LIVE STATS
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The University of Alabama in Huntsville baseball team begins its five-game homestand to close out the regular season with two non-conference tilts this week. Alabama A&M (8-30) first visits Charger Park on Tuesday for a game, originally scheduled for Wednesday, under the lights at 6 p.m. CDT. UAH then hosts Miles (19-15) in a Thursday night contest, with first pitch slated for 5 p.m.
In their last outing, the Chargers (24-19) posted their first series victory over No. 28 Valdosta State since the 2003 season, and first on the road since 2000. UAH swept the first two games against the Blazers on Saturday to clinch the series – the fourth of the year for the squad in conference play. VSU grabbed game three in rallying fashion, erasing a 5-2 deficit over the final three innings to win 7-6.
Grant DeBruin is now hitting .391 for the season to lead UAH at the plate, and has belted seven home runs while posting 14 doubles. Over the last six games, DeBruin has led a trio of Chargers' hitting over .400 with a clip of .478. After hitting .500 last weekend, Ty Chancelor enters the week averaging .417 while Justin Riddle batted .557 last week and has averaged .400 over the last two weeks.
Johnny Shuttlesworth leads the pitching staff with a 0.93 ERA and 3-1 record after throwing a season-high 6.0 innings last week and allowing no earned runs. With 20 strikeouts on the year, Shuttlesworth is fanning more than one batter per inning.
After winning just two of its last 10 games, Alabama A&M is 8-30 on the season. The Bulldogs are hitting .226 for the season, while averaging 3.3 runs on 6.6 hits per outing. Norbert Riggins leads Alabama A&M with a .291 average, including one triple, three doubles and 14 RBI on the year. The Bulldogs' pitching staff carries an 8.44 ERA into the weekend while allowing opponents to a .327 average. In addition, Alabama A&M is allowing 9.1 runs and 11.0 hits per contest.
The Chargers and the Bulldogs will be meeting on the diamond for the 19th time, with UAH carrying a dominating 17-1 record in the series. The lone UAH loss came during the 2009 season at Alabama A&M by a score of 9-8.
The Miles matchup is the second of a two-game, home-and-home series between the programs this season. In the season's first meeting, UAH dominated the Golden Bears and left with a 9-3 victory. Ty Chancelor led the Chargers with a 3-for-3 performance from the plate, including four scored runs on the day.
The Chargers have never dropped a game to Miles in the series short history and now holds a 5-0 advantage in the series, including a 2-0 mark in Huntsville. In the two home games, UAH defeated the Golden Bears by scores of 16-5 in 2008 and 15-4 in 2010.
The Miles Golden Bears enter the contest with a 19-15 overall record. After sweeping three games over Clark Atlanta two weeks ago, Miles dropped four straight games before compiling a three-game sweep of Tuskegee. As a team, Miles hits .294 at the plate, while averaging an effective 7.3 runs on 8.5 hits per game. Keland Smith leads the team, batting at a .349 clip with three home runs and nine doubles. Smith has 29 RBI on the year and has an on-base percentage of .519. The pitching staff has a 5.80 ERA with a .298 opponent batting average. The Golden Bears are allowing 6.7 runs and 8.7 hits per game.
After this week, UAH has a weekend off from competition, but closes out the regular season on April 28-29 when the Chargers hosts GSC-rival North Alabama in a three-game series. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 28, with first pitch at Charger Park set for 2 p.m. CDT before facing off in game three on Sunday, April 29, at 1 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Chargers on Facebook (facebook.com/uahchargers) and on Twitter (@uahchargers), and supporters of the Blue and White may sign up for text and e-mail updates at uahchargers.com.
