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Home , Estadio Latinoamericano, Jim Wells (baseball)

2008 CRIMSON TIDE

5 7 SEC Tournament Titles 19 NCAA Regionals 25 Conference Championhips 60 Major Leaguers ALABAMA 2008 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE BASEBALL 2009 ALABAMA BASEBALL Alabama vs. Cuban Collegiate All-Stars SCHEDULE OF EVENTS December 16-18, 2008 Latin American Stadium (55,000) - , Sunday, December 14 7 a.m. Depart Tuscaloosa for Havana 2:30 p.m. Arrive in Havana FIRST PITCH: The University of Alabama baseball team makes a historic trip to Havana, Cuba for a three-game exhibition series with the Cuban Collegiate All-Stars this week. Monday, December 15 The Crimson Tide will play three exhibiation games at the Latin American Stadium in 9:30 a.m. Welcome to Havana Event Havana on Tuesday, Dec. 16, Wednesday, Dec. 17 and Thursday, Dec. 18. All three games (Latin American Stadium) will begin at 2 p.m. (CST - 3 p.m. in Havana) each day. Alabama is making its fi rst-ever 10 a.m. Playing Rules Meeting trip to Cuba and will be playing outside the United States for only the second time in Noon Luncheon school history. In 1957, Coach Tilden “Happy” Campbell directed the Alabama baseball 2:30 p.m. Alabama Practice team on a 20-game exhibition tour in the Far East, with games contested in Japan and (Latin American Stadium) Korea. The Crimson Tide is no stranger to college baseball tours, as Alabama was the fi rst southern team to play in the New England area as Dr. J.W.H. Pollard led the Tide on Tuesday, December 16 a nine-game tour during the 1907 season, according to the Boston Herald. 12:30 p.m. Depart Hotel for Game 1 p.m. Pregame warmups HEAD COACH JIM WELLS: Alabama head coach Jim Wells has compiled a 589-300 (.663) 3 p.m. Game 1: Alabama vs. Cuban All-Stars record in 889 games at the Capstone. The 2009 season will be his 15th in the Alabama dugout. He is the winningest coach in school history and has worked more games than Wednesday, December 17 any other Tide skipper. Wells has led the Crimson Tide to two SEC Championships 12:30 p.m. Depart Hotel for Game (1996 and 2006), three College World Series appearances (1996, 1997 and 1999), three 1 p.m. Pregame warmups SEC Western Division titles (1996, 2002 and 2006), six SEC Tournament championships 3 p.m. Game 2: Alabama vs. Cuban All-Stars (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003) and 11 NCAA Regionals. He was named 1996 and 2002 SEC Coach of the Year and the 1997 Baseball America National Coach of the Year. Thursday, December 18 Overall, Wells has compiled a 783-389 (.668) record in 1,172 games as he enters his 19th 12:30 p.m. Depart Hotel for Game season at the Division I level. Prior to Alabama, he spent fi ve years at Northwestern (La.) 1 p.m. Pregame warmups State, where he compiled a 192-89 (.683) record and led the Demons to three Southland 3 p.m. Game 3: Alabama vs. Cuban All-Stars Conference championships and two NCAA Regional appearances. 7:30 p.m. Farewell Reception

THIS IS ALABAMA BASEBALL: The Alabama baseball program is one of the most successful Friday, December 19 college programs in the United States. The 2009 season marks the 117th year of intercol- 5:45 a.m. Depart Hotel for return home legiate baseball and is the school’s oldest sport. Alabama’s fi rst-ever baseball game took 2 p.m. Approximate arrival in Tuscaloosa place on July 1, 1892 as Coach Shelby Fletcher’s team beat Sewanee, 6-3, at Lakeview Park in Birmingham. Alabama has compiled a 2,277-1,369-23 (.624) all-time record in ALABAMA HEADQUARTERS 3,669 games on the diamond. The Crimson Tide became the 17th school in NCAA his- Occidental tory to win 2,000 games with a 12-0 win over Winthrop on March 4, 2001. Alabama has Quinta Avda 72 y 76, Miramar won 25 conference baseball titles, including an SEC-leading 14 championships since Havana, Cuba 1933. The Tide has also won six SEC Tournament Championships, including five un- 7-204-3584 der coach Jim Wells. In SEC play, Alabama has posted a 831-646 (.562) all-time ledger in 1,477 league games. The Crimson Tide has also played in 19 NCAA Tournaments, winning six NCAA Regional Championships. Alabama has five College World Series INFORMATION CONTACTS appearances and has played in the national championship game in 1983 and 1997. Dr. Carmen Burkhalter The Crimson Tide also boasts an impressive professional baseball history sending well Senior Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences over 100 former players into the pro ranks. Alabama currently has seven Major League Mr. Michael Spearing players, including Lance Cormier (RHP, ), Tommy Hunter (RHP, University of Alabama Compliance Officer Texas Rangers), Wade LeBlanc (LHP, San Diego Padres), Andy Phillips (INF, Cincin- Barry Allen (Baseball Team) nati Reds), Paul Phillips (C, Chicago White Sox), David Robertson (RHP, New York Assistant Director of Media Relations Yankees) and Taylor Tankersley (LHP, Florida Marlins).

