The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Baseball Season Preview: Outfielders
2/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB baseball team returns two starters from last season in the outfield including its most productive hitter, Brewer Hicklen.
Projected Starters (alphabetical order if multiple listed)
Left Field: Riley McCown
Center Field: Brewer Hicklen
Right Field: Zack Davis - Luke Eigsti - Colton Schultz
Designated Hitter: Jared Nixon
Hicklen is expected to man center field again after starting all 55 games a year ago as a freshman. He batted .289 with a team-high 37 runs, four triples, 38 walks, and 22 stolen bases. The redshirt sophomore also hit three home runs, drove in 26, and added seven doubles.
Hicklen is also a member of the UAB football team and spent the fall practicing with both sports. He was recently tabbed the seventh-best overall prospect and fourth-best position player in Conference USA by D1Baseball.com.
“Brewer, statistically, was our best player last year,” said head coach Brian Shoop. “Now that he is full-time baseball again, we hope he can be at the level he played at last year. He’s so good defensively and in a leadership capacity that we really want and need him in center field for us.”
McCown made 49 starts last season across 52 games. The senior hit .214, scored 23 times (third on the team), hit one home run and had 15 RBI.
McCown and Hicklen were stalwarts defensively in 2016, each committing just one error in a combined 233 attempts.
“Riley had a really good defensive year last year, but not really good offensively,” stated Shoop. “He had a tremendous offensive fall so we hope and think he is primed to have a special year. We anticipate and hope that he hits somewhere in the middle of the line-up.”
The Blazers lost right fielder Griffin Gum to graduation. Gum excelled last year hitting .289 with three home runs and 32 RBI while committing only two errors in 129 chances.
McCown is preparing to play either left or right field, depending on whom else emerges as the third starter.
“You could make a case that we return a third starter in Jared Nixon although he DH’ed the majority of the time,” said Shoop. “He played a lot last year for us and was an all-star this summer in the Great Lakes League. But he is rebounding from a knee injury that forced him to miss the fall. That third spot is still very much in play.”
The rest of the outfield group consists mainly of youngsters who will be in the mix for playing time. Zack Davis, Luke Eigsti and Colton Schultz are each vying for playing time while Price Visintainer is viewed as a good enough athlete by the coaching staff to move into the outfield if need be.
“Each brings something to the table and are all in the mix,” stated Shoop. “We have depth this time around so we can withstand an injury or if a guy hits a slump.”
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