The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB To Begin League Play This Weekend Versus Marshall
3/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 24, 2011
Game Notes 
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team opens Conference USA play this weekend with a trip to Charleston, W. Va., for three games against Marshall.
The Thundering Herd plays its home conference games at Appalachian Power Park, home of the minor-league West Virginia Power, in Charleston. The teams open their series Friday night, and game time has been moved up one hour to 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT).
This Weekend's Schedule
Game 1 -- Friday (6:00 p.m. ET)
Pitching Probables: RHP Dillon Napoleon (UAB) vs. RHP Shane Farrell (MU)
Game 2 - Saturday (7:00 p.m. ET)
Pitching Probables: RHP Ryan Woolley (UAB) vs. LHP Mike Mason (MU)
Game 3 - Sunday (1:00 p.m. ET)
Pitching Probables: Michael Busby (UAB) vs. RHP Arik Sikula (MU)
Live Coverage
Fans can follow this weekend's action through Gametracker live stats (free) at uabsports.com and All-Access streaming video (premium) at herdzone.com.
About UAB
After sweeping three games from UT Martin at home last weekend, UAB (11-9) dropped a 6-3 midweek decision Tuesday on the road at Alabama.
Ivan De Jesus has started only eight games since returning from injury but owns the best batting average (.469) and on-base percentage (.564) for UAB. Jamal Austin checks in a .383 and Nick Crawford at .333 for the Blazers, which own a team batting average of .273. Patrick Palmeiro has driven in 14 runs to lead the team, while John Frost has posted eight RBI in the past six games and now ranks second on the squad with 13 RBI for the season.
Dillon Napoleon (2-1, 2.10 ERA) will take the mound for the Blazers on Friday, followed by Ryan Woolley (3-2, 2.83 ERA) on Saturday and Michael Busby (0-1, 6.30 ERA) on Sunday. The UAB pitching staff carries a 3.46 team ERA and is allowing opponents to hit just .243.
UAB coach Brian Shoop is now in his fifth year with the Blazers. He owns a record of 121-127 at the school and a career record of 813-434-1 in 22 total years as a head coach.
Scouting Marshall
Marshall (8-11) took two out of three games against St. Bonaventure last weekend in its most recent action. The Thundering Herd had its midweek game with Cleveland State cancelled because of weather on Tuesday.
Offensively, Marshall enters the weekend hitting .272 as a team. The Thundering Herd has had balance throughout its lineup with James Lavinskas hitting .310 to lead a group of five players hitting .299 or better. Six Herd players have driven in double-digit runs, led by Rhett Stafford with 16 RBI. Marshall ranks third in C-USA with 11 home runs, while UAB pitchers have still allowed just one homer this year.
Marshall is scheduled to send right-hander Shane Farrell (2-0, 3.29 ERA) to the mound in Friday's series opener, followed by left-hander Mike Mason (1-2, 4.78 ERA) on Saturday and righty Arik Sikula (1-3, 4.24 ERA) on Sunday. The Thundering Herd owns a team ERA of 4.65 on the season.
Marshall is coached by Jeff Waggoner, who owns a career record of 100-125-1 in five seasons with the Herd.
All-Time Versus Marshall
UAB and Marshall have played 19 times with every meeting coming since 2003. UAB owns a slim 10-9 edge in the all-time series. The teams started playing regularly in 2006 after the Thundering Herd joined Conference USA.
The road team has typically had the upper hand with UAB owning a 5-1 record against Marshall in Charleston and the Thundering Herd posting an 8-5 record against the Blazers in Birmingham. UAB swept a three-game series from Marshall on the road in 2007 and won two out of three in their next road trip in 2009.
Marshall took two of three from UAB last season in Birmingham. Marshall bookended the series with a 7-3 win in the opener and a 14-4 victory in the finale. The Blazers won the middle game by a score of 12-4.
UAB in Opening C-USA Series
UAB will be opening the Conference USA portion of its schedule this weekend. Of 15 previous conference-opening series since the formation of the league prior to the 1996 season, the Blazers have won eight (three sweeps) and lost seven (three sweeps). UAB's combined won-loss record in those 15 series is 23-22. UAB has opened league play on the road six times, winning three of those series and losing three, but the Blazers have opened the conference schedule at home in nine of the past 11 years. Last season, the Blazers took two of three from Southern Miss in Birmingham to start conference play.
The Last Time Out
Two-out scoring was the difference Tuesday night as the UAB baseball team dropped a 6-3 midweek contest at Alabama. The Crimson Tide scored five of their six runs with two outs, while the Blazers struggled to get key hits and stranded 11 runners on base.
Ivan De Jesus, John Frost and Harry Clark tallied two hits each for UAB. Frost drove in Crawford for the first two UAB runs, and Jamal Austin drew a bases-loaded hit by pitch to account for the third.
