Alabama Baseball Fall Practice Opens Next Week
10/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama baseball team's quest to return to the NCAA Regionals begins next week as the three-week fall practice season opens for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama (29-26, 10-20 SEC) failed to make post-season play last year for only the second time in coach Jim Wells 10 seasons as head coach.
Getting back to post-season play means better hitting and better defense and thats what Wells will be stressing in the coming weeks on the field.
"I think behind the plate is an issue, trying to get sounder defensively," Wells said. "We had too many passed balls last year. We have more catchers than we have ever had. We are trying to find someone who can block and catch every single ball. On the infield, I feel the same way as I do behind the plate. We have some returning guys, but we are also looking to be a sound team defensively."
Alabama catchers had a school record 26 passed balls last year and started three different catchers over the course of the year. The defense committed only 63 errors last year for a .969 fielding clip, the third-highest in school history.
Returnees Charlie Lyons (Jr., Northport) and David Ferazza (Sr., Redwood City, Calif.) will be joined this year by transfer Kody Valverde (Jr., University of New Orleans) and true freshman Chris Kirkland (Knoxville, Tenn.).
Offensively, the Crimson Tide struggled last year as the team ranked 11th in the SEC with a .283 batting average. Alabama hit only 38 home runs in 55 regular-season games, the lowest home run total in nearly 25 years.
But as the fall season approaches, Wells already sees improvement.
"As for the hitting, all the returning guys are better. (Sophomore outfielder Michael) McCallister is better. They are all better than they have been since they have been here. Is there a guy that we can put in the three-hole that we want up with the game on the line? We have not gotten to that point yet.
"Are we better than we were last year from a standpoint of swinging the bat? From a month of individual work, yes. We have worked hard. A guy like McCallister has a year under his belt, so he is going to be good. (Sophomore outfielder Emeel) Salem is much improved. If you look at a guy that is a returning player, they are better than they were last year. Is that enough? They will still have to improve. We have several guys that could develop into the go-to-guy in the lineup."
The Crimson Tide will open the fall with a number of starters back from last year's squad, including first baseman Zac Welch (Sr., Wellington), second baseman Allen Rice (Sr., Helena), utility infielder Rocky Scelfo (Sr., Youngsville), shortstop Greg Paiml (So., Hoover) and third baseman Evan Bush (Jr., Rainbow City).
The Crimson Tide outfield returns five players who started games last season, including McCallister, Salem, sophomore Brandon Belcher (Ruston, La.), senior Gabe Scott (Lake Charles, La.) and senior Matt Grooms (Montgomery).
Two newcomers who could make an immediate impact in the Crimson Tide lineup this season are freshman infielder Cale Iorg and junior outfielder Scott Mitchell.
On the mound, Alabama had one of the best staff's in the nation last year. The Crimson Tide and Vanderbilt led the SEC with a 3.36 ERA in 2004.
"We lost guys out of the pen with Johnson, Walker and Norris. We lost a few pitchers in the draft that we did not think we would lose. So pitching has gone from what was a strong point last year to a lot of questions needing to be answered this year. There are some really, good young players, but again they have not played in this league yet."
The ace of that staff, sophomore left-hander Wade LeBlanc returns after a rookie season that earned him Freshman of the Year honors by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and the SEC head coaches.
LeBlanc was 8-4 with a 2.08 ERA last season for the Crimson Tide. In 16 games, including 15 starts, he worked 112 2/3 innings and allowed 87 hits, 37 runs, 26 earned runs, with 26 walks and 98 strikeouts. He set the UA single-season freshmen records for innings pitched, wins, strikeouts and complete games (8).
Also back on the mound are Belcher (11 G, 3-5, 4.50 ERA), Brent Carter (16 G, 10 GS, 6-3, 4.57 ERA) and Matt Downs (16 G, 0-1, 4.03 ERA). Belcher had off-season surgery to remove bone spurs from his left (pitching) elbow and will be limited this fall on the mound. He should make a full recovery this spring.
Alabama must deal with the loss of first-round pick Taylor Tankersley, who was the 27th overall selection by the Florida Marlins last June. The junior compiled a 2-5 record and team-best 2.00 ERA in 20 games last season. He recorded 70 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings with four saves out of the pen. The Tide must replace Seth Johnson, Jeffrey Norris and Andrew Walker in the pen this season.
"Certainly there are question marks on how we are going to use the pitching staff, who is going to be the catcher, who will be the guys in the infield. I think we need to be better, certainly defensively. I think it all starts behind the plate. Again, we've never had this many catchers. We need to find somebody that can do that. We have a lot of guys out there. We have some nice young players and some veteran guys. The best guys will play."
The Crimson Tide will open fall practice on Tuesday, Oct. 5 and will conclude the three-week session with a three-day tournament against three of the nation's top junior college teams Oct. 22-24. Alabama will host San Jancinto, Seminole (Okla.) and Chipola Junior College in a three-day round-robin later this month. The three games will be exhibition games and will count towards the 60-game schedule this spring.
Alabama will be allowed 60 game this season because it opens the 2005 campaign with four games against the University of Hawai'i in Honolulu on Feb. 10, 2005.
