The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Baseball Inks Turner Lee
4/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 19, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB baseball team has announced that left-handed pitcher Turner Lee will be a Blazer for the 2012-13 academic year. Lee joins UAB from Alabama Southern C.C. and is a native of Tanner Williams, Ala.
“Turner is another match as a person and player for our program,” head coach Brian Shoop said. “He is a special young man from a special family. He is a bulldog, a fierce competitor on the mound. He is obviously left-handed and we wanted to add left-hand pitching to counter all of the left-hand hitters we face in our league.”
At Alabama Southern C.C., where current Blazer Tom Sawyer also attended, Lee posted a record of 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA in 2012. In nine total appearances, he worked 37.2 innings, giving up only 10 earned runs off 35 hits with 36 strikeouts and 16 walks.
During 2011, Lee missed half of the season recovering from an injury that took place during the previous year. The southpaw managed to make three starts and post a 2-0 record with one save for ASCC.
Prior to pitching at ASCC, Lee was enrolled at Troy University, where he unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of the 2010 campaign.
“Before his injury he was a projected weekend guy at Troy,” Shoop said. “We believe he is fully healthy and can play a big role on our staff as well. Turner is a physical athlete that should be able to endure the grind of a college baseball season.”
Before taking the mound at the collegiate level, Lee played at Mary G. Montgomery High School for Terry Dixon. During his senior year, the lefty posted a 7-1 record and 1.31 ERA en route to being named first team all-state, all-area and all-district. Lee led his team to the area championship and state semifinals along with being selected to pitch in the North and South All-Star game.
“Turner is also a mature young man who will help to offset the leadership we are losing off our pitching staff with Busby, Napoleon, Hayes and Nance all graduating,” Shoop said. “He will be a great addition to our program and our university.”
