The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Host East Carolina For Conference USA Baseball Weekend
3/31/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 31, 2011
Game Notes 
| Friday Gametracker | Watch Live
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team welcomes East Carolina to Young Memorial Field this weekend for a three-game Conference USA series.
The Blazers (14-10, 2-1 C-USA) and Pirates (19-5, 2-1 C-USA) are coming off series victories last weekend to open conference play, and both also posted midweek wins.
This Weekend's Schedule
Game 1 -- Friday (6:30 p.m. CT)
Pitching Probables: RHP Dillon Napoleon (UAB) vs. RHP Seth Maness (ECU)
Game 2 - Saturday (2:00 p.m. CT)
Pitching Probables: RHP Ryan Woolley (UAB) vs. RHP Mike Wright (ECU)
Game 3 - Sunday (1:00 p.m. CT)
Pitching Probables: RHP Michael Busby (UAB) vs. TBA (ECU)
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 won two out of three games on the road at Marshall last weekend to open conference play and then posted a 5-1 win over No. 21 Alabama at Regions Park on Tuesday.
Patrick Palmeiro homered and drove in a pair of runs against Alabama to raise his team-leading RBI total to 17. He also tops the Blazers with 11 extra-base hits. Three UAB players enter the weekend hitting .300 or better -- Jamal Austin (.378), Ivan De Jesus (.327) and Ryan Ussery (.300). As a team, the Blazers are hitting .262 for the year.
Pitching has been the key for UAB, which enters the weekend with a 3.06 team ERA and holding opponents to just a .233 batting average. The Blazers will utilize the same starting rotation as last weekend -- Dillon Napoleon (3-1, 2.31 ERA) on Friday, Ryan Woolley (3-3, 2.70 ERA) on Saturday and Michael Busby (0-1, 4.50 ERA) on Sunday.
UAB coach Brian Shoop is now in his fifth year with the Blazers. He owns a record of 124-128 at the school and a career record of 816-435-1 in 22 total years as a head coach.
Scouting East Carolina
East Carolina has won eight of its previous nine games and 13 of its past 15. The Pirates opened league play by taking two out of three games from Memphis last weekend and then earned a 20-5 win Tuesday over UNC Wilmington.
ECU is hitting .289 as a team, led by three players at .340 or better -- Jack Reinheimer (.343), Corey Thompson (.341) and Ben Fultz (.340). Zach Wright's seven home runs rank second in the conference, and his 19 RBI top the team. Trent Whitehead's 10 doubles are the fourth-most in the league.
On the mound, East Carolina's team ERA of 1.81 leads all other conference teams by nearly a full run. The Pirates are slated to start Seth Maness (4-1, 1.99 ERA) in Friday's series opener, followed by Mike Wright (4-0, 2.06 ERA) on Saturday. ECU's Sunday starter has not yet been determined.
East Carolina is coached by Billy Godwin, who owns a career record of 474-207 in his 12th year as a head coach and a mark of 212-122 in his sixth season with the Pirates.
All-Time Versus East Carolina
UAB trails 21-3 in the all-time series with East Carolina, dating back to 2002. The Blazers are 2-10 against the Pirates in Birmingham. Both of those wins came in 2007 when UAB posted a series victory over East Carolina to close the regular season. East Carolina has won the past 10 meetings.
Last year, ECU swept a three-game series from the Blazers in Greenville, N.C. The Pirates posted 6-3 and 12-7 victories in the first two games and then outlasted the Blazers for a 6-5, 12-inning victory in the series finale.
The Last Time Out
Patrick Palmeiro homered and drove in two runs Tuesday night for UAB, which scored four times in the seventh inning on the way to a 5-1 victory over No. 21 Alabama at Regions Park.
David Hayes tossed 6.1 innings, allowing just one run, and Mark McKinley threw the final 2.2 scoreless innings to earn the win. Palmeiro's homer in the seventh put UAB on top 2-1, and the Blazers added three more runs on RBI singles from Harry Clark and Ryan Ussery along with a run-scoring groundout from Jamal Austin.
