April 18, 2002

THIS WEEKEND'S SCHEDULE:

Fri. 4/19 * UAB at MEMPHIS (AutoZone Park/7 pm CDT)

Sat. 4/20 * UAB at MEMPHIS (Nat Buring Stadium/2 pm CDT)

Sun. 4/21 * UAB at MEMPHIS (Nat Buring Stadium/1 pm CDT)

THE BLAZERS: Are 11-25 overall (3-12 C-USA) and coming off a 6-3 win at Alabama State in Montgomery, Ala. Tuesday (Apr. 16).

THE TIGERS: Memphis is 13-20 overall and 6-9 in Conference USA play.  The Tigers are coming off a 10-5 win at Murray State Wednesday (Apr. 17) in Murray, Ky.

THE UAB-MEMPHIS SERIES: UAB holds a 25-22 edge in the series, dating back to the 1992 season, when both teams became members of the Great Midwest Conference (the Great Midwest and Metro Conferences merged , forming Conference USA in 1996).

LAST SEASON: UAB took two of three games in the regular season series, dropping game one 2-1 and winning games two and three 2-0 and 4-2 (Apr. 20-22, 2001 at Young Memorial Field).

UAB STARTING PITCHERS:  The Blazers' projected weekend pitching rotation is:

Fri. 4/19 * Joe Yarbrough (Sr., LHP, 0-5, 4.09 ERA)

Sat. 4/20 * Ross Dobbins (Sr., RHP, 3-3, 6.98 ERA)

Sun. 4/21 * TBA

MEMPHIS STARTERS:  The Tigers' projected starting rotation is:

Fri. 4/19 * Ryan O'Malley  (Sr., LHP, 3-3, 4.69 ERA)

Sat. 4/20 * Matt Krabbe (Sr., RHP, 1-4, 8.07 ERA)

Sun. 4/21 * TBA 

HOUSE GOES HOME: The Blazers' starting center fielder, freshman Chad House, is from Memphis and  is a  graduate of Christian Brothers High School.

AUTOZONE:  Friday's game between the Blazers and Tigers will be played at AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis, which is the home field of the St. Louis Cardinals' AAA affiliate Memphis Redbirds.  Memphis plays 14 games at AutoZone Park in 2002, including C-USA games vs. South Florida, UAB and East Carolina.

CALL HIM "GINO": Larry Giangrosso (UAB '75) is in his third season as head coach of the UAB Blazers.  The Birmingham native  is  64-87 (.424)  overall at UAB.  Giangrosso was named head coach at UAB on June 16, 1999.  Prior to that, he spent nine seasons as head coach at Central Alabama Community College (1991-99), where he posted a 320-183-1 (.636) record and led his teams to a state championship (1998) and three conference titles. Giangrosso also had a very successful stint as head coach at Birmingham's W.A. Berry High School (1979-90), where he had a 254-115 (.688) record and led the Bucs to the Alabama 4A state title (1981), as well as five regional and four Jefferson County championships.

A PIONEER: Coach Larry Giangrosso played baseball for UAB in the mid 1970s, prior to the establishment of the NCAA-sanctioned athletics program in 1978.  The team competed essentially as a club program (it was administered by the school's Physical Education Department), but the baseball was definitely real -- the team competed against many of the local and state colleges (e.g. Birmingham- Southern) that UAB faces now (Gino has the letter jacket to prove it).

1K CLUB: Counting his high school, junior college and four-year collegiate head coaching experience, UAB Head Coach Larry Giangrosso worked his 1000th game as a head coach vs. Auburn on Mar. 5.

SORT OF A MILESTONE:  Last Sunday's win over Tulane (Apr. 14) marked Larry Giangrosso's 150th game as head coach of the UAB Blazers.

INJURY PROBLEMS:  Injuries have played a big role in the Blazers' woes this season, virtually every position has been affected at one time or another, and several players have missed a great deal of playing time or are out completely.  A summary of the UAB injury situation as of Apr. 18:  RHP  Andre Parks (back, currently out of starting rotation, has pitched in relief lately), INF J.B. Fesmire (back, last played vs. Connecticut on Mar. 9, will probably take a medical redshirt), OF  Chad House (bruised knee, missed four games but now 100%),

OF Kyle Leon (abdominal strain, missed eight games, but now 100%), OFQuincy Williams (hamstring, has played in 25 games but rarely at 100%), C Al Hecklinski (shoulder, played in eight early games - will take a medical redshirt), C Brad Bamberg (abdominal strain, missed 12 games but now close to 100%), C Brett Tilley (out for season after shoulder surgery),  RHP        Scott Gibson (out for season after shoulder surgery).

