The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers, Knights Start Three-Game Series Friday
4/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 5, 2012
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB baseball team looks to follow up on its come-from-behind victory on Tuesday vs. Troy by making its second-straight road trip in league play. This time, the Blazers head to Orlando, Fla., to take on the No. 14 UCF Knights at Jay Berman Field for a three-game set.
UAB (18-12, 2-4 C-USA) | No. 14 UCF (24-6, 5-1 C-USA)
Game Times & Probable Starters
Location: Orland, Fla. (Jay Bergman Field)
Audio/Video/Live Chat: UABsports.com
Game 1: Fri., 6:30 p.m. ET
UAB: RHP Dillon Napoleon (3-1, 3.40 ERA)
UCF: LHP Brian Adkins (2-0, 4.61 ERA)
Game 2: Sat., 4 p.m. ET
UAB: RHP Ben Bullard (2-3, 2.47 ERA)
UCF: LHP Chris Matulis (4-0, 2.10 ERA)
Game 3: Sun., 11 a.m. ET
UAB: RHP Michael Busby (2-1, 2.08 ERA)
UCF: RHP Ray Hanson (2-1, 1.67 ERA)
All-Time Series: UCF leads, 10-9
First Meeting: April 21, 2006 - UCF 9, UAB 0
2011 Matchup Rewind
The Blazers struggled against UCF in 2011, falling in all three meetings during the regular season and then again the C-USA Tournament in Pearl, Miss. Under head coach Brian Shoop, UAB is 7-8 against UCF.
Troy Trumped Tuesday
UAB trailed 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth, but scored three times capped off by a Todd Wilkinson suicide squeeze to earn the 4-3 come-from-behind victory.
Scouting UAB
The Green and Gold will look for different results vs. UCF than the squad's three-game series on the road at No. 30 East Carolina last weekend. The trip to Greenville, N.C., was not a memorable one as UAB dropped all three games, including the finale in 13 innings.
>Pitching has been a strong point for the Blazers for most of the season, as the team sports a team ERA of 3.58. In 274.1 innings, UAB has totaled 206 strikeouts and only 79 walks. Opponents are hitting .249 against the Blazer staff.
>The starting rotation features three right-handers for the Blazers in Dillon Napoleon, Ben Bullard and Michael Busby. The trio has shown great control, combining to walk just 24 batters in 131.1 innings. The three-headed monster has also struck out 99 batters and each starter is holding opponents to a .255 batting average or lower.
>The Blazer bats are hitting at a .266 clip for the season and sporting an on-base percentage of .346. The offense has scored 141 runs (4.7/game) off 277 hits (9.2/game).
>As a team, UAB has stolen 26 bases and has only been caught seven times.
>UAB has 54 extra-base hits - 39 doubles, nine triples and six homers for the season.
Scouting UCF
The Knights enter with one of the most potent lineups in C-USA accompanied by a strong pitching staff to lead the league with a 5-1 conference record.
>UCF has showcased the ability to hit for power, launching 21 homers as a team led by D.J. Hicks league leading eight round trippers. Along with the power, the Knights have showed great patience, walking the exact same number of times as strikeouts (156).
>To go along with his eight homers, Hicks has five doubles and tops the nation with 43 RBI. Hicks is also hitting for a .352 batting average and slugging .629.
>The Knights feature five regulars that are hitting .316 or better, as Hicks is joined by Alex Friedrich (.351), Chris Taladay (.339), Travis Shreve (.322) and Darnell Sweeney (.316).
>At the top of the UCF lineup has been Ronnie Richardson, who is reaching base at a .461 clip, with 12 stolen bases. Richardson has also walked 22 times and been hit by a pitch on 16 occasions.
>On the mound, UCF has a team ERA of 2.90 with 257 strikeouts in 270 innings.
>Closer Joe Rogers owns a 3-0 record with seven saves and an ERA of 0.83. He has 25 strikeouts in 21.2 innings.
