The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Primed For Home Series With Tulane
4/12/2012 12:00:00β―AM | Baseball
April 12, 2012
Watch Here | GameTracker | Live Chat | Game Notes 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB baseball team will host the Tulane Green Wave for a three-game Conference USA series, beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s game will start at 2 p.m., followed by the Sunday series finale at 1 p.m. All three games will be played at Young Memorial Field.
UAB 20-14, 3-6 C-USA | Tulane (23-10, 3-3 C-USA)
Series Information & Probable Starters
Location: Birmingham, Ala. (Young Memorial Field)
Radio: WJOX-AM 690 (Fri./Sun.) – David Crane (pxp)
All-Access/GameTracker/LiveChat: UABsports.com
Game1: Fri., 6:30 p.m. CT
UAB: RHP Dillon Napoleon (4-1, 3.66 ERA)
TLN: RHP Andrew Reeves (0-0, 3.65 ERA)
Game 2: Sat., 2 p.m. CT
UAB: RHP Ben Bullard (2-4, 2.87 ERA)
TLN: LHP David Napoli (5-1, 1.58 ERA)
Game 3: Sun., 1 p.m. CT
UAB: RHP Michael Busby (2-1, 3.07 ERA)
TLN: RHP Kyle McKenzie (2-1, 2.35 ERA)
All-Time Series: Tulane leads, 38-14
Last Meeting: UAB 7, Tulane 1 (5/1/11)
SCOUTING UAB
>The Blazers are coming off a 9-1 victory on Tuesday at Alabama to improve their overall record to 20-14 on the season.
>For the season, UAB is 13-3 at Young Memorial Field and plays 12 of its next 13 games in front of the home fans.
A Lineup Look
>UAB is hitting .274 as a team with 10 homers hit by nine different players. The only Blazer with multiple home runs is SS Todd Wilkinson who has gone deep in back to back games.
>UAB has scored 171 runs for the season and is crossing home on average just over five times per contest. The Blazers are also collecting 9.6 hits per game.
>OF Jeff Schalk leads the Green and Gold in batting average, hitting at a .330 clip. The freshman is swinging it even better in C-USA games to the tune of .371 in nine league contests.
>3B Patrick Palmeiro tops the Blazers and ranks third in C-USA in doubles (11) and has also knocked in a team-best 22 runs.
>In total, nine players have nine-or-more RBI for the season.
>On the base paths, UAB is 31-for-38 on stolen base attempts, led by Ivan De Jesus who is 7-for-9. A total of 15 different Blazers have stolen a base in 2012.
Pitching Pointers
>UAB owns a team ERA of 3.74 and has collected 227 strikeouts in 308.1 total innings.
>Friday night starter Dillon Napoleon leads the team in wins (4), while Saturday’s hurler Ben Bullard tops the Blazers in innings pitched (53.1) and strikeouts (53).
>As a staff, UAB has a better than 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio: 227 strikeouts, 91 walks.
>Ryan Nance has a team-best five saves and he along with Chase Mallard have appeared in 14 games each to top the staff.
SCOUTING TULANE
>Tulane is receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association poll and sits at 23-10 overall and an even 3-3 in league play.
>The Green Wave won a pair of midweek games against Nicholls State (5-2) and Alcorn State (14-1) before traveling to Birmingham to take on the Blazers.
>Tulane has won of the most lethal lineups in the conference, owning a C-USA best batting average of .314 and has seven regulars hitting .297 or better for the season and averaging nearly seven runs a game (6.7).
>Leading the offense has been outfielder Nick Schneeberger, who is hitting .390 with 10 doubles, three triples, four homers and 32 RBI. He has also stolen seven bases and scored 24 runs and his batting average ranks second in C-USA.
>The Green Wave has utilized the long ball, hitting 25 round trippers as a team, topped by catcher Jeremy Schaffer who has seven.
>Tulane has shown great patience at the plate, walking 172 times compared to just 164 strikeouts and owns a team on-base percentage of .420.
>The pitching staff has been equally as impressive, owning a team ERA of 3.25 and striking out 213 batters to 109 walks.
>Saturday starter David Napoli has been a standout on the mound, going 5-1 with a slim ERA of 1.58. In 51.1 total innings, Napoli has allowed only nine earned runs.
>Out of the bullpen, D.J. Ponder has collected a team-high five saves and is 1-0 with 0.72 ERA. In 13 total appearances spanning 25.0 innings, Ponder has allowed only two earned runs while striking out 23 and holding opponents to a .105 batting average.
