Due to a number of meetings on and around campus the past couple days, this preview will be somewhat abbreviated and limited to a scouting report on the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers.
Game times are 6:30pm CST Friday, 2:00pm Saturday, and 1:00pm Sunday . As always, the Rice Fans/Parents Tailgate will be this Friday from 5:00 to 6:00 pm at Audrey Moody Ley Plaza. Please bring your favorite snack and/or beverage to share. All are welcome!
The UAB Blazers come into Reckling with an overall 11 - 18 record (3-6 CUSA, 0-9 road, 0-8 vs. Top 50, #167 RPI, #167 ISR, #70 SoS), and losers of six of their last eight games. They did win early season home series vs. Ohio, Kennesaw State and LaTech, but were swept by both Creighton and FAU, and lost 2 of 3 low-scoring nailbiters vs. WKU last weekend. They have yet to win on the road this year. Here's their schedule and results over their first 29 games...
http://warrennolan.com/baseball/2016/schedule/UAB
A quick perusal of the UAB stat sheet would point to a far better W - L record than the Blazers have achieved to date. They have struggled offensively, but have a quality small ball game (including relatively high BB/HBP frequency, sac bunts, basestealing)...they have an outstanding defensive catcher (Sr. Esteban Tresgallo), and their overall defense is no worse than average...and their pitching has been above average, led by a weekend rotation with all three pitchers posting BAAs under .200. They have lost 9 games by 2 runs or less.
Offensively, they are hitting .231/.342/.309 as a team, with 9 HRs, 40 double/triples, 33-48 SBs and averaging 4.4 runs per game. (By comparison, Rice is hitting 247/.324/.322, with 8 HRs, 37 doubles/triples, 19-33 SBs and averaging 4.2 runs/game.) So their offense is on par with ours, but more efficient, and that was before we lost arguably our best hitter in Charlie Warren for the next 3 - 4 weeks. Yes, they've played a weaker schedule (but still a Top 75 SoS), but their superior OBP and baserunning gives them the edge in productivity. They're led by cleanup hitter Griffen Gum (.317/.395./394, 8 doubles, 12 RBIs, 6-8 SBs) and leadoff speedster Brewer Hicklen (.279/.408/.433, 3 HRs, 5 doubles/triples, 15 RBIs, 22 runs, 20 BBs, 10-14 SBs). They tend to work deep into the count, as reflected in a high frequency of both free passes (averaging over 5 BBs/HBPs per game) and strikeouts (7 Ks/game). As aggressive as they are on the basepaths, they have paid the price by being picked off a whopping 12 times already this year. If our pitchers can throw strikes early, and get ahead in the count, we should keep be able to keep them off the scoreboard....and rack up high strikeout totals.
Defensively they have posted an average .965 fielding percentage, but have allowed 31 unearned runs (4 more than we have allowed in one more game). Their catchers have thrown out only 25% of attempted basestealers, but they have allowed only 3 passed balls (all by their backup catcher). Their outfield do not appear to have particularly strong arms as they have just 2 assists between them (vs. 8 for the Owls).
On the mound, aside from the fact that their starting pitchers have very low strikeout frequencies, UAB's overall staff stats are not bad at all: 3.56 ERA, .221 BAA, 1.45 WHIP, 1.35 K:BB ratio, just over 4 Ks/game. They have given up just 201 hits in 253 innings pitched (with their weekend rotation even tougher to hit, having given up just 71 hits over 113.2 innings of work). More troubling for us, two of their three weekend starters are soft-tossing southpaws, and two of their top three relivers are also left-handed. The good news is this means we should be seeing a lot of Dom DiCaprio and Andrew Dunlap in the lineup. The bad news is that we'll need to have to tone back our usual aggressive approach at he plate, and instead wait back in the box and try to go the opposite way with pitches; something we have in the past been very reluctant to do by making the proper adjustments....
Ryan Ruggles (So, LHP): 7 starts, 3-2, 41.0 IP, 2.20 ERA, .162 BAA, 22 BBs, 5 HBP, 22 Ks
Tanner Graham (Fr, RHP): 7 starts, 1-3, 37.2 IP, 4.54 ERA, .200 BAA, 17 BBs, 17 Ks
Adam Lamar (Jr, LHP): 12 app, 6 starts, 3-1, 35.0 IP, 1.54 ERA, .186 BAA, 13 BBs, 5 HBP, 22 Ks
Dylan Munger (Jr, LHP): 9 app, 1-2, 1 save, 18.1 IP, 2.45 ERA, .206 BAA, 12 BBs, 16 Ks
Garrett Whitlock (Fr, RHP): 12 app, 2-3, 25.0 IP, 3.24 ERA, .276 BAA, 13 BBs, 27 Ks
Thomas, Lowry (Jr, LHP): 12 app, 0-2, 3 saves, 24.2 IP, 4.01 ERA, .231 BAA, 11 BBs, 21 Ks
Lowry and Whitlock are the only two power arms on the staff. The danger is being lulled to sleep by these guys and/or trying to pull a steady dose of off-speed pitches into a barrage of ground balls. This is the type of pitching staff that often gives us fits, and we struggled mightily against a much worse group of starting pitchers last week in Murfreesboro.
