The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Year In Review: UAB Baseball
6/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team reached the Conference USA Baseball Championship game for the second time in the last four seasons in 2015, capping what was the program's third 30-win season in the last four years.
In the last two years combined, the Blazers have won 68 games, including a memorable spring of 2015 that included UAB's deep run in the C-USA Tournament in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Head coach Brian Shoop led the Blazers, which included nine seniors and four fifth-year players, to a record-setting campaign. Shoop earned career win No. 950 in April vs. Louisiana Tech, and is now just 31 wins away from 1,000 career victories, one of just 20 active coaches in the nation to be at or within reach of 1,000 wins.
UAB won nine series in 2015, including six vs. C-USA opponents, en route to a sixth-place finish in the regular season standings and runner-up finish at the tournament.
The Blazers finished the season ranked near the top of the NCAA in numerous statistical categories, including No. 2 in double plays (64), No. 5 in double plays per game (1.10), No. 16 in hits allowed per nine innings (7.86), No. 35 in shutouts (5), No. 55 in WHIP (1.30) and No. 8 in bunt singles (28).
The Blazers claimed a series over nationally-ranked Rice for the first time in four years back in April, a club that went on to claim its 20th-straight C-USA Regular Season Title.
The Green and Gold totaled a 9-6 record vs. teams in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, including a doubleheader sweep over Ole Miss in Oxford, three wins over Florida Atlantic including back-to-back victories in the C-USA Championship, two wins over FIU and two over Rice.
UAB's deep run in the league tournament was courtesy of a dominating effort from the Blazer pitching staff directed by 2014 C-USA Assistant Coach of the Year Josh Hopper. In the first three games of the tournament, UAB allowed just one run over 26.0 IP with a stunning 0.35 ERA and opponent batting average of .133.
After blanking host Southern Miss, 4-0, in Wednesday's opener, the Blazers went on to run-rule Florida Atlantic, 10-0, in eight innings, becoming the first team in league history to post multiple shutouts in the C-USA Championship. UAB went on to tally just a .165 opponent batting average in the four games with a 2.12 team ERA.
Along with the electrifying numbers in Hattiesburg, the pitching staff also left their shining mark on the regular season. The staff totaled 22 quality starts, allowed three runs or less in half of the team's 58 games, gave up two runs or less on 22 occasions, surrendered one run in 12 games and posted five shutouts.
The Blazers also set a new program record for the lowest single-season opposing batting average, holding opponents to a .237 clip in 2015. The staff also tallied the fourth-most strikeouts ever in a single season with 403, and posted a team ERA of 3.60 that ranked No. 4 in UAB single-season history.
Aside from the team accomplishments were multiple individual highlights from a myriad of players. Jeff Schalk couldn't have predicted his final C-USA Championship any better, delivering the walk-off, two-run blast on Friday of the championship to end what was an eight-inning pitcher's duel.
He finished his UAB career fourth in at-bats (818), sixth all-time in walks (105) and 10th in hits (211).
Among the C-USA All-Conference honorees were four Blazers - all underclassmen - to highlight the Blazers' postseason league awards. James Naile was named First Team All-Conference USA, Esteban Tresgallo and Adam Lau earned second team honors, while reliever Ryan Ruggles earned a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman squad.
Naile's highlight season back from injury in 2014 included tying the single-season wins record (10) and a C-USA Pitcher of the Week honor on April 13. Naile tossed 109.2 innings of work for UAB in 2015, sixth-most in a single season, and finished fourth in single-season strikeouts with 92. Still with a senior season left to play, he ranks No. 2 in career ERA (3.28) and is tied for fourth in all-time wins (17).
Tresgallo turned into one of not only UAB's hottest hitters as of late, but one of the nation's top hitters down the stretch. He was named a Louisville Slugger Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and C-USA Hitter of the Week on May 11 after hitting a home run in four-straight games. He finished the year with a team-best 12 long balls and .571 slugging percentage.
Lau, a utility player who split time as a designated hitter, relief pitcher and outfielder, was named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list. He finished his junior campaign with a .254 average and four home runs with 21 RBI.
Off the field, Tyler Mims capped what was an already impressive academic career, being named to the Capital One All-Academic District 4 Team and C-USA All-Academic Team, after having made only one `B' in his college career.
On the field, Mims totaled 497 putouts at first base, which ranks sixth all-time in a single season. Shortstop Adam Smith tallied 198 assists, which is fourth all-time in a single-season.
Seniors Alex Luna and Matt Morse also left their mark in the history books, as Luna's 3.63 career ERA ranks fourth all-time, and 38 starts slots sixth in the record books. Morse finished his five-year career tied for eighth in sacrifices with 26.
Naile, Luna and Lau all were picked up in the 2015 MLB Draft, tying for the most draft picks in a single season in school history. The Blazers' four highest draft picks in program history have come in the last five years, led by Luna's 10th round selection by the Kansas City Royals. Naile was picked in the 20th round by the Oakland A's, and Lau was a 37th round selection to the Boston Red Sox. Naile was also named to the 2015 Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association All-South Region Second Team, becoming just the third player in program history to earn all-region accolades.
Coach Shoop also picked up an award of his own, as he was named the recipient of the Jerry Kindall Character in Coaching Award.
Three players -- Luna, Schalk and Chase Davis -- were named to the C-USA Championship All-Tournament Team after their efforts in Hattiesburg.
Davis finished as one of the top hitters in the tournament, batting .474, and finished the season as UAB's only hitter over .300 with a club-best 72 hits. He capped his Blazer career with nearly 200 hits and a batting average near .300 in 160 starts.
Senior Nathan Vincent closed the book on his UAB career with nearly 50 RBI in two seasons, including launching the first home run of his Blazer career in the early part of 2015.
Departing fifth-year player Sam Kelley leaves as one of the key leaders over the last five seasons for Shoop's program, having played 41 games in the field and 31 appearances off the mound. He picked up the win in game one of UAB's doubleheader sweep over Ole Miss in March, pitching nearly 100 innings over his time in a Blazer uniform.
In the mix of UAB's impressive pitching effort in the C-USA Championship was redshirt senior Johnny Lieske. In the Blazers' second game vs. Florida Atlantic in as many days, Lieske shut down the league's top hitting team, allowing just four hits with no runs. The Machesney Park, Ill., native went 9-8 in his two years in Birmingham, with a 3.24 ERA for the Green and Gold as a member of the rotation.
The final of the nine seniors and fourth of the fifth-year players, Tyler Hamby, has an already impressive career ahead off the field. He will attend The Ohio State University on a United States Naval Academy Scholarship to pursue an optometry degree, rounding out UAB's impressive group of Blazers who suited up for the final time in their collegiate careers.
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).
