The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Baseball Opens Road Stretch This Weekend At Tulane
4/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 28, 2011
Game Notes 
| Friday Gametracker | Watch Live
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team begins a seven-game road swing this weekend with a Conference USA series against Tulane in New Orleans, La.
The action gets underway Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT at Tulane's Turchin Stadium. The Blazers (24-17, 8-7 C-USA) currently sit in a tie for fifth place in the C-USA race but just one game out of second in the loss column, while Tulane (24-17, 4-8 C-USA) comes into the series in eighth place.
This Weekend's Schedule
Game 1 -- Friday (6:30 p.m. CT)
Pitching Probables: RHP Ryan Woolley (UAB) vs. RHP Conrad Flynn (TU)
Game 2 -- Saturday (2:00 p.m. CT)
Pitching Probables: TBA (UAB) vs. RHP Drew Zizinia (TU)
Game 3 -- Sunday (1:00 p.m. CT)
Pitching Probables: TBA (UAB) vs. RHP Alex Byo (TU)
Live Coverage
Fans can follow the action this weekend through Gametracker live stats (free) at uabsports.com and All-Access streaming video (premium) through tulanegreenwave.com.
About UAB
UAB enters the weekend with wins in four of its past five games, including three straight victories over top 25 teams. After sweeping a doubleheader last Saturday from Rice to claim their fourth C-USA series win in five tries, the Blazers defeated Troy on Tuesday in midweek action.
John Frost drove in the game-winning run against the Trojans to raise his team-leading RBI total to 32. Patrick Palmeiro is close behind with 28 RBI and paces the Blazers with five home runs and 14 doubles. Jamal Austin has been UAB's top hitter all season and comes into the Tulane series fifth in C-USA with a .362 batting average and second with 19 steals.
The Blazers are continuing to have one of their best seasons ever on the mound with a 3.54 team ERA. UAB will send right-hander Ryan Woolley (6-3, 2.54 ERA) to the mound in Friday's series opener. Woolley leads the league with 74.1 innings pitched and also ranks in the top five in wins, ERA and strikeouts (59).
Scouting Tulane
Tulane was out of conference last weekend, dropping two of three games to Utah in New Orleans. The Green Wave picked up a 9-1 win Wednesday over Jackson State. In their most recent C-USA action, Tulane lost two of three at Rice two weekends ago.
Jeremy Schaffer leads Tulane's offensive attack with a .369 batting average, 19 doubles, five home runs and 30 RBI. Nick Boullosa is hitting .271 for the Green Wave and has been the team's most active player on the basepaths with 14 steals in 19 attempts. Tulane is hitting .260 as a team.
Tulane will send three right-handers to the mound, staring Friday with Conrad Flynn (2-5, 3.84 ERA). Drew Zizinia (1-1, 4.40 ERA) is slated to start Saturday's game, followed by Alex Byo (1-1, 1.78 ERA) on Sunday. As a pitching staff, the Green Wave owns a team ERA of 4.21.
The Last Time Out
John Frost's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth lifted UAB to its second straight walk-off win Tuesday with a 4-3 victory over No. 22 Troy. The Blazers trailed almost the entire way, but Andrew Manning's two-run homer in the eighth tied the game at 3-3 and set the stage for UAB to win it in the ninth. Mark McKinley earned the win with 3.1 innings of scoreless relief as he allowed just one hit.
All-Time Versus Tulane
UAB trails 36-13 in the all-time series with Tulane, dating back to the first year of C-USA baseball in 1996, but the Blazers are 6-7 against the Green Wave since coach Brian Shoop's first season in 2007. UAB won two of three games in the series last year in Birmingham and lost two of three in 2009 in the most recent series between the teams at Turchin Stadium. The Blazers are 3-18 all-time at Tulane, but all three wins have come in the past six meetings.