YOUNGSTERS CONTRIBUTE:  The Blazers have counted heavily on the contributions of several true freshmen this season, including second baseman Seth Rollin (Montgomery, Ala./Jeff Davis HS),  center fielder Chad House (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS), and pitcher Tony Falls (Montgomery, Ala./Lee HS).  Rollin and House are every day starters who have appeared in 30 or more games this season, and Falls has been one of the Blazers' top bullpen performers, with 20 appearances.  Also beginning to make an impact are pitcher Jeff Brown (Montgomery, Ala./Calvary Christian Academy) who has 10 appearances and started his first collegiate game at Saint Louis  (Apr. 6) and pitcher Rusty McIntyre (Decatur, Ala./Decatur HS), who has six appearances including starts vs. Alabama  (Apr. 10) and Alabama State (Apr. 16).

ROLLIN'S HOMECOMING A BIG SUCCESS: Freshman second baseman Seth Rollin returned to his home town of Montgomery, Ala., when the Blazers played at Alabama State earlier this week (Apr. 16). The familiar surroundings of Montgomery's Paterson Field, where he played many of his high school games, seemed to agree with Rollin, he homered in his first two at-bats and added a single later to finish three-for-four for the game with two RBI and two runs scored.

MORE ROLLIN:  Rollin has been swinging a very hot bat in recent weeks, Rollin is hitting .350 (7-20) in his last five games with two home runs and two RBI.  He's also hitting .350 (14-40) in his last 10 games, with three doubles, one triple, two home runs, and four RBI.  Rollin hit .583 (7-12) in the Saint Louis series (Apr. 5-7), with two doubles and two RBI. He went 6-8 the Saturday double-header vs. the Billikens, hitting safely in his first six at-bats that day. 

KYLE LEON: Junior DH/outfielder Kyle Leon (Guelph, Ontario/transfer from Charleston Southern) has a .303 season batting average, the highest among the Blazers' everyday players. Leon, who missed eight games earlier in the season with an abdominal strain, has started 15 games in right field and 13 at designated hitter. Leon hit .500 (6-12) in the Tulane series, with two doubles (including one for 2 RBI that tied the game in the fifth inning Sunday) and four RBI -- he went 4-4 in the Sunday game. He's now hitting  .390 (16-41) in 12 C-USA games. Leon hit .533 (.8-15) for the week of Apr. 8-14, with two doubles, a triple, and six RBI.

ERIC LYON: Senior outfielder Eric Lyon (Kirkland, Wash./Edmonds CC) has started 19 games this season ( 14 in right field, three in left field, one at designated hitter, and one at first base). Lyon hit .750 in the East Carolina series (Mar. 29-31) and has a .233 batting average in 14 C-USA games to date. His two-run homer in the first inning of the Houston game (Mar. 17) helped propel the Blazers to a 6-2 victory over the Cougars.

CHAD HOUSE: The freshman outfielder from Memphis, Tenn. (Christian Brothers HS) has been one of the bright spots of the 2002 UAB season for the Blazers.  He is currently hitting .276 (29-105) in 31 games (he missed four games with a bruised knee in March) and has played very solid defense throughout the year. He has struggled since returning to the lineup after bruising his knee running into the outfield wall vs. Houston (Mar. 15), in his last 10 games he's hitting .158 (6-38) and .129 in his last five (4-31).  Before his injury, House was leading the Blazers with a .396 batting average, he had a team-high 10-game hitting streak that dated back to the Mississippi State game on Feb. 22, and was leading  the team in hits (21) and multiple-hit games (7).  He also had a .492 on-base percentage, and had reached base 53 percent of the time when leading off an inning.

MATT WOMBLE: The diminutive Blazer first baseman (he's actually 5-11, 175) packs surprising punch at the plate, he's hitting .238 (29-122) for the season, with nine doubles, one home run, and a team-high 24 RBI.  In 15 C-USA games, he's hitting .224 (13-58).  In his last five games, Womble has a .412 batting average (7-17) with three doubles and two RBI.  Womble went 4-5 in Friday's game vs. Tulane (Apr. 12) and hit .462 in the series (6-13) with two doubles.  He hit .400 (6-15) for the week of Apr. 8-14, with two doubles and one RBI.

