Diamond Notes : Alabama Takes on Southern Miss at Trustmark Park

[Diamond Tide]

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04.15.08


TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama faces its highest rated team of the 2008 season when the Crimson Tide travels to Pearl, Miss., to meet the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at Trustmark Park on Wednesday, April 16. The game will begin at 7 p.m. (CDT) and the Crimson Tide will serve as the home team for this year's game.

Alabama and Southern Miss met at Trustmark Park last season, with the Golden Eagles posting a 5-0 win on March 6, 2007. Freshman RHP Todd McInnis took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Tide before Emeel Salem's infield single with two outs ended the no-hit bid. McInnis held the Tide to one single in eight scoreless innings, with six strikeouts and four walks. Michael Ewing went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs for the Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss owns the highest RPI rating of any Crimson Tide opponent. The Golden Eagles are ranked 15th in the latest computer rankings according to www.boydsworld.com. Alabama has played 16 games against teams currently ranked in the Top 50 RPI, including Dallas Baptist (30), Ole Miss (39), Vanderbilt (40), LSU (42), Kentucky (46) and Tennessee (49). The Tide owns a 7-9 (.438) record against those six teams. Alabama also has 13 games remaining with Georgia (14), Southern Miss (15), Florida (17), Arkansas (38) and Auburn (41). Overall, Alabama is 10-14 (.417) against the Top 100 RPI and has also faced New Orleans (58), Troy (65), Cal Poly (85) and SE Louisiana (96).

HEAD COACH Jim Wells: Alabama head coach Jim Wells has compiled a 574-288 (.666) record in 862 games in his 14th season at the Capstone. He is the winningest coach in school history and has worked more games than any other Tide coach. Wells has led the Crimson Tide to two SEC Championships (1996 and 2006), three College World Series appearances (1996, 1997 and 1999), three SEC Western Division titles (1996, 2002 and 2006), six SEC Tournament championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003) and 10 NCAA Regionals. He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1996 and 2002 and the Baseball America National Coach of the Year in 1996. Overall, Wells has compiled a 768-377 (.671) record in 1,145 games as he enters his 18th season at the Division I level. Prior to Alabama, he spent five years at Northwestern (La.) State, where he compiled a 192-89 (.683) record and led the Demons to three Southland Conference championships and two NCAA Regional appearances.

WEATHER FORECAST: Here is the weather forecast for Pearl, Miss., for the Alabama-Southern Mississippi game on Wednesday, April 16: Sunny, 76 degrees (Temps falling into mid 60s by end of the game).

MINOR LEAGUE PARKS: Alabama will be making its second appearance at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., on Wednesday, April 16, when the Crimson Tide takes on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Alabama and Southern Miss played at Trustmark Park on March 6, 2007, with the Golden Eagles posting a 5-0 win. Overall, Alabama has played in 23 professional baseball stadiums, including two Major League parks and 21 minor league parks. The Crimson Tide will be playing in its fourth different minor league stadium this season, having already played at Dr Pepper Ballpark (Frisco, Texas), Riverwalk Stadium (Montgomery, Ala.) and Regions Park (Hoover, Ala.). Alabama played UT Arlington, Nevada and Dallas Baptist at the 2008 Southwest Diamond Classic in Frisco, Texas earlier this season. Alabama played Troy at Riverwalk Stadium (March 4) and UAB at Regions Park (April 2). The Crimson Tide has played in all five existing minor league parks in the state of Alabama, including Rickwood Field (Birmingham), Regions Park (Hoover), Joe Davis Stadium (Huntsville), Hank Aaron Stadium (Mobile) and Riverwalk Stadium (Montgomery). Alabama has also played several games at Stanky Field in Mobile. Stanky Field, the home of the South Alabama Jaguars, also served as the home stadium of the Mobile Bay Sharks in the Texas-Louisiana League in the late 1990s. Alabama will play at South Alabama next Wednesday, April 23. There have been several other minor league stadiums in the state of Alabama, most notably Bloch Park (Selma), Eagle Stadium (Ozark) and Rams Field (Anniston), but the Tide did not appear in any of those parks.


SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SERIES: Alabama leads the all-time series with Southern Miss, 67-24, in a series that dates back to 1962. The Crimson Tide and Golden Eagles will be meeting for the 92nd time on Wednesday night. The two teams split a four-game series in 1961, with both teams winning a pair of games at home. Alabama beat Southern Miss, 6-0 and 5-3, in Tuscaloosa in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Southern Miss later posted 4-2 and 8-4 wins in Hattiesburg. The Crimson Tide and Golden Eagles battles on nearly even terms through 1967 as the Tide built a 10-8 series lead. The early years also featured an Alabama no-hitter and two of the National Football League's all-time greats. Alabama's Grady Elmore fired a seven-inning no-hitter with 6-0 win on March 20, 1965. Former Alabama All-American quarterback Kenny Stabler played baseball for the Crimson Tide and played against Southern Miss and former All-Pro punter Ray Guy. Stabler and Guy were teammates with Oakland Raiders and won a Super Bowl with the Raiders. Since 1981, Alabama owns a 34-4 series lead, but USM has won two of the last three meetings in the series. The Golden Eagles ended an 11-game series losing streak with a 7-4 win in Hattiesburg during the 2005 season. USM also posted a 5-0 win last year at Trustmark Park as freshman RHP Todd McInnis no-hit the Tide for 7 2/3 innings. Alabama posted a 22-game series winning streak from 1981-86. The Tide also had an 11-game series winning streak from 1997-2005. In games played in the state of Mississippi, Alabama holds 24-13 (.000) series lead. Alabama is 24-10 (.000) against USM in Hattiesburg, but 0-3 (.000) in the Jackson area. Alabama holds a 43-11 (.000) series lead in Tuscaloosa, including a 10-game winning streak. Coach Wells is 12-2 (.857) in his career against Southern Miss. USM head coach Corky Palmer is 2-10 (.167) against the Tide.

SOUTHERN MISS SCOUTING REPORT: Southern Miss (23-11, 5-4 C-USA) is ranked 15th in the latest RPI, according to Boyd Nation (www.boydsworld.com). The Golden Eagles hosted Mississippi Valley State in Hattiesburg on Tuesday night. USM is hitting .277 (321-for-1157) with 33 home runs and 161 RBI this season. The Golden Eagles are averaging 5.2 runs and 9.4 hits per game this season. Senior third baseman Chris Matesich (Memphis, Tenn.), junior second baseman James Ewing (Beaumont, Texas) and junior shortstop Brian Dozier (Fulton, Miss.) are the top three hitters. Matesich is batting .357 (25-for-70) with three home runs and 14 RBI in 24 games. Ewing ranks second on the team with a .345 (29-for-84) average with two home runs and 12 RBI. Dozier, the only USM player to start all 34 games, is hitting .326 (45-for-113) with one home run and team-leading 24 RBI. Senior outfielder Drew Carson (Monroe, La.) leads the Golden Eagles with six home runs and shares the team lead in runs scored (23) with junior outfielder Bo Davis (Meridian, Miss.). Southern Miss pitching staff sports a 4.17 ERA (304 IP, 308 H, 170 R, 141 ER, 138 BB, 270 K) in 34 games. USM has two complete games and three shutouts to its credit. Junior right-hander Brian Leach (Brandon, Miss.) is expected to start on the mound against Alabama. Leach 0-1 with an 8.31 ERA in four appearances (13 IP, 16 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 16 BB, 3 K) and three starts this season. In his last start against Arkansas State (April 12), Leach allowed four earned runs and four hits and faced five batters one-third of an inning. The Golden Eagles bullpen is anchored by one of the nation's top closer's in senior right-hander Tyler Conn (Ocean Springs, Miss.). Conn has not allowed an earned run in 20 1/3 innings this season. He is 1-0 with 12 saves in 16 appearances (20.1 IP, 14 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 31 K, .189 avg.) out of the pen.

-UA-


RTR,

Diamond Tide