WWW.ROLLTIDE.COM 2008 ALABAMA QUICK FACTS Two former members of the Crimson Tide baseball family have been enshrined in the Location Tuscaloosa, Alabama National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. was inducted in 1977 and broad- Enrollment 25,580 caster Mel Allen, who spent 39 years as “The Voice of the Yankees”, won the Ford Frick Founded April 12, 1831 Award in 1978. He also narrated the popular 30-minute weekly television special “This Conference Southeastern (SEC) Week in Baseball”. In all UA has produced 11 First-Team All-Americans, 22 Second and Colors Crimson & White Third-Team AA picks and 12 Freshmen All-American selections. A total of 72 players have Nickname Crimson Tide been named First-Team All-SEC and another 78 have been named to the SEC Academic President Dr. Robert E. Witt Honor Roll. Faculty Rep Joe Hornsby 2009 ALABAMA BASEBALL OUTLOOK: The Alabama baseball team returns 19 letter winners Director of Atheltics Mal Moore and seven every day starters off last year’s club that posted a 35-28 overall record and Executive Director of Athletics Dave Hart played in the school’s 19th NCAA Regional Tournament. Alabama returns eight players Senior Assoc. AD Dr. Finus Gaston with 40 or more starts in 2008 and 12 players that started at least 15 games last season. The Associate ADs: Kevin Almond Crimson Tide also returns nine pitchers off last year’s squad, including two weekend start- Jon Gilbert Chris King ers. The 35-man roster contains 10 seniors, 11 juniors, six sophomores and eight freshmen. Sarah Patterson The senior class consists of Vin DiFazio, Wes Henderson, Austin Hyatt, Casey Kebodeaux, Carol Park Alex Kubal, Kent Matthes, Kyle Moore, Tyler Odle, Miers Quigley and Ryan Rhoden. Be- Jeff Purinton low is a brief breakdown of the Alabama hitters and pitchers. Marie Robbins Ronny Robertson ALABAMA HITTERS: The Crimson Tide returns nearly 70 percent of its offense from last year’s Mike Vollmer squad, including 65.5 percent of its home runs, 71.2 percent of its RBI, 76.1 percent of its Mike Ward total hits and 77.5 percent of its runs scored ... Sophomore shortstop Josh Rutledge (Cull- Doug Walker man, Ala.), junior infielder/outfielder Brandon May (Marietta, Ga.) and sophomore second Larry White baseman Ross Wilson (Hoover, Ala.) hit a collective .343 (267-for-778) last year with 21 home runs and 128 RBI ... The trio also contributed 182 runs scored, 38 doubles, six triples Assistant ADs: Chris Besanceney an 28 stolen bases ... Rutledge was a 2008 Freshman All-American after leading Alabama Jon Dever with a .369 (99-for-268) with 62 runs scored and 31 RBI ... It was the second-highest bat- ting average in school history by an Alabama freshman ... David Magadan, who currently Head Baseball Coach Jim Wells serves as the hitting instructor for the Boston Red Sox, hit a school-record .389 as a fresh- Alma Mater, Year Northwestern State, 1981 man in 1981 ... May was a First-Team All-SEC selection after a banner season in 2008 ... He hit .365 (92-for-262) with nine home runs and 50 RBI ... Rutledge and May led the Overall Record 783-389 (.668) Tide with 31 multi-hit games last season ... Wilson, the younger brother of Alabama senior NCAA Appearances 13 quarterback John Parker Wilson, tied the UA freshman record with 15 home runs last year

