NASHVILLE: Minor cruising, Salem struggling

By Chris Lee - April 07, 2007

Staked to a 2-0 lead, Vandy freshman lefty Mike Minor made it through the fourth unscathed, giving up just a full-count, two-out walk to cleanup Kent Matthes two pitches after it appeared Minor had him struck out, but didn't get a call from home plate umpire Joe Marion.

Minor has thrown 48 pitches, striking out three and giving up that walk and one hit.

Meanwhile, 'Bama all-American candidate Emeel Salem continues to struggle after his 43-game on-base streak was snapped last night by David Price (that was seven shy of the school record). Salem is now 0 for his last 13, a very uncharacteristic figure for a player who came in hitting .363 with a .471 on-base percentage.

This week has not been all bad for Salem, though. He won the prestigious Boyd McWhorter SEC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, given to only one male athlete in all sports annually. He's got a 3.9 GPA with a double major in marketing and Spanish, and even though he was picked in the 10th round by the Orioles last June, chose to come back to Tuscaloosa for his senior year because he loved school.

Salem's one of the great stories in college baseball, and, of course, his Commodore opponents annually rank at the top of the NCAA in graduation rates. It's good to see real student athletes have success, and both programs deserve credit for doing things the right way.