The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Baseball Hosts No. 12 Rice In C-USA Showdown
4/9/2015 12:00:00β―AM | Baseball
UAB (19-12, 6-6 C-USA) vs. No. 12 Rice (22-13, 11-4 C-USA)
Details: Young Memorial Field · Birmingham, Ala.
Friday, April 10 -- 6:30 p.m. ·Saturday, April 11 -- 2 p.m. ·Sunday, April 12 -- 12:30
Game Coverage: Twitter
Live Stats: Game One · Game Two · Game Three
Live Video: Game One · Game Two · Game Three
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team returns home for its first Conference USA home series since mid-March, to host No. 12 Rice for a three-game set at Young Memorial Field Friday through Sunday.
The two teams square off in the opener Friday night at 6:30 p.m., with the middle game set for a 2 p.m. start Saturday. The series closes Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Young Memorial Field.
Live stats and live video will be available for all three games. Information to that can be accessed at UABSports.com or in the links above.
Leading Off
· UAB welcomes the No. 12 Rice Owls to town this weekend for a crucial three-game series at Young Memorial Field.
· Rice has more league wins than any team in the conference with one more weekend of play, and is currently third in the league standings, while UAB is tied for sixth.
· The Blazers are fresh off a Wednesday night, three and a half hour affair with Jacksonville State, where the Blazers took the first meeting between the two schools this season, 7-6.
· Three of the four C-USA series for UAB this season have been on the road, as four of the last five weekends overall for the Blazers have been spent away from home.
· UAB's pitching staff has permitted no more than three runs in 61 percent of its games this season (19-of-31), and allowed one run or less in 11 games.
· The Blazers have had 27 different lineup combinations through 31 games this season, as no less than four different players have drawn starts in each spot of the order.
· Head coach Brian Shoop is just two wins away from No. 250 at UAB, and three away from career win No. 950.
· Senior outfielder Chase Davis takes an 11-game hit streak into the weekend, while junior Adam Lau has reached safely in 14-straight entering the weekend set.
Series History
UAB and Rice have met 32 times entering this weekend's C-USA series in Birmingham, as the Owls have won six in a row in the series.
The Owls lead, 23-9, in a series that dates back to 2006. The Blazers' last win over Rice came on May 3, 2013, when UAB took one game of the three game set.
Scouting The Opponent
Rice was the favorite as the unanimous pick to win the 2015 league title, according to the C-USA head coaches in the preseason poll. The Owls also have the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year (John Clay Reeves) and C-USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year (Blake Fox).
The Owls enter the weekend coming off a 4-3 loss to the nation's No. 1 team, Texas A&M. Rice took 2-of-3 from league-leading Middle Tennessee in its series last weekend. The Owls have a .500 record in road games, sitting at 7-7 on the year.
Rice has a 3.28 team ERA entering the weekend, led by starter Jordan Stephens' 1.82 mark in 24.2 IP. Kevin McCanna, also a projected starter on the weekend, is 4-2 on the year with a 3.28 ERA with just 17 earned runs allowed in 46.2 IP. Matt Ditman is the team's leader in saves with five, and also has a club-best 46 strikeouts.
Rice boasts the league's second-highest batting average at .312, with 60 doubles and a team .402 slugging percentage. Reeves has a team-best 36 RBI and four home runs, while Kirby Taylor is leading the league in batting average at .400. The Owls have 19 stolen bases on the year, led by Ryan Chandler's four.
Weekend Promotions
Join current and former Blazers in the 2015 Alumni Weekend. Saturday will also mark the Blazer Block Party, with activities for the kids, special alumni recognitions and much more.
Looking Ahead
UAB faces Alabama for the second time in as many weeks Tuesday night at the Hoover Met at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.
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).
