The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
UT Martin
UAB Slugs Past UT Martin, 13-5
3/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 10, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team picked up a 13-5 win Tuesday night over UT Martin at Young Memorial Field.
Jonathan Merritt tallied three hits and reached base in each of his four plate appearances. Digger Towe notched two hits and finished with a game-high four RBI.
The Blazers broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the third inning on a Brint Hardy RBI single to take their first lead. UAB then blew the game open with four runs in the fifth inning and five more in the sixth. Cody McMurry recorded a two-RBI double as part of the fifth inning, while Towe highlighted the sixth-inning scoring with a three-RBI double.
It was still a 7-2 game when Towe came to the plate in the sixth, but that double helped to put the game out of reach. The Blazers went on to extend their lead to 13-3 before UT Martin picked up a pair of runs in the ninth.
"It didn't feel like a 13-5 ballgame," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "It felt closer than that. It was still a game until Digger hit that two-out double."
Bradley Hicks closed the scoring for UAB in the eighth inning. The redshirt freshman hit the first pitch he saw off the top of the right field fence and over for his first career home run.
"I think you could see how excited our team was for Bradley," Shoop said. "That was his first collegiate hit, and to have it be a home run is special. That was probably my favorite moment of the night. And we also were able to play a lot of guys tonight."
A total of 16 UAB players recorded an at-bat in the game, and nine different Blazers managed at least one hit.
Each team used four pitchers in the game. Kyle Roberson allowed two runs on three hits over 6.0 innings to earn his first win of the season on the mound. The senior right-hander also tallied six strikeouts. UT Martin starter Coty Green took the loss, giving up seven runs in 4.2 innings.
Jeff Younger saw his first action of the year with an inning out of the Blazer bullpen, while Tristan Farrell and Mikael Saway also threw an inning of relief each for UAB.
Miles Hartsfield led UT Martin offensively with two hits and a pair of RBI. Seven other Skyhawks recorded one hit apiece in the game.
With the win, the Blazers improve to 5-6 on the season. The Skyhawks fall to 4-5 with the loss.
UAB and UT Martin are back in action again Wednesday with game two of their two-game midweek series. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. CT at Young Memorial Field.
