Baseball Looks to Continue SEC Success at Alabama

4/20/2006

Vanderbilt faces its toughest road test of the season this weekend as the Commodores travel to Tuscaloosa to take on 12th ranked Alabama. The series begins tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. at Sewell-Thomas Stadium and will continue on Saturday at 4 p.m., before finishing up on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Vanderbilt has won the last three series including the 2001 and 2004 matchups in Tuscaloosa. Prior to that, Alabama had won six in a row. The teams did not play in 1994-95 and 2002-03 (division rotation) and the series dates back all the way to 1893, the second year of Alabama baseball.

Alabama (28-12, 10-5 SEC) enters the weekend as the leader in the Western Division after dropping two of three to LSU in Baton Rouge last weekend. The two previous weekends, they took two of three from then No. 1’s South Carolina in Columbia and Mississippi State at home. UA is 21-5 at home this year, including 5-1 in league play.

Vanderbilt Freshman third baseman Pedro Alvarez was named National Hitter of the Week by both Collegiate Baseball and the National Baseball Writers Association after blasting six homers in four games last week.

In addition, Alvarez was named SEC Hitter of the Week, marking the first time a Commodore hitter has received the award this year.

Alvarez was 9-for-18 (.500) on the week with seven runs scored. Of his nine hits, six were homers, one was a double and the other two were singles for a 1.556 slugging percentage. Of the two singles, one was the game-inning RBI hit in VU’s 5-4 win on Saturday against Georgia.

Alvarez had a bases clearing double earlier in the game and accounted for four of the Commodores five runs in the win. The only hit he had this week that did not result in a RBI was his hit in Sunday’s win. He added to his homer binge with a solo shot on the first pitch he saw against Middle Tennessee on Tuesday. In his last 12 games, Alvarez has 11 homers and 28 RBI.

As freshman third baseman Pedro Alvarez continues to put up impressive numbers, another player that has heated up over the last ten games is sophomore outfielder Ryan Davis. Davis is 13-for-29 (.464) during that span with two doubles, a homer and nine runs scored. He has also showed a great eye at the plate with eight walks and only two strikeouts for a .595 on base percentage. On the season, Davis is third on the team with a .345 batting average with a homer, six doubles and 10 RBI in 29 games.