Here's their individual and team statistics...
http://www.uabsports.com/sports/m-basebl...mcume.html
...and roster...
http://www.uabsports.com/sports/m-basebl...l-mtt.html
Given that conference-leading FAU has swept UAB and also taken two of three from Middle Tennessee, we really need to sweep the Blazers this weekend to keep pace in the conference standings. Let's not take UAB for granted as their aggregate stats are far better than their 11 - 18 W-L record. Let's avoid a let down after our gutty and emotional win on Tuesday vs. the Aggies, and keep the momentum building. We've now won 9 of our last 10 games...have posted a 15 - 5 record since Minute Maid....and, perhaps, most importantly, we have won five consecutive weekend series. Our starting pitching has been exceptional, our defense above average, and Glenn Otto has been a rock in the pen. Not surprisingly, we have finally started to receive some well-earned national attention and Top 25 consideration. Unfortunately, due to his 4.2 innings of work (69 pitches) to close out the Aggie game, the Otto-man will likely not be available to us until Sunday. Consequently, we not only need Dup, Fox and Salinas to go deep into games, but we need one or two of our other guys in the pen to step up, pound the strike zone and start earning the trust of the coaching staff. Let's get it done. Just win, baby! Go Owls!
D1Baseball picked UAB to finish towards the middle of the pack in CUSA, and named RHP Tanner Graham as one of the conference's impact Freshmen...
http://www.d1baseball.com/analysis/2016-...ews-c-usa/
Quote:• UAB made some strong strides in C-USA last season, and that’s the good news. The bad news? The Blazers have some serious work to do from an experience standpoint this spring. Want a glimpse of what this team will need to overcome? The weekend rotation will consistent of true freshmen Tanner Graham and Garrett Whitlock, while sophomore LHP Ryan Ruggles, who had a solid 2015 campaign, will round out the rotation. LHP Dylan Munger is finally healthy and gives the Blazers some experience, while offensively, OF Griffin Gum and 1B Esteban Tresgallo are the ringleaders, especially Tresgallo, who smacked 12 homers for UAB last season. One potential pick to click is C Mitch Williams, who was already a good receiver and thrower, but who made significant offensive strides in the fall.
Perfect Game also picked UAB to finish in the middle of the CUSA standings, and named C Esteban Tresgallo to the all-conference team-- both for his power bat and outstanding defensive skills...
http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View...icle=12040
Quote:Alabama Birmingham: It’s never an easy task to replace an entire weekend rotation, especially one of UAB’s caliber from a season ago, but they have the arms on campus who should help fill the void and get the job done. Lefthanders Dylan Munger and Ryan Ruggles return with the most starting experience with five and six starts respectively last season, but there’s a few new faces who could also make an impact. Freshman Tanner Graham has the talent to develop into a front-end starter in due time thanks to his projectable 6-foot-3 frame, competitive nature and fastball that works into the low-90s with heavy life while showing feel for three pitches. Both Garrett Whitlock and Kyle Davis, the younger brother of former Perfect Game All-American and current Auburn Tiger Kevin Davis, showed big-time stuff in the fall with Davis’s fastball sitting regularly in the low-90s while Whitlock is able to generate big and late life on his fastball courtesy of his lower three-quarters arm slot. Perhaps the biggest arm of them all is lefthander Thomas Lowery who will make the transition out of the bullpen where he was lights out last spring punching out 62 in 55 1/3 innings with a fastball that works 87-90 mph and a good slider. While a few of the Dragons’ top performers have departed the offense happily welcomes back senior Esteban Tresgallo and his advanced righthanded power. Very athletic for a catcher, Tresgallo has the potential to play all over the field though his baseball IQ and instincts come naturally and play well behind the plate. His offensive output from last year is perhaps the most noteworthy as he hit .292 and was among the league leaders in home runs with 12. Griffin Gum returns after hitting .274 and could serve as protection for Tresgallo in the middle of the order while providing a speed component as well as he was 11-for-11 in stolen base opportunities. Adam Smith will once again anchor the defense as he’s a standout defender up the middle and showed the ability to run a couple of balls out of the yard last year.
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UAB Baseball Preview-- Holding Serve in CUSA Race
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