The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Western Illinois
Déjà vu: Hamilton's Game-Winner Gives UAB 8-7 Victory
3/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 20, 2010
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BIRMINGAM, Ala. -- Thirteen days ago, Devin Hamilton provided a ninth-inning, pinch-hit single to lift the UAB baseball team over Eastern Illinois. On Saturday, he did it again against another team from the same state.
Hamilton's pinch-hit single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth scored John Frost from second base to give the Blazers an 8-7 win over Western Illinois in the first game of a day-night doubleheader at Young Memorial Field.
The Blazers (9-7) and Leathernecks (4-10) will be back in action Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT to close out their three-game weekend series.
Hamilton, a sophomore first baseman, now has four at-bats on the season with two of them going for game-winning hits.
"It was the same kind of situation and the same kind of pitcher Devin faced two weeks ago against Eastern Illinois," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "You like to have a left-handed bat out there against a right-handed, submarine guy, so we decided to go with Devin again even though Ryan (Ussery) had been having a good game."
UAB entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 7-6, but a one-out triple from Nick Crawford put the tying run at third base. Frost singled to plate Crawford and then moved to second on a single from Luke Stewart to get into scoring position for Hamilton.
Andrew Manning went 3-for-3 with three RBI, including his second home run of the year, to lead UAB offensively. Crawford and Ussery each managed two hits and scored a pair of runs for the Blazers.
UAB reliever Nick Graffeo earned the win after holding Western Illinois hitless and striking out four over the final three innings. He was charged with one unearned run in relief of Beau Pender during a four-run Leatherneck seventh inning that featured three UAB errors as Western Illinois turned a 6-3 deficit into a 7-6 lead.
Leatherneck reliever David Hill pitched two and two-thirds innings and was two outs away from closing the game and getting the save before the two-run UAB ninth handed him the loss.
"There aren't many games where you can make three consecutive errors and win," Shoop said. "But it was good to see us hang in there and come back. Sometimes a good come-from-behind win can do more for you than your average win."
