The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Baseball Set To Open 2015 Against Western Michigan
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
UAB (0-0, 0-0 C-USA) vs. Western Michigan (0-0, 0-0 MAC)
Details: Friday, Feb. 13 - Saturday, Feb. 14 • Regions Field • Birmingham, Ala.
Game Coverage: Twitter
Live Video: Game One • Game Two • Game Three
Live Stats: Game One • Game Two • Game Three
Game Notes: UAB
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB baseball team opens its 37th season as a program on Friday when the Blazers welcome Western Michigan to Regions Field for a three-game series. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. Friday and the two teams will close the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
"It's like every beginning of the year, nobody really knows what you've got because you've just been playing each other and sometimes you get fooled," head coach Brian Shoop said. "We'll begin to find out for sure what we have tomorrow when a very good Western Michigan team comes to town."
Live stats and live video will be available for all three games and information to access those can be found in the links above or at UABSports.com.
This weekend's games will mark the first meeting between the Broncos and Blazers. Western Michigan is coming off a 24-31 campaign in 2014, while the Blazers head into 2015 after winning 35 games, the third-most in UAB history. The Blazers also open their second season of play at Regions Field where they went 14-5 in 2014.
Experience Returns For The Blazers
Entering the 2015 campaign with little experience is no issue for the Blazers. Seven of the nine hitters from 2014 return, including two of the three starting pitchers in the weekend rotation. Griffin Gum, Mitch Williams, Chase Davis, Jeff Schalk, Adam Smith and Nathan Vincent were all big contributors to the starting lineup last season and all return in 2015 as expected starters in the field.
One of the nation's top pitching staff's from a year ago remains in a lot of ways in tact, although All-American Chase Mallard and relief pitcher Turner Lee both departed for professional baseball. Two of the three starters from 2014 -- Alex Luna and Johnny Lieske -- are back this season, as is redshirt junior RHP James Naile, who sat out last season due to injury. Naile was UAB's wins leader in 2013 with seven victories and looks to be a solid contributor to the 2015 rotation.
Scouting The Opponent
Western Michigan opens its 2015 slate with 18-straight games away from Kalamazoo. The Broncos competed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the third time in the last four years last season.
Heading into the 2015 campaign, WMU is projected to finish third in the MAC West Division standings by Collegiate Baseball, the highest preseason placing under fifth-year head coach Billy Gernon.
The Broncos finished 2014 with a 24-31 record and 11-16 mark in MAC play, which earned them the eighth seed in the tournament. They eliminated the previous year's tournament champion, Bowling Green, along with the 2014 regular season champion Ball State. It was the first time since 1998 WMU posted two wins in the tournament.
WMU is coming off a strong season for its pitching staff. The staff totaled a 3.89 ERA, the lowest since 1993. The Brown and Gold led the MAC with a .970 season fielding percentage, ranking second-best in program history. The Broncos return 16 upperclassmen, including RHP Chad Mayle, who was a Second Team All-MAC selection. WMU's OF Jared Kujawa, 2B Kurt Hoekstra and C Brett Sunde were picked as "Top Players to Watch" by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Weekend Promotions
Family Friday's: Fans can purchase a pack of four tickets (two adults, two children) for a low price of $14.
FREE Admission Saturday: Saturday's admission to games two and three of the series will be free.
For more information on the UAB baseball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Baseball). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official Twitter account of UAB Athletics (@UABAthletics).
