Alabama Baseball Team Reports and Begins Individual Workouts
8/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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TUSCALOOSA -- The 2003-04 edition of the University of Alabama baseball team reported for classes last week and have begun individual workouts at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Alabama head coach Jim Wells welcomed 32 players back for the fall semester last week and is excited about the start of a new year.
The 2003-04 Crimson Tide baseball roster contains 17 pitchers (four pitchers also play other positions), three catchers, eight infielders and six outfielders.
"A couple of concerns come to mind, like finding a shortstop and getting another catcher," Wells said. "Charlie Lyons is the only guy we have back, so we are putting some emphasis on finding some help there.
"We think the other positions are better. Last year, we were trying guys out at a number of positions and this year it's like a real team. We know this guy will play first and this guy will play second, and we will still have a few guys moving around (to other positions).
"There seems to be more talent out there this year than we had last year. I feel good that we have the people that we can put in place and the outfield is also much improved."
Wells also noted that the Crimson Tide added two signees to this year's team, picked up two transfers and added one walk-on, completing his roster in time for the first day of classes last week.
The most noticeable of the newcomers is transfer Wade LeBlanc (LHP, Barbe HS), who joined the Crimson Tide prior to the start of school after transferring from McNeese State, where he had originally signed with former head coach and now UA assistant coach Todd Butler.
LeBlanc was a First-Team 2003 Baseball America High School All-American and was named to the 2003 Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball newspaper High School Co-Pitcher of the Year, along with high school phenom and first-round draft pick Jeff Allison.
LeBlanc, a native of Lake Charles, La., was 16-1 with a 0.45 ERA as a prep senior and set Barbe HS records for single-season wins (16), single-season strikeouts (189) and career wins (36).
Nick Richardson (C, Troy State), a 2000 graduate of Tuscaloosa County High School, has transferred to Alabama after spending the 2003 season at Troy State. As the back-up catcher, Richardson batted .217 (5-for-23) with three RBI last year with the Trojans. Prior to his season at TSU, Richardson played for coach Bobby Sprowl at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa. As a sophomore (2002), Richardson batted .336 with one home run and 18 RBI.
The Crimson Tide has also added two late signees to the roster, including junior college transfers junior Mark Haske (SS/2B, Daytona Beach CC) and sophomore Matt Downs (INF/RHP, Shelton State CC).
In two years at Daytona Beach, Haske batted .260 (81-for-311) with two home runs and 48 RBI for coach Tim Touma. He also added 81 walks and scored 80 runs from his leadoff spot in the lineup.
Downs hit .378 (42-for-111) in 38 games last year at Shelton State, earning First-Team All-Conference and All-Region XXII honors. He ranked third in the Alabama Northern Division in hitting and ranked second in RBI (31), second in on-base percentage (.467), fourth in slugging percentage (.568) and 13th in runs scored (0.63 per game).
Downs also played at Bibb County High School, where he was the Tuscaloosa News Class 3A-4A West Alabama Player of the Year as a senior in 2002. He led the Choctaws to three straight Class 4A state championship game appearances (2000-02), winning the state title in 2001.
Tuscaloosa native Morrow Thomley (RHP/OF, Bevill State CC) also joins the Alabama team this fall after spending the last two seasons at Bevill State CC in Fayette.
Last year as a sophomore, Thomley helped Bevill to a 37-25 record and berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II World Series in Millington, Tenn. Bevill finished third in the NJCAA Division II World Series under coach Joey May.
Thomley batted .345 (57-for-165) with seven home runs and 36 RBI. He led the state in RBI and ranked second in plate appearances and runs scored, third in hits, home runs and slugging percentage and ninth in hitting.
For his efforts, he was tabbed a Second-Team Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Junior College All-American and was named the 2003 Alabama Junior College Conference Player of the Year.
Wells also announced the return of outfielder Chad White (Jr., Prattville), who sat out the entire 2003 season for disciplinary reasons.
