Thursday, May 20, 2004
Games 53-55: MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS AT ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
SEWELL-THOMAS STADIUM -- TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA -- 6:30 PM (CT)
MAY 21, 2004 -- BAMA CLOSES OUT REGULAR SEASON
Date Game Time Radio/TV
May 21 Miss. State at Alabama 6:30 PM Crimson Tide Sports Network (105.5 FM)
May 22 Miss. State at Alabama 4:00 PM Crimson Tide Sports Network (105.5 FM)
May 23 Miss. State at Alabama 2:06 PM CTSN (105.5 FM), CSS-TV (Channel 29)
ON THE MOUND: UA - 23 Wade LeBlanc (LH, 14 GS, 8-4, 1.60 ERA) vs. MSU - 13 Alan Johnson (RH, 11 GS, 3-3, 5.51)
RADIO: The games will be aired locally on WRTR-FM (105.5) or WACT-AM (1420) in Tuscaloosa. David Crane and Chris Stewart will broadcast the Miss. State series on WRTR-FM (105.5) and the network. The series finale will be televised shown live throughout the southeast on Comcast Sports Southeast (Channel 29 on Tuscaloosa cable).
INTERNET BROADCAST: Live audio broadcasts can be found at http://www.rolltide.com/.
TICKETS: Tickets are available for the Mississippi State series and are $5 for adults and $3 for children.
SATELLITE FEEDS: The coordinates for the post-game satellite feeds are: SBS 6, Transponder 8 on Friday at 9:45 PM, Saturday at 7 PM and Sunday at 5:45 PM.
ALABAMA WRAPS UP SEASON WITH MISS. STATE
Two old Southeastern Conference Western Division rivals square off in the final SEC series of the season this weekend as the Alabama Crimson Tide hosts the Miss. State Bulldogs in a three-game series, beginning Friday, May 21 at 6:30 p.m. This is the second year in a row that Alabama and State have played the final weekend of the regular season. MSU took two of three last year in Starkville on the final weekend. The 2004 season also marks the second time in three years that Alabama has played Miss. State in its final home series of the season. UA swept MSU in a three-game series here in 2002. Alabama and Miss. State have staged some great battles in the past and almost always the weekend series has some kind of bearing on the league race. This year, unfortunately, both teams are playing each other to avoid the cellar in the SEC Western Division. The two teams bring a 10-17 SEC record into the final series and the loser of the series will finish sixth in the division and 11th overall in the SEC standings. Alabama has finished dead last in the Division six times (1970, 1971, 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1994) since divisional play began in 1959. MSU has been dead last five (1959, 1968, 1975, 1995 and 1999) times. Both UA and MSU tied for the last in the four-team Western Division in 1967, while Alabama tied Arkansas for fifth place in 2003 with a 14-16 league slate. The SEC did not have divisional play from 1986-91. After winning its first SEC series of the season last weekend in Lexington, UA seeks its first home series win vs. MSU.
THE RECORDS
Alabama (29-23, 10-17 SEC) has one last hope for a shot at post-season play. The Crimson Tide still has a mathematical chance to reach the Hoover Met next week, but needs three wins over Miss. State this weekend to insure any kind of chance, plus seek additional help from Florida (at Tennessee) and Arkansas (vs. Auburn). Miss. State (31-22, 10-17 SEC) is in a similar situation as far as making the SEC Tournament. However, because of its high RPI ranking (Top 20), MSU could win two here this weekend and be an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament despite not making the league tourney.
THE COACHES
Alabama’s Jim Wells is in his 10th season with the Crimson Tide program. He has compiled a 438-199 (.688) record at the helm of the Crimson Tide. Overall, Wells is 630-288 (.686) in 15 seasons at Northwestern State and Alabama. MSU skipper Ron Polk is 1,229-600-2 (.671) in 31 years of coaching. In 25 years at Miss. State, the dean of SEC coaches has compiled a 995-488-2 (.671) record in Starkville.
NEXT GAME
Alabama and Miss. State meet in game two of this series on Saturday, May 22 at 4 p.m. (CT).
MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES
The longest running series in Alabama baseball history resumes this weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium this weekend as the Crimson Tide hosts its old Western Division nemesis Miss. State.
*Alabama leads the all-time series 195-158-3 (.552) since the initial meeting in 1896. The two teams have met 356 times since the late 1800s.
*Alabama has played Miss. State more than any other opponent in school history. The two teams have met every year since 1946.
