The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Travel to Face SEC Foe Georgia
3/2/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB baseball team will spend its first weekend away from home this season as the Blazers head to face Georgia. UAB enters with a 5-3 mark while receiving votes in the latest NCBWA Top 30. The Bulldogs are 3-5 this season.
The first game is scheduled for Friday night with a 4 PM CST/5 PM EST start time. The Saturday and Sunday contests are both scheduled for noon CST/1 PM EST.
HOW TO FOLLOW
GAME NOTES • UAB | Georgia LIVE STATS • LIVE STREAM • SEC Network +
TWITTER • @UAB_Baseball
INSTAGRAM • @UAB_Baseball
SNAPCHAT • UABathletics
WEEKEND ROTATION
| Day | Player | R/L | Class | Stats | Opp. Pitcher | R/L | Class | Stats |
| Friday | R | So. | 2-0, 0.53 ERA | Kevin Smith | L | So. | 1-1, 5.59 ERA | |
| Saturday | TBA | - | - | - | Tony Locey | R | Fr. | 1-1, 7.78 ERA |
| Sunday | TBA | - | - | - | Chase Adkins | R | Jr. | 1-0, 4.09 ERA |
QUICK RECAP - LOSS TO TROY
The UAB baseball team was unable to climb out of an early hole Tuesday night as it fell to Troy 4-2. The Trojans had three consecutive hits in the top of the first inning after the first out of the game with the final hit coming from Trevor Davis, who blasted the ball over the left field wall for a three-run home run. An insurance run by Troy was scored in the top of the fifth inning but Dylan Munger escaped the frame with a big strikeout on a 2-2 count with runners on second and third base. The visitors led 4-0 at that point.
The Blazers found success in the seventh inning. A number of pinch hitting efforts paid off for Shoop as Colton Schultz, Pierce Ressmeyer and Zack Davis all came out of the dugout in three consecutive at-bats and reached base. Starter Austin Crook was pulled before the Davis at-bat and made way for Corey Childress. Blake Johnson then delivered a two RBI single down the left field line to plate Schultz and Ressmeyer and cut the deficit to 4-2. UAB did not get a hit in the final two frames, however.
LOCKED IN
Garrett Whitlock's incredible opening day performance was recognized by Conference USA as the sophomore was tabbed the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week following the opening weekend of action. Locked into a pitcher's duel with Bluejays junior Rollie Lacy, Whitlock induced 13 groundouts and registered three, 1-2-3 innings. The Snellville, Georgia, native didn't allow an extra-base hit. Whitlock would allow on two hits over his final three innings. He carried that into the next start by throwing a one-run complete game. He didn't allow a single base runner over the final three frames and needed only 97 pitches to get through the game. It was the first complete game for the Blazers since James Naile did so in 2015.
Whitlock currently ranks atop the board in multiple statistics in Conference USA. The 6'4" righty leads the conference in ERA (0.53) and innings pitched (17) and is tied for wins (2-0) and runs allowed (one) at the top of the league. Last season, Whitlock worked primarily as a relief pitcher, as his two starts this season already eclipse the the number of starts he had last year.
NBA RANGE
Speed is a common denominator for teams under Coach Shoop. The pace of this year's squad has already been on full display as the Blazers are the only team in Conference USA with four triples. Brewer Hicklen and Price Visintainer are the two to have accounted for those triples. They are the only pair in C-USA with multiple triples as just two other players have reached that mark this season.
SCOUTING GEORGIA
The Bulldogs are in their fourth year under Scott Stricklin and were picked fourth in the SEC East entering the season. Georgia has flirted with .500 since Stricklin took over, posting an 82-92-1 record since 2014. The Bulldogs are averaging nearly five runs a game but hold a team ERA of 5.63 and have given up an average of six runs per game in 2017.
Adam Sasser has shown huge improvement in his second season with the Bulldogs. The sophomore first baseman is pacing the team with a .409 average, .727 slg%, and .480 ob% in six starts.
SERIES HISTORY
The history is brief but Georgia has taken all four contests to date. The only series between the two happened in 2013 in Athens, Ga. The Bulldogs won the finale 13-2.
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 (@UAB_Athletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uab_athletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