Alabama Record 589-300 (.663) ... Wilson capped his remarkable freshman season by earning NCAA All-Regional Team NCAA Appearances 11 honors at the Conway (S.C.) Regional, where he tied a UA record with two home runs in a post-season game ... Wilson hit .295 (76-for-258) with 15 home runs and 47 RBI as a Assistant Coaches freshman ... Senior outfielder Kent Matthes (Orlando, Fla.) had his best season for the Tide Dax Norris in 2008 ... He hit .303 (69-for-228) with 11 home runs and 52 RBI ... He was named to the Drew French (volunteer) 2008 SEC Good Works Team for his dedicated community service ... Junior third baseman Jake Smith (Shannon, Ala.) was named to the 2008 SEC All-Defensive Team after making Baseball Administrator: Steve Townsend just 10 errors (.945 fielding mark) in 181 chances at the “hot corner” last season ... Smith is Director of Operations: B.J. Green also an offensive threat and hit .240 (52-for-217) with eight home runs and 34 RBI ... Senior center fielder Alex Kubal has earned the reputation as an excellent defensive outfielder ... Baseball Media Relations Barry Allen His speed has also helped his offensive game as he hit .329 (48-for-146) last year with five Cell Phone (205) 394-2153 home runs and 23 RBI. The Crimson Tide also returns veterans Vin DiFazio (C, Hampton, N.J.), Wes Henderson (1B, Oxford, Ala.), Kyle Moore (C, Wetumpka, Ala.), Tyler Odle (OF, ALABAMA BASEBALL INFORMATION Vestavia Hills, Ala.) and Ryan Rhoden (OF, Tuscaloosa). One newcomer who looks to All-Time Record 2,277-1,369-23 make an immediate impact with the Tide this season is freshman outfielder Taylor Dugas SEC Record 831-646 (Lafayette, La.), who earned Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball All-American honors as a prep senior. Dugas hit .519 with 19 home runs and 159 RBI in his four-year career at Conference Championships 25 Teurlings Catholic High School. SIAA Championships 7 Southern Conference Chammpionships 4 ALABAMA PITCHERS: Alabama returns nine pitchers off last season’s NCAA Regional squad SEC Championships 14 and they account for almost 70 percent of the Tide’s pitching numbers in 2008 ... The Tide SEC Western Division Championships 11 returns 54.5 percent of its saves, 64.1 percent of its total appearances, 70.2 percent of its SEC Tournament Championships 7 innings, 70.9 percent of its strikeouts and 71.1 percent of the team’s wins ... The bulk of NCAA Regionals 19 the experience comes from fifth-year seniors Austin Hyatt (RHP, Marietta, Ga.) and Casey NCAA Super Regionals 2 College World Series Appearances 5 Kebodeaux (RHP, Mandeville, La.), senior Miers Quigley (LHP, Roswell, Ga.) and junior All-Americans 46 Austin Graham (RHP, Hoover, Ala.) ... Those four pitchers are a combined 33-31 (.517) All-SEC Selections 104 with a 4.95 ERA in 143 appearances (83 starts) for the Tide ... The quartet has logged more Academic All-Americans 9 than 500 career innings and recorded more than 420 strikeouts ... Sophomore Nathan Kil- Academic All-District Selections 13 crease (RHP, Phenix City, Ala.) was 3-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 14 games last season ... He has NCAA Statistical National Champions 5 the lowest ERA among the Tide’s returning pitchers ... Graham led the staff in wins (6) Major League Players 60 and saves (4) in 24 appearances last season ... Junior Del Howell (LHP, Tuscaloosa, Ala.) Hall of Famers 2 and sophomore Jimmy Nelson (RHP, Niceville, Fla.) were among the top prospects in the Texas Collegiate League this summer ... Howell was the No. 1 prospect in the league, while Nelson was third ...