*Alabama is 20-7 (.741) in its last 27 games with Miss. State.
*Since the 1999 post-season, Alabama has won 12 of the 16 meetings (.800) with MSU.
*Since 1995, Alabama has won five of the nine series with MSU.
*Miss. State took two out of three from Bama last year in Starkville to snap a three-series winning streak by the Tide. It was the longest winning streak by Alabama since also winning three straight series in 1873-74.
*MSU head coach Ron Polk has compiled a 66-45 (.600) all-time record against Alabama.
*The dean of SEC coaches coached his 100th all-time game against Alabama on Mar. 19, 2000 while the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. UGA won that game, 8-7.
*Polk is 62-42 (.596) against Alabama while at Miss. State. He was 4-3 (.571) in seven meetings versus Alabama while head coach at Georgia.
*Polk coached his 100th game as MSU head coach against Alabama on May 12, 2002. Alabama won that game, 11-4.
*Alabama and Miss. State are the only two SEC schools with 2,000 career wins. Alabama became the 17th school in NCAA history by notching its 2,000th win on March 4, 2001 against Winthrop. Miss. State became the 18th Division I school to record 2,000 wins with a victory over New Orleans on March 13, 2001.
Alabama-Miss. State Series File
at Tuscaloosa: UA leads, 132-77-3
at Starkville: MSU leads, 77-54
Neutral Sites: UA leads, 8-5
Wells vs. MSU: 23-12 (.657)
Polk vs. Alabama: 66-45 (.600)
UA Longest Win Streak: 10 (1912-17)
MS Longest Win Streak: 8 (1992-94)
SCOUTING REPORT: Miss. State Bulldogs
The Miss. State Bulldogs enter the final weekend of SEC play with a 31-22 (.585) overall record, including a 10-17 mark in SEC play.
*Miss. State and Alabama are tied for fifth place in the SEC Western Division and 10th place in the overall SEC standings.
*The Bulldogs are hitting .310 (592-for-1,912) on the year, with 51 home runs and 312 RBI.
*As a team, MSU averages 6.35 runs (337) and 11.12 hits per game this season.
*The offense is centered around one of the league’s top players in sophomore outfielder Brad Corley.
*The Louisville native is batting a team-best .374 (83-for-222), with 18 home runs and 49 RBI. He has added 56 runs, 10 doubles and owns a .680 slugging percentage.
*He has twice been named SEC “Player of the Week”, including this past week after his three-game performance against the league-leading Arkansas Razorbacks.
*In the series, Corley was 8-for-12 (.667) against the Razorbacks, including a 7-for-8 showing in Sunday¹s doubleheader.
*In the series-clinching 3-2 win Corley threw out the potential go-ahead run for Arkansas in the sixth inning and an inning later delivered the game-winning walk-off hit, his SEC-leading 18th home run of the year.
*Corley leads the SEC with 18 home runs and ranks fourth in batting average (.374), slugging percentage (.680) and 11th in RBI (49).
*Sophomore catcher Craig Tatum (53 G, .341, 11 HR, 54 RBI) is the only other MSU player with double figure home runs and leads the team with 54 RBI this season.
*Tatum also leads the team with 16 doubles this season.
*Sophomore first baseman/outfielder Brad Jones (53 G, .319m 7 HR, 32 RBI) has also been productive at the plate this season for the Bulldogs, ranking third on the team in hitting, home runs and RBI.
*Senior third baseman Steve Gendron (.308, 4 HR, 31 RBI) is also a solid contributor. Gendron is second on the team with 15 doubles.
*In his three-year career, Gendron has enjoyed success at the plate against Alabama, hitting .390 (16-for-41), with two runs, two doubles and three RBI.
*In SEC play, State is hitting .292 (285-for-976) with six runs and 26 RBI.
*Corley (.374, 10 HR, 18 RBI) and senior Tyler Scarbrough (.339, HR, 7 RBI) are the top two hitters in league play.
*On the mound, State is 31-22 with a 4.34 ERA this season, with seven saves, one complete game and three shutouts.
*MSU pitchers have worked 476.2 innings and allowed 481 hits, 273 runs, 230 earned runs, with 163 walks and 391 strikeouts.
*The weekend rotation will consist of RHP Alan Johnson, RHP Jeff Lacher and RHP Todd Doolittle.
*Johnson, a native of Pleasant Grove, Ala., has compiled a 3-3 record and 5.51 ERA in 11 starts this season.
