The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Middle Tennessee State
Blazers Complete Sweep of MTSU with Sunday Shutout
4/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB baseball team shut out Middle Tennessee 8-0 Sunday evening at Young Memorial Field to complete the three-game sweep of the Conference USA foe.
Freshman starting pitcher Kyle Davis (2-0) earned the win in his first career start as the Blazers (17-22, 9-9 C-USA) picked up their first sweep of the season to pull to 9-9 in C-USA play. The UAB bats contributed 11 hits; four of which came from Brewer Hicklen, as the redshirt freshman was a home run shy of the cycle.
Davis retired the first nine MTSU (16-25, 4-14 C-USA) batters in order and was rewarded with an early lead from his offense. The right-hander exited after five innings of one-hit baseball with a couple of strikeouts on 49 pitches.
The Blue Raiders surrendered the game’s first run in the bottom of the first inning. Hicklen roped a leadoff double to left, advanced to third on a wild delivery from MTSU starting pitcher Garrett Ring, and scored on a Carter Pharis single to center.
The Green and Gold blew it open in the fourth behind a five-hit parade. The inning’s first four batters all reached base safely, leading to the game’s second run. Pharis drew a leadoff walk, and Griffin Gum and Riley McCown each bunted their way aboard. With the bases loaded, Adam Smith lined a two-run single to left. Leading 3-0, Blake Johnson followed suit with a two-RBI single.
The Blazers tacked on insurance runs in the fifth and seventh innings to give the game its eventual final score. Smith recorded his third RBI on his second hit of the afternoon in the fifth, while a bases-loaded balk and Evan Peterson RBI single plated the final two runs.
Among a trio of Blazers’ pitcher, the Blue Raiders mustered just three hits. Following Davis’ performance, left-hander Dylan Munger threw three scoreless innings, and freshman Garrett Whitlock closed out the ninth inning on 13 pitches.
Following C-USA play on Sunday, UAB is tied for sixth with Western Kentucky in the league standings. The team continues its quest for a spot in the C-USA Baseball Championship tournament as it heads to Norfolk, Va., next weekend. The three-game series with Old Dominion kicks off an 11-day road trip for the Blazers.
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