three other Skyhawks -- Phil Sorensen, Cody Terry and Cory Stooksbury -- have driven in 10 runs each. Sorensen is hitting .378 with a .676 slugging percentage to lead the UT Martin regulars.
On the mound, the Skyhawks are slated to start Dan Tobik (0-3, 5.40 ERA) on Friday, Danny Kelley (0-2, 3.09 ERA) on Saturday and Alex Boshers (0-0, 5.94 ERA) on Sunday. UT Martin owns a team ERA of 5.01 and is allowing opponents to hit .300.
The Skyhawks are coached by Bubba Cates, who owns an overall record of 453-615-1 in 22 years as a head coach and a 197-454-1 mark in 14 seasons at UT Martin.
All-Time Versus UT Martin
UAB and UT Martin have met just four times with the Blazers winning all four contests. The teams last played in 2009 when UAB won both games of an early-season midweek series at Young Memorial Field by scores of 13-5 and 13-2 (March 10-11, 2009). The Blazers also took two games from UT Martin in 1995 in the first ever meetings between the teams.
The Last Time Out
The Blazers dropped both games of a midweek, home-and-home series with crosstown rival Samford. In Tuesday's game, Samford scored all five of its runs in the fifth inning on the way to a 5-4 win. John Frost homered and drove in three runs over the final four innings as UAB clawed back from a 5-1 deficit but came up one run short.
In Wednesday's loss, the Blazers drew 10 walks but managed just four hits as they left 15 runners on base and suffered their first home defeat with a 9-2 loss. Ivan De Jesus reached base in four of his five plate appearances with one hit and three walks and also scored a run for UAB.
UAB Schedule Updates
UAB has announced a makeup date for its halted baseball game with Mississippi State and has also added a midweek contest with Alabama State to its schedule.
The Blazers and Bulldogs will complete their game at Young Memorial Field on April 13 at 6 p.m. CT. UAB will have a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning at the resumption of the game, which was halted by rain in Birmingham on March 9.
UAB has also added an April 27 meeting with Alabama State to its schedule. The Blazers and Hornets will meet at Young Memorial Field at 6:30 p.m. CT. UAB had an opening after its March 5 game with Cleveland State was cancelled because of rain.