MATT GAULDEN:  The Blazer third baseman is also a potentially dangerous man at the plate, his .242 overall and .137 C-USA batting average don't really tell the tale completely. Gaulden has a team-high 10 doubles, two home runs (including a three RBI shot that proved to be the game-winner vs. Tulane last Sunday -- it was one of his two hits in the series) and is hitting .275 with runners on base.

MARK GARNER: The senior shortstop from Spanish Fort, Ala. (Daphne HS) led the team in batting average (.324) and hits (60) in 2001, but has struggled this season, hitting .202 (25-124) in 36 games this season (he's the only Blazer to start all 36 games thus far). Garner is hitting. 208 (10-48) in 15 C-USA games this season, with two RBI.

MITCH JONES:  Junior outfielder Mitch Jones (Chelsea, Ala./Chelsea HS) is also struggling this season. A freshman All-America in 2000, Jones hit .183 last season and is hitting .167 (19-114) in 35 games this season. Interestingly, Jones has three home runs this season -- all of which have come in his first at-bat of the game. Jones has is hitting .200 in his last five games (2-10), and .111 (1-9) in his last 10.  He did, however hit .333 (2-6) in the Tulane series (Apr. 12-14),  Jones has a .156 batting average in 15 C-USA games this season.

JUSTIN MILLER:  Junior catcher Justin Miller is batting .200 overall with two doubles, one home run, and seven RBI.  In 26 games as a starter, he's batting .212 (all of his extra-base hits and RBIs have come as a starter). In 14 C-USA games to date, Miller is batting .178 (one double, one home run, three RBI). He seems to like playing every day -- in three appearances as a pinch hitter and/or defensive substitute, he is hitless (0-5).

A RELUCTANT SWITCH HITTER:  Senior catcher Brad Bamberg (Montevallo, Ala./Central Alabama CC) is currently hitting .190 (4-21) in 13 games (he's started seven).  After undergoing shoulder surgery in the off season, Bamberg found it difficult to swing the bat comfortably in his natural right-handed stance, so he switched to batting left-handed, something he had never done in his life before this season. 

JOE YARBROUGH: Senior left-hander Joe Yarbrough (Hazel Green, Ala./Jefferson State CC) struggled in his last two starts -- at Saint Louis (Apr. 5) and vs. Tulane (Apr. 12) -- allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits, with two walks and six strikeouts in four and 1/3 innings (his shortest outing of the season) vs. the Billikens and eight runs on 10 hits with two walks and six strikeouts vs. the Green Wave. He has, however, been one of the team's most effective starters this season, despite his 0-5 record. Yarbrough has a team-high 51 strikeouts (vs. 20 walks) in 55.0 innings pitched (also a team high). Yarbrough has not always benefited from offensive and/or defensive support from his teammates, in his nine starts to date (UAB is 1-8 in  those games) the Blazers have a a .201 team batting average and have scored 26 runs (2.9 per game) and have committed 22 errors (2.4 per game). Yarbrough has an 0-4 record with a 5.76 ERA in five starts vs. C-USA teams this season.

ROSS DOBBINS:  Senior right-hander Ross Dobbins (Tanner, Ala./Central Alabama CC) is  3-3 overall with a 6.98 ERA, and has wins over Kentucky (Feb. 17), Houston (Mar. 17) and Saint Louis (Apr. 6).  Dobbins is 2-3 with a 7.96 ERA in five starts vs. C-USA opponents this season.  He was the team's "Sunday" starter for much of the 2002 season, but was moved into the "Saturday" slot for the Saint Louis series (Apr. 6) after a shakeup in the pitching rotation, he started the Saturday game  (Apr. 13) vs. Tulane.  In his nine starts this season, the team is 5-4 overall, with a cumulative batting average of .257.  The Blazers are averaging 6.3 runs scored per game, and have 17 errors (1.9 per game -- compare with the team's stats in Yarbrough's starts).

TONY FALLS: True freshman Tony Falls (Montgomery, Ala./Lee HS) has been a welcome surprise out of the bullpen for the Blazers in 2002. The right-hander is 2-2  with a 1.67 ERA in 20 appearances and 27.0 innings -- all in relief.  Falls got a pair of wins in the Oakland series (Mar. 1-2), and is 0-1 with a 2.31 ERA in eight appearances vs. C-USA opponents (11.2 innings). He also has a pair of saves (vs. Houston on Mar. 17 and at Alabama State on Apr. 16).