*He has worked 67 innings and allowed 72 hits, 46 runs, 41 earned runs, with 23 walks and 39 strikeouts this season.
*Johnson was the losing pitcher in the Crimson Tide’s 15-7 win in game two of the series last year. In one inning, he allowed eight runs and four hits, with three walks and one strikeout as the game two starter.
*Lacher has compiled a 3-6 record and 4.46 ERA this season in 12 starts. The senior has MSU’s lone complete game of the season.
*He has worked a staff-high 70.2 innings and allowed 80 hits, 42 runs and 35 earned runs, with 20 walks and 50 strikeouts.
*Doolittle is 2-2 with a 4.31 ERA in 16 games this season, including six starts.
*The junior has worked 50 innings and allowed 39 hits, 30 runs and 23 earned runs, with 23 walks and a team-leading 52 strikeouts this year.
*The ace out of the MSU bullpen is junior RHP Saunders Ramsey. In 23 appearances, Ramsey is 6-1, with four saves, and a 1.98 ERA.
*He leads MSU in wins, saves and ERA this season.
*Ramsey has worked 41 innings and allowed 30 hits, 12 runs and nine earned runs, with eight walks and 46 strikeouts.
*In SEC play, the Bulldogs are 10-17 with a 5.54 staff ERA, with four saves and one CG.
*Johnson is 3-3 with a 5.71 ERA in nine SEC starts.
*Lacher is 1-5 with a 5.05 ERA in nine starts this season.
*Doolittle is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA in SEC play this season. He has made nine appearances and five starts this season in SEC play.
*Ramsey (23 IP, 19 K) has appeared in 12 SEC games and is 4-0 with two saves and a 1.96 ERA for the Bulldogs.
*Traditionally, Miss. State has always been a solid defensive club. However, the 2004 season has been an exception for the Bulldogs.
*In 53 games, State has made 78 errors and is fielding at a .962 clip. In SEC play, State has made 48 errors in 27 games and ranks last in the league with its .957 SEC fielding mark.
RTR,
Diamond Tide
------------------
"You're the best.........baby."-Coach Jim Wells talking to senior catcher Jeremy Brown.
Games 53-55: MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS AT ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
SEWELL-THOMAS STADIUM -- TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA -- 6:30 PM (CT)
MAY 21, 2004 -- BAMA CLOSES OUT REGULAR SEASON
Date Game Time Radio/TV
May 21 Miss. State at Alabama 6:30 PM Crimson Tide Sports Network (105.5 FM)
May 22 Miss. State at Alabama 4:00 PM Crimson Tide Sports Network (105.5 FM)
May 23 Miss. State at Alabama 2:06 PM CTSN (105.5 FM), CSS-TV (Channel 29)
ON THE MOUND: UA - 23 Wade LeBlanc (LH, 14 GS, 8-4, 1.60 ERA) vs. MSU - 13 Alan Johnson (RH, 11 GS, 3-3, 5.51)
RADIO: The games will be aired locally on WRTR-FM (105.5) or WACT-AM (1420) in Tuscaloosa. David Crane and Chris Stewart will broadcast the Miss. State series on WRTR-FM (105.5) and the network. The series finale will be televised shown live throughout the southeast on Comcast Sports Southeast (Channel 29 on Tuscaloosa cable).
INTERNET BROADCAST: Live audio broadcasts can be found at http://www.rolltide.com/.
TICKETS: Tickets are available for the Mississippi State series and are $5 for adults and $3 for children.
SATELLITE FEEDS: The coordinates for the post-game satellite feeds are: SBS 6, Transponder 8 on Friday at 9:45 PM, Saturday at 7 PM and Sunday at 5:45 PM.
