The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Samford
UAB Stays Hot Offensively, Beats Samford 10-6
4/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 9, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB Blazers scored runs in five consecutive innings to pull away with a 10-6 victory over the Samford Bulldogs at Young Memorial Field Wednesday night. First baseman Ryan Keedy was 2-for-3 with three RBI in the game to record his 19th multiple hit game of the season.
The Blazers improve to 14-17 with the win, while Samford falls to 18-11.
UAB has now scored 25 runs in its two games this week and has tallied 26 hits after scoring just eight runs in its three-game series against Presbyterian last weekend.
"We had been struggling a little to score but we came out and had some pretty competitive at bats and were able to put pressure on them defensively," said UAB head coach Brian Shoop following his team's fourth straight victory. "I thought all in all we had a really solid approach at the plate tonight."
Brandon Flaherty (1-1) got the win in a game that the Blazers used seven pitchers in. Flaherty threw 1.0 inning of relief and struck out one, while giving up no hits or runs.
Grant Sides (2-1) got the loss after throwing 4.0 innings and giving up five runs.
In addition to Keedy's strong offensive night, right fielder Brint Hardy was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and a stolen bases. Left fielder Phil Bell and second baseman Nick Crawford were each 2-for-4.
Samford was led by catcher Gary Cramer who was 1-for-1 with a grand slam in the eighth inning.
Samford took a 1-0 lead in the second when first baseman Trip Swann took UAB starter Blake Huddleston's offering deep over the right field wall. The home run was the second of Swann's career and at Young Memorial Field having hit his first career homer against the Blazers last season.
After the Bulldogs extended their lead to 2-0 in the third, UAB came around in the bottom half of the inning and got on the board when shortstop Jonathan Merritt hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Hardy.
Keedy led off the fourth with a solo blast to left field to knot the score at 2-2. Then, later in the inning, designated hitter Austin Taylor scored when catcher Allen Aubin hit a bloop single down the right field line on which Samford right fielder Bear Burnett's throw back into the infield at first base redirected off of Aubin's leg towards the Bulldog dugout to allow the run to score.
UAB extended its lead to 5-2 in the fifth when Bell tripled to deep center field to score Crawford and then Bell scored on a ground out by Keedy.
The Blazers added two more runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to pull away with a 10-2 lead.
Running out of outs with two down in the top of the eighth, the Bulldogs had loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter which brought up Cramer who cleared the bases with a grand slam for his first career hit to cut the deficit to 10-6.
Left-hander Billy Lichtner came in and got the final out of the eighth for the Blazers and then closed out the ninth.
The Blazers will now resume Conference USA play as they travel to play seventh-ranked Rice at Reckling Park this weekend beginning Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
