The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
LOUISVILLE*
Blazers Top Louisville 16-4
3/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 19, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB posted 16 runs on 15 hits to claim a 16-4 win over Louisville in Conference USA baseball action at Young Memorial Field. Both teams were playing their C-USA opening contest. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Louisville.
UAB (13-5, 1-0 C-USA) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Cardinal starter Jon Harbridge's wild pitch allowed shortstop Dan Stucky to score from third base.
The Blazers got out to a 6-0 advantage in the bottom of the fourth inning. Designated hitter Nathan McCorkle tripled to left center field, allowing Stucky to score UAB's first run of the inning. Left fielder Matt Womble followed with a single through the left side, scoring McCorkle. Catcher Eugene Rodriguez then hit a two-run homer to right field. Later in the inning, center fielder Sam Clark singled up the middle, scoring third baseman Zac Ward.
UAB posted four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rodriguez collected his fourth RBI of the contest when he doubled to left field, allowing first baseman Daniel Hill and McCorkle to score the Blazers' first runs of the inning. Right fielder Cole Helms then grounded out to shortstop, allowing Womble to score from third base. Later in the inning, Clark got his second RBI of the game when he singled to right field, scoring Rodriguez. UAB led 10-0.
Louisville (9-8, 0-1 C-USA) got a run in the top of the sixth inning on third baseman Ryan McKinnon's sacrifice fly to left field that scored right fielder Mark Jurich.
The Blazers answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth when McCorkle reached first base on a fielding error by Cardinal shortstop Chris Cates, allowing Hill to score his second run of the game.
UAB added five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Helms collected his third RBI of the game when he singled to left center field, allowing Hill and McCorkle to score the Blazers' first runs of the inning. Ward followed with a three-run homer to left field. UAB led 16-1.
The Cardinals posted three runs in the top of the ninth inning. McKinnon led off the inning with a solo home run to left field. First baseman Greg Taylor later doubled to right center field, scoring left fielder Isaiah Howes. Taylor was also able to score on the play when Blazer second baseman Josh Miljavac over threw third base.
Blazer starter Griffin Zarbough (2-0) picked up the win for UAB after working seven innings and allowing one run on five hits. Zarbough walked two and struck out six. Lyle Northington pitched the final two innings for UAB after coming on in relief of Zarbough in the top of the eighth inning. Northington gave up three runs on five hits and did not issue a walk.
"It was great to see Griffin (Zarbough) get us deep in the game," said UAB head coach Larry Giangrosso. "I thought he pitched outstanding. We really swung the bats well tonight. We were really in tune with what we were doing at the plate. We came up with some big hits."
Harbridge (0-2) took the loss for Louisville after working three and two-thirds innings and allowing six runs on eight hits. Harbridge struck out three batters and did not issue a walk.
UAB and Louisville will meet in game two of the three-game set Saturday at 2 p.m. The final game of the series will be Sunday at 1 p.m.
Both games will be broadcast via the world wide web on the Blazers' official athletics website, www.uabsports.com.
For those who are not Yahoo! subscribers, a monthly subscription can be purchased for $4.95 per month and a season-long subscription may be purchased for $14.95. To listen to the broadcast, click on either "UAB Audio Broadcasts" or "Multimedia" from the UAB athletics website's main page and follow the links.