ALABAMA WRAPS UP SEASON WITH MISS. STATE
Two old Southeastern Conference Western Division rivals square off in the final SEC series of the season this weekend as the Alabama Crimson Tide hosts the Miss. State Bulldogs in a three-game series, beginning Friday, May 21 at 6:30 p.m. This is the second year in a row that Alabama and State have played the final weekend of the regular season. MSU took two of three last year in Starkville on the final weekend. The 2004 season also marks the second time in three years that Alabama has played Miss. State in its final home series of the season. UA swept MSU in a three-game series here in 2002. Alabama and Miss. State have staged some great battles in the past and almost always the weekend series has some kind of bearing on the league race. This year, unfortunately, both teams are playing each other to avoid the cellar in the SEC Western Division. The two teams bring a 10-17 SEC record into the final series and the loser of the series will finish sixth in the division and 11th overall in the SEC standings. Alabama has finished dead last in the Division six times (1970, 1971, 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1994) since divisional play began in 1959. MSU has been dead last five (1959, 1968, 1975, 1995 and 1999) times. Both UA and MSU tied for the last in the four-team Western Division in 1967, while Alabama tied Arkansas for fifth place in 2003 with a 14-16 league slate. The SEC did not have divisional play from 1986-91. After winning its first SEC series of the season last weekend in Lexington, UA seeks its first home series win vs. MSU.
THE RECORDS
Alabama (29-23, 10-17 SEC) has one last hope for a shot at post-season play. The Crimson Tide still has a mathematical chance to reach the Hoover Met next week, but needs three wins over Miss. State this weekend to insure any kind of chance, plus seek additional help from Florida (at Tennessee) and Arkansas (vs. Auburn). Miss. State (31-22, 10-17 SEC) is in a similar situation as far as making the SEC Tournament. However, because of its high RPI ranking (Top 20), MSU could win two here this weekend and be an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament despite not making the league tourney.
THE COACHES
Alabama’s Jim Wells is in his 10th season with the Crimson Tide program. He has compiled a 438-199 (.688) record at the helm of the Crimson Tide. Overall, Wells is 630-288 (.686) in 15 seasons at Northwestern State and Alabama. MSU skipper Ron Polk is 1,229-600-2 (.671) in 31 years of coaching. In 25 years at Miss. State, the dean of SEC coaches has compiled a 995-488-2 (.671) record in Starkville.
NEXT GAME
Alabama and Miss. State meet in game two of this series on Saturday, May 22 at 4 p.m. (CT).
MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES
The longest running series in Alabama baseball history resumes this weekend at Sewell-Thomas Stadium this weekend as the Crimson Tide hosts its old Western Division nemesis Miss. State.
*Alabama leads the all-time series 195-158-3 (.552) since the initial meeting in 1896. The two teams have met 356 times since the late 1800s.
*Alabama has played Miss. State more than any other opponent in school history. The two teams have met every year since 1946.
*Alabama is 20-7 (.741) in its last 27 games with Miss. State.
*Since the 1999 post-season, Alabama has won 12 of the 16 meetings (.800) with MSU.
*Since 1995, Alabama has won five of the nine series with MSU.
*Miss. State took two out of three from Bama last year in Starkville to snap a three-series winning streak by the Tide. It was the longest winning streak by Alabama since also winning three straight series in 1873-74.
*MSU head coach Ron Polk has compiled a 66-45 (.600) all-time record against Alabama.
*The dean of SEC coaches coached his 100th all-time game against Alabama on Mar. 19, 2000 while the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. UGA won that game, 8-7.
*Polk is 62-42 (.596) against Alabama while at Miss. State. He was 4-3 (.571) in seven meetings versus Alabama while head coach at Georgia.
*Polk coached his 100th game as MSU head coach against Alabama on May 12, 2002. Alabama won that game, 11-4.
*Alabama and Miss. State are the only two SEC schools with 2,000 career wins. Alabama became the 17th school in NCAA history by notching its 2,000th win on March 4, 2001 against Winthrop. Miss. State became the 18th Division I school to record 2,000 wins with a victory over New Orleans on March 13, 2001.
Alabama-Miss. State Series File
at Tuscaloosa: UA leads, 132-77-3
at Starkville: MSU leads, 77-54
Neutral Sites: UA leads, 8-5
Wells vs. MSU: 23-12 (.657)
Polk vs. Alabama: 66-45 (.600)
UA Longest Win Streak: 10 (1912-17)
MS Longest Win Streak: 8 (1992-94)
SCOUTING REPORT: Miss. State Bulldogs
The Miss. State Bulldogs enter the final weekend of SEC play with a 31-22 (.585) overall record, including a 10-17 mark in SEC play.
*Miss. State and Alabama are tied for fifth place in the SEC Western Division and 10th place in the overall SEC standings.
*The Bulldogs are hitting .310 (592-for-1,912) on the year, with 51 home runs and 312 RBI.
*As a team, MSU averages 6.35 runs (337) and 11.12 hits per game this season.
*The offense is centered around one of the league’s top players in sophomore outfielder Brad Corley.