In his first two seasons with Alabama (2001-02), White appeared in 63 games and batted .319 (45-for-141) with one home run and 27 RBI. As a sophomore (2002), he hit .330 (29-for-88) with 17 RBI and was one of the Crimson Tide's hottest hitters in the post-season that saw Alabama claim the SEC Tournament Championship and land a National No. 3 seed in the NCAA Regionals.
The Crimson Tide suffered one major loss prior to the start of classes, when incoming freshman catcher C.J. Bressoud unexpectedly signed with the Atlanta Braves one week prior to the start of the fall semester. A 26th round pick by the Braves, Bressoud played this summer with the USA Junior National Team and was the starting catcher on the silver medal winning team at the Pan Am Games in Curaco.
Several other players have decided not return to Alabama this season, including Bobby Burns (C, Herriman, Utah), Coley Blakeney (RHP, Fayette), Allen Brown (RHP, Dothan), Nathan Doerschuck (RHP, Columbus, Ohio), RHP Jacob Legg (LHP, Hartselle), Dwayne Marlowe (RHP, Tuscaloosa), Trey Moody (INF, Huntsville) and Jared Woodward (RHP, Tuscaloosa).
Junior infielder Spencer Pennington and sophomore outfielder Brandon Avalos will not be participating in fall practice as they are also members of the Alabama football team. Pennington is currently the backup quarterback to Brodie Croyle, while Avalos is the backup to Pennington. Both Pennington and Avalos will join the team in January and both are also expected to participate in spring football practice next season.
The team began individual workouts this week and will continue those sessions until fall practice begins Friday, Sept. 26. The Crimson Tide will work three weeks this fall and hold intrasquad games during that three-week period.
"We will start on (Sept. 26), but we won't necessarily scrimmage on the weekends," Wells added. "We are going to put the pitchers into a five-day rotation. We will practice Friday, for example, then scrimmgae Saturday and Sunday and then go every fifth day. So, sometimes we will scrimmage in the middle of the week and sometimes on the weekends.
"The one thing to accomplish in the fall is putting those pitchers in a five-day roation like the big leaguers. If a guy pitches Sunday, he is off Monday and then does bullpen work Tuesday and Wednesday, off Friday and pitch Saturday. They will pitch at different times, but they will get into a routine. Under the old system they would only get three opportunities, this way they will have a chance to pitch five times.
"We have players out there and that makes it nice when you are only concerned about two things," Wells added. "Last year, we wondered who were going to play seven of the positions. It it will be a different fall than in the past becasue we go one week less and the three months of individual work has begun.
"We are trying to get guys better defensively, on the mound and at the plate and use our three weeks to play a lot and put them in as many game-type situations as we can. Instead of practicing that three weeks individual work, we are going to do team drills and try and come up with the team that you feel good going into the spring."
The 2003-04 Alabama baseball team will sign autographs at "Kickoff at the Quad" on Saturday, Nov. 15 prior to the Alabama-LSU football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Free posters and schedule cards will be available that day as well.
The Alabama Ticket Office will mail out season ticket orders in November and fans are encouraged to purchase tickets for what promises to be a very exciting year at the Joe in 2004.
The 2004 season marks Coach Wells 10th anniversary with the Crimson Tide, after taking over the program following the 1994 season. In honor of Wells' 10th anniversary an alumni game is being planned for the upcoming season, honoring all former Tide greats from all eras of Crimson Tide baseball.
Alabama fans can also be a part of the year-long celebration by voting for the "All-Jim Wells Team" on the University's official website. More information and the official ballot will be provided at a later date. Fans will also have the opportunity to relive some of the Crimson Tide's greatest moments as the "Jim Wells Top 10 Games" is revealed prior to the 2004 season.
The season begins Friday, Feb. 13 as the Crimson Tide hosts the New Orleans Privateers in a three-game series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama has home weekend series with UNO, Cincinnati, SE Louisiana, SE Missouri State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Florida and Miss. State. The complete 2004 schedule will be announced in the next few weeks.