JEFF BROWN: The freshman from Montgomery, Ala. (Calvary Christian Academy) has started two C-USA games this season -- vs. Saint Louis on Apr. 6 and vs. Tulane on Apr. 14.  Prior to that, he had eight appearances in relief. Brown is 0-1 overall with a 4.2 ERA in 27.1 innings of work (he has a 4.50 ERA  in 10.0 innings as a starter). He's 0-1 with a 5.09 ERA in five appearances (including the two starts) vs. C-USA opponents (a total of 17.2 innings pitched).

CODY CILLO:  Although he hasn't had many opportunities to "close" this season, junior reliever Cody Cillo  (Lynwood, Wash./Edmonds CC) is the team's "go-to guy" in the late innings. Cillo got his third save of the 2002 season in Sunday's win over Tulane (Apr. 14), working the final 4.0 innings.  He allowed two runs on six hits, with one walk and two strikeouts. Cillo has three of the UAB team's total of five saves this season, and a four-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio (20 K - 5 BB in 21.0 innings).

ANDRE PARKS:  Senior Andre Parks has struggled for much of the 2002 season, he's 2-7 overall with a 8.91 ERA in 10 appearances (eight starts). Parks had been the Blazers' "Saturday" starter for most of the 2002 season, but was removed from the starting rotation following the East Carolina series (Mar. 29-31).  He pitched well vs. No. 3 Alabama on Apr. 10, allowing only two hits in 2.1 innings - unfortunately, one of those two hits was a three-run homer by the Tide's Beau Hearod, which propelled the Crimson Tide to a 5-3 win. Parks took a huge step toward redemption in Sunday's win over Tulane (Apr. 14), he worked one complete inning (the top of the fifth) in relief of starter Jeff Brown, retiring three of the four batters he faced (he hit the fourth, but no harm done) and wound up getting his first C-USA victory of the 2002 season and his first win overall since Feb. 16, 2002 (vs. Mississippi Valley State).

CANADIAN CLUB: Outfielder/DH Kyle Leon and catcher Justin Miller are both natives of Canada.

MONTGOMERY CONNECTION: The 2002 UAB roster includes four players, second baseman Seth Rollin (Jeff Davis HS), outfielder Millard Dawson (R.E. Lee HS), and pitchers Tony Falls (R.E. Lee HS) and Jeff Brown (Calvary Christian Academy) from the city of Montgomery, Ala.

CENTRAL ALABAMA C.C. CONNECTION: The Blazers also have nine players from Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City, Ala. -- the former employer of UAB Head Coach Larry Giangrosso and assistant coach Lee Hall for nine seasons (1991-99).  Those players include catcher Brad Bamberg, shortstop Mark Garner, pitcher Scott Gibson, outfielder Jeremy "J.R." Moran, first baseman Matt Womble, third baseman Matt Gaulden, pitcher Andre Parks, outfielder Quincy Williams, and pitcher Ross Dobbins.

PITCHER'S BEST FRIEND: UAB turned eight (8) double-plays in the Houston series, including six (6) in Saturday's game (Mar. 16).  The six twin-killings tied a UAB single-game record, set vs. Middle Tennessee in 2000.  The Blazers have turned 30 double plays in 31 games this season.

UAB vs. THE SEC: The Blazers are 1-3 vs. SEC teams in  2002, with a  3-1 win over Kentucky at Young Memorial Field on Feb. 17 and a 13-1 loss to Auburn at Young Memorial Field (Mar. 5) , a 9-2 loss in Auburn (Mar. 19) and a 5-3 loss to No. 3 Alabama at Young Memorial Field on April 10.  UAB finished 4-4 against  SEC teams in 2001. Along with its two wins over Alabama, the Blazers also went 1-1 vs. Mississippi State and Vanderbilt and 0-2 vs. Auburn.

YOUNG MEMORIAL  FIELD:  Jerry D. Young Memorial Field is in its 19th season as the Blazers' home field (the program called historic Rickwood Field home from 1979-83). The Blazers have a 332-206-1 (.617) all-time record at Young Memorial Field (1984-  ) and are 9-14 at home in 2002.