BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Solid pitching and defense, along with good health, has gotten UAB into first place in Conference USA after four conference weekends.
Some psychology has helped as well.
Last fall, head coach Brian Shoop had his team read The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work by John Gordon.
It was easy for UAB to be negative last year. The Blazers won just 23 games (the number UAB has so far this year to just 10 losses), lost numerous players to injuries and couldn't pitch or field consistently.
UAB's Matt Morse throws a Troy runner out at Regions Field in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday, April 1, 2014. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)
"I recommend it to any human being," Shoop said. "It would help the quality of their life. We live in a very negative society. It's very easy to let negativity creep in.
"For the most part, this has been a very positive culture. Not a perfect culture, but a positive one."
UAB is 9-3 in Conference USA play, slightly out in first place ahead of East Carolina and Southern Miss (both 8-4) and Rice (10-5). The Blazers host Southern Miss in a key series this weekend at Young Memorial Field. Game times are 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
"It's a lot of fun when you're playing well," UAB outfielder Griffin Gum said. "We've got to continue to work, continue to stay level-headed about things and come out each day ready to play. You can't take any opponents lightly."
UAB's weekend pitching has been outstanding. Friday starter Chase Mallard is 6-0 with an 0.91 ERA. Saturday starter Alex Luna is 5-0 with an 0.97 ERA and Sunday starter Johnny Lieske is 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA.
The trio holds a cumulative 1.25 ERA, which ranks second in the country among weekend rotations. FIU leads Division I baseball with a 1.11 mark. UAB took two out of three against FIU earlier, winning a pair of 1-0 games before losing 2-0.
UAB's team ERA is 2.65. Its fielding percentage is .969. Last year, UAB went 23-36. Its ERA was 5.29 and fielding percentage was .963.
The Blazers had injury after injury last year, dressing 18 healthy and eligible players on conference weekends at the end of the year. This year, UAB hasn't had the services of pitchers James Naile and Dylan Munger because of arm injuries, but they figured that going into the season.
But the team hasn't let low points carry over. UAB hasn't lost more than two games in a row and, after one stretch where it lost 4 of 5, UAB bounced back with a series win over then-No. 29 FIU.
"That's a huge difference from last year," Luna said. "People are complaining less than they did last year."
The book has made an impact. But don't go too far with it.
"That hasn't helped as much as Mallard and Luna dominating on the mound, but it's helped," Shoop said.