The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Baseball Set to Begin Team Practice
9/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB baseball team officially begins fall practice on Friday, September 30. The team practice is set to start at 1:30 p.m. at Young Memorial Field.
"We've had a good September of individuals," said UAB head coach Brian Shoop. "We have 14 new players and 20 returning players, so there is a lot to put in and mesh from the team standpoint. I'm happy with where we're at, but I'm anxious to get going as a team. We see these 27 practices as vitally important for our preparation for the spring, so October is going to be a very important month for us."
The Blazers will host their first intrasquad on Saturday, October 1 at 1 p.m. That scrimmage will feature the newcomers versus the veterans.
UAB will also host the Ontario Blue Jays on Wednesday, October 5 at noon. It will be the first time the Blazers have welcomed another program in during fall practice.
Practices are scheduled to take place Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:30-4:30 p.m. The team will have intrasquad scrimmages on Friday's on Saturday's with Friday's scrimmages slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. and Saturday's to be determined each week. All practices are open to the public.
The only two Blazers to start all 55 games a season ago return for the upcoming season. Carter Pharis and Brewer Hicklen each enter their second seasons. Pharis led the team with a .297 average last season while also pacing the way with 36 RBI. The sophomore earned All-League honors in the Valley League over the summer. Hicklen, who spent his summer with the UAB football team, batted .289 last year with a team-high 37 runs and 22 steals on his way to Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors.
The UAB pitching staff returns 434 of 474 innings pitched from last year. Former All-Conference USA honoree Ryan Ruggles returns after his first full season as a starter where he posted a 6-4 record with a 4.18 ERA and 44 strikeouts over 71 innings. Thomas Lowery leads the bullpen after posting eight saves last year with a 2.82 ERA across 51 innings.
Shoop enters his 11th season with UAB and 28th year as a head coach. He enters the season just 18 wins shy of reaching 1,000 career victories and 17 wins away from 300 in the Green and Gold.
"Nothing different than any other fall," said Shoop. "We want to be great on the mound. We return nearly every meaningful inning and with the addition of four talented arms we think that pitching will be one of our strengths. We want to play catch at a high level. We know that if we pitch well and defend well then we have a chance to be in every game. We have to improve offensively also. We want to be a complete team and I think we have a chance to do that if we can stay healthy.
FALL PRACTICE SCHEDULE
All practices open to the public
Monday: 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Thursday: 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Friday: 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. (Intrasquad)
Saturday: TBA (Intrasquad)
Sunday: Off
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 social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