This is Alabama Baseball WWW.ROLLTIDE.COM Howell was 1-1 with a 6.65 ERA in seven games last year, but did record 24 strikeouts in 23 innings on the mound ... He is also a two-way player and will see action as an outfielder 1907 NEW ENGLAND TOUR 9-0 (1.000) and designated hitter this week ... Howell had two home runs and 10 RBI in 17 games last Alabama 5, Dartmouth 0 year ... Nelson went 3-3 with a 6.26 ERA in 18 games last season and seemed to have more Alabama 2, Dartmouth 1 success in a relief role ... Alabama will also rely on a quartet of newcomers including ju- Alabama 3, Fordham 1 nior Scott Hays, junior David Head, freshman Adam Morgan and junior Adam Scott this Alabama 5, Lehigh 4 season on the mound ... Hays (LHP, Odessa College) went 7-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 13 games Alabama 3, Amherst College 2 last season in junior college ... Head (LHP, Chattahoochee Valley CC) posted an 8-3 record Alabama 11, Tufts College 10 and 2.83 ERA last season ... Morgan (LHP, Kell HS) was the biggest surprise on the pitching Alabama 8, Williams College 3 staff this fall for the Tide ... He was a member of four AAU national championship teams Alabama 10, Brown 4 during his prep career ... Scott (RHP, Shelton State CC) pitched on two World Series teams Alabama 9, Brown 0 during his JuCo career ... In 55 games, he posted a 13-5 record and 3.01 ERA with six saves for the Bucs. 1957 FAR EAST TOUR 15-5 (.750) 1907 NEW ENGLAND TOUR: According to the Boston Herald, Alabama was the “first south- Alabama-Yokasuka AFB (PPD, Rain) ern baseball team to invade New England.” Dr. J.W.H. Pollard took the Crimson Tide up Alabama 10, Yokasuka 0 (Tokyo) the eastern seaboard from May 26-June 19, 1907 for a nine-game tour against other col- Alabama 4, Camp Drake 1 (Tokyo) legiate teams in the New England area. Alabama posted a perfect 9-0 record on the tour, Atsugi NAS 4, Alabama 3 (Tokyo which included two wins over both Dartmouth and Brown and one win each against Ford- Alabama 2, Camp Zoma 1 (Tokyo) ham, Lehigh, Amherst, Tufts and Williams College. The team traveled 4,269 miles for the Johnson AB 7, Alabama 2 (Tokyo) 23-day event. Rikko University 1, Alabama 0 (Tokyo) Alabama 4, Tachikawa AB 3 (Tokyo) Alabama-Fuchu AS (PPD, Rain) 1957 FAR EAST TOUR: Alabama compiled a 15-5 (.750) record on its 20-game Goodwill Alabama-Yokota AB (PPD, Rain) Far East Tour from June 25-August 6, 1957. The Crimson Tide outscored the opposition, Alabama-Fifth AB (PPD, Rain) 134-45 on the tour. Alabama played two games in Seoul, Korea, three games in Honolulu, Alabama 4, Kansai University 1 (Tokyo) Hawai’i, four games in Okinawa, Japan and 11 games in Tokyo, Japan mainly against U.S. Alabama 4, Itami AB 1 (Tokyo) Alabama 7, Itazuke 3 (Tokyo) Military bases and Japanese Universities. In addition, the Tide had eight other games Alabama 11, Ashiya AB 4 (Tokyo) rained out. Alabama’s trip to the Far East was the third in three years for a U.S. collegiate Alabama 10, Osan AB AF All-Stars 0 (Korea) baseball team. Southern California played a Far East Tour in 1955 and Ohio State played Alabama 19, 7th Division All-Stars 0 (Korea) a similar schedule in 1956. The Tide also encountered some heartache along the way as 21 Alabama-Seoul Area Command (PPD, Rain) of the 24 members of the travel party were aff ected by an Asian fl u siege that at one point Alabama-Korean All-Stars (PPD, Rain) Alabama-24th Infantry Division Stars (PPD, Rain) on the trip sidelined Coach Campbell and limited UA’s roster to just 12 healthy players. Alabama-I Corps All-Stars (PPD, Rain) All-American Frank Roland played 11 games as an outfi elder and pitcher and led the Alabama 7, Okinawa All-Stars 0 (Okinawa) team with a .343 batt ing average. The Memphis, Tenn., native also collected two triples, Alabama 5, Kodena AB 1 (Okinawa) three home runs and knocked in 17 runs for the Tide. He also posted a 3-1 record on the Alabama 20, Marine All-Stars 3 (Okinawa) mound. First baseman Fred Frickie led the Tide with 23 RBI and 30 total bases. Pitcher Alabama 4, Army All-Stars 0 (Okinawa) Marine All-Stars 4, Alabama 3 (Honolulu) Bobby Ledford went 5-1 on the mound and led UA 49 innings pitched and 48 strikeouts. Alabama 14, Navy All-Stars 1 (Honlulu) He also paced the team with 20 runs scored on off ense. The Escort Offi cer was First Lt. Marine All-Stars 10, Alabama 1 (Honlulu) Jack Smalley, a Tuscaloosa native and former Alabama football star, who was stationed in the United States Air Force in Japan.

LATIN AMERICAN STADIUM: Alabama’s three exhibition games will take place in historic Latin American Stadium (Estadio Latinoamericano) in Havana, Cuba. Latin American Stadium, a spacious pitchers’ park with prevailing winds blowing in and boasting a playing surface and lighting system of major-league quality, was built in 1946 as the top baseball park in Latin America. It is located in the Cerro neighborhood, it opened with the name Estadio del Cerro and currently holds about 55,000 people. The stadium has served as home to the Havana Sugar Kings (, 1954-60) and spring training for the and (1947) and Pitt sburgh Pirates (1953). In 1999, it also hosted an exhibition series between the Cuban National Team and the Baltimore Orioles.

WWW.ROLLTIDE.COM This is Alabama Baseball