*The Louisville native is batting a team-best .374 (83-for-222), with 18 home runs and 49 RBI. He has added 56 runs, 10 doubles and owns a .680 slugging percentage.
*He has twice been named SEC “Player of the Week”, including this past week after his three-game performance against the league-leading Arkansas Razorbacks.
*In the series, Corley was 8-for-12 (.667) against the Razorbacks, including a 7-for-8 showing in Sunday¹s doubleheader.
*In the series-clinching 3-2 win Corley threw out the potential go-ahead run for Arkansas in the sixth inning and an inning later delivered the game-winning walk-off hit, his SEC-leading 18th home run of the year.
*Corley leads the SEC with 18 home runs and ranks fourth in batting average (.374), slugging percentage (.680) and 11th in RBI (49).
*Sophomore catcher Craig Tatum (53 G, .341, 11 HR, 54 RBI) is the only other MSU player with double figure home runs and leads the team with 54 RBI this season.
*Tatum also leads the team with 16 doubles this season.
*Sophomore first baseman/outfielder Brad Jones (53 G, .319m 7 HR, 32 RBI) has also been productive at the plate this season for the Bulldogs, ranking third on the team in hitting, home runs and RBI.
*Senior third baseman Steve Gendron (.308, 4 HR, 31 RBI) is also a solid contributor. Gendron is second on the team with 15 doubles.
*In his three-year career, Gendron has enjoyed success at the plate against Alabama, hitting .390 (16-for-41), with two runs, two doubles and three RBI.
*In SEC play, State is hitting .292 (285-for-976) with six runs and 26 RBI.
*Corley (.374, 10 HR, 18 RBI) and senior Tyler Scarbrough (.339, HR, 7 RBI) are the top two hitters in league play.
*On the mound, State is 31-22 with a 4.34 ERA this season, with seven saves, one complete game and three shutouts.
*MSU pitchers have worked 476.2 innings and allowed 481 hits, 273 runs, 230 earned runs, with 163 walks and 391 strikeouts.
*The weekend rotation will consist of RHP Alan Johnson, RHP Jeff Lacher and RHP Todd Doolittle.
*Johnson, a native of Pleasant Grove, Ala., has compiled a 3-3 record and 5.51 ERA in 11 starts this season.
*He has worked 67 innings and allowed 72 hits, 46 runs, 41 earned runs, with 23 walks and 39 strikeouts this season.
*Johnson was the losing pitcher in the Crimson Tide’s 15-7 win in game two of the series last year. In one inning, he allowed eight runs and four hits, with three walks and one strikeout as the game two starter.
*Lacher has compiled a 3-6 record and 4.46 ERA this season in 12 starts. The senior has MSU’s lone complete game of the season.
*He has worked a staff-high 70.2 innings and allowed 80 hits, 42 runs and 35 earned runs, with 20 walks and 50 strikeouts.
*Doolittle is 2-2 with a 4.31 ERA in 16 games this season, including six starts.
*The junior has worked 50 innings and allowed 39 hits, 30 runs and 23 earned runs, with 23 walks and a team-leading 52 strikeouts this year.
*The ace out of the MSU bullpen is junior RHP Saunders Ramsey. In 23 appearances, Ramsey is 6-1, with four saves, and a 1.98 ERA.
*He leads MSU in wins, saves and ERA this season.
*Ramsey has worked 41 innings and allowed 30 hits, 12 runs and nine earned runs, with eight walks and 46 strikeouts.
*In SEC play, the Bulldogs are 10-17 with a 5.54 staff ERA, with four saves and one CG.
*Johnson is 3-3 with a 5.71 ERA in nine SEC starts.
*Lacher is 1-5 with a 5.05 ERA in nine starts this season.
*Doolittle is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA in SEC play this season. He has made nine appearances and five starts this season in SEC play.
*Ramsey (23 IP, 19 K) has appeared in 12 SEC games and is 4-0 with two saves and a 1.96 ERA for the Bulldogs.
*Traditionally, Miss. State has always been a solid defensive club. However, the 2004 season has been an exception for the Bulldogs.
*In 53 games, State has made 78 errors and is fielding at a .962 clip. In SEC play, State has made 48 errors in 27 games and ranks last in the league with its .957 SEC fielding mark.
RTR,
Diamond Tide
------------------
"You're the best.........baby."-Coach Jim Wells talking to senior catcher Jeremy Brown.
