BIRMINGHAM – The UAB baseball team is set to continue its extended home stretch this week, beginning with a pair of midweek battles against Troy and Jacksonville State. The Blazers are currently prepared to take on Troy on Tuesday and face Jacksonville State on Wednesday with both games being played at 5 p.m. at Regions Field.
With impending weather concerns, game time, venue and status are all subject to change for both games. Fans are highly encouraged to keep a close check on game updates Tuesday and Wednesday. Once a final decision is made, updates will be provided on uabsports.com and through the UAB baseball social channels.
UAB this season
The Blazers (5-6, 0-0 C-USA) come into the week recently winning four straight and clinching last weekend’s series over Miami before being edged in the series capper.
Junior outfielder Caleb Floyd had a big week at the dish, leading the Blazers batting .625 in the first two games and .412 overall with seven hits, two RBI, a double and a triple. On the bump, junior right-hander Riley Davis tossed a seven-inning shutout with just two hits allowed before being replaced with a pair of earned runs. The stint went deeper than any UAB pitcher this season, becoming Davis’ first win in his first appearance of the season. Grad transfer senior Mac McCarty continued to deliver as the Blazers’ closer, picking up two more saves to reach four on the year while adding six strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work with just two hits allowed.
For the season, redshirt junior slugger Thomas Johns now leads UAB at the plate with a .310 average after tallying nine hits, two doubles, a triple, a homerun, five runs scored and five RBI. Senior lefty Austin Bohannon holds the best ERA of the starters at 1.88 with seven strikeouts in three starts and 14.1 innings of work. McCarty is the strong close-out man as he is one of 29 pitchers in the nation that boasts a flawless ERA, also tallying 15 strikeouts and just two hits allowed for the fourth-most saves in the NCAA with four in 11 innings pitched. The Port Orchard, Wash., native currently leads the country with a 0.18 WHIP, 1.64 hits allowed per nine innings and is one of 11 pitchers with no walks allowed to date.
Scouting Troy
Troy (8-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) enters the contest after being swept on the road at No. 1 Florida last weekend. The Trojans hung tough, being beat by just a combined four runs in the first two games of the series, including a 3-2 loss to the top-ranked Gators in game one. Troy also downed Louisiana Tech in the weekend series before, winning the first two games before dropping the series finale.
The Trojans field some of the top batting numbers in the country to date, leading the country in doubles with 41 this season and ranking fifth nationally to lead the conference in hits with 136. Troy comes in just outside the top 10 in the nation at No. 11 and No. 2 in the Sun Belt in team batting average at .326. Other top-15 nationwide and second-best Sun Belt rankings for the Trojans include on-base percentage (ninth), runs (eighth) and slugging percentage (12th).
Individually boosting those numbers are sophomore catcher Caleb Bartolero and junior outfielder Rigsby Mosley. Bartolero leads the nation with eight doubles while Mosley is currently second in the country and leads the Sun Belt with 23 hits.
Away from the plate, senior infielder Drew Frederick is currently third in the nation and leads the Sun Belt in steals with nine. On the bump, junior right-hander Levi Thomas still holds a perfect ERA while fellow junior righty Marquez Oates is now second in the nation and atop the conference in wins with three.
The Blazers currently hold a 29-24 advantage over the Trojans in the all-time series, winning both matchups a season ago. UAB also tallied the longest win streak of the series, taking six straight from 2011-13.
Scouting Jacksonville State
Jacksonville State will head to Birmingham following a midweek tilt against Kennesaw State on Tuesday after taking a series win over Gardner-Webb. The Gamecocks lost a tight second game 8-7, but beat the Runnin’ Bulldogs handedly in game one and the rubber match.
As a unit, Jacksonville State has excelled at forcing double play this year, tying for the nation’s lead by turning two 15 times to date. Individually, Alex Strachan leads the Gamecock hitter averages batting .367 with 11 hits, five doubles, six RBI and three runs scored. His 0.63 doubles per game marks the highest personal Gamecock ranking coming in 17th in the NCAA and second in the OVC.
The Blazers trail the Gamecocks in the all-time series as Jacksonville State leads 39-28. The Gamecocks also hold the longest streak of the series after winning the last eight battles.
Up Next
UAB will close out the week by hosting its second straight weekend series against a MAC school as Toledo heads to Birmingham with all games scheduled to be played at Regions Field. Live stat and streaming information for each game is available on the UAB baseball schedule page.
More Information
Fans may secure baseball season tickets by purchasing the 2020 Gold Card for $65. The Gold Card is an exclusive offer that grants you admission into all baseball, softball and women’s basketball events for the remainder of the academic year. Mini plans and single game tickets are also available here. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.
For more information on the UAB baseball team, follow @UAB_Baseball on Twitter and Instagram.
-Go Blazers-
