The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
TULANE*
Blazers Rally To Upset No. 7 Tulane 11-3
4/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 17, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally to an 11-3 upset of seventh-ranked Tulane in Conference USA baseball action Saturday afternoon at Young Memorial Field.
UAB (15-19, 3-10 C-USA) began the inning down 3-2. Second baseman Seth Rollin doubled to left field, allowing designated hitter Nathan McCorkle and right fielder Cole Helms to score the Blazers' first runs of the inning. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Green Wave reliever Joey Charron walked shortstop Josh Miljavac, bringing in Rollin from third base. Left fielder Levi Patmon followed with a double to left field that scored third baseman Zac Ward and center fielder Sam Clark. First baseman Daniel Hill then connected on his second home run of the contest, a three-run shot to right field. Catcher Eugene Rodriguez later singled to right field, allowing McCorkle to score his second run of the inning.
Blazer starter Jeff Brown (3-3) tossed a complete game, allowing three runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out five.
"We really had some good, key hits in the eighth inning," said UAB head coach Larry Giangrosso. "Jeff (Brown) pitched so well and we played good defense behind him. We had some chances early in the game and left people on. Our guys fought hard today and we were able to get it done."
Tyler Kimmons (0-2) took the loss after coming on in relief of Green Wave starter J.R. Crowel in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kimmons worked one and one-third innings and allowed three runs on two hits. Crowel pitched six innings and gave up two runs on six hits, walked three and struck out five.
Tulane struck first in the top of the first inning. With the bases loaded, catcher Brian Bormaster's sacrifice fly to center field allowed center fielder Nathan Southard to score the Green Wave's first run of the inning. Designated hitter Wes Swackhamer followed with a single up the middle that scored second baseman Joe Holland. Tulane led 2-0.
UAB tied the score in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run homer to left field by Hill.
Tulane regained the lead in the top of the fifth inning when Bormaster's infield single scored left fielder Matt Barket from third base. The Green Wave led 3-2.
The win snapped a 10-game losing streak for the Blazers, who out hit Tulane 12-9 in the contest.
The three-game series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. with the series tied at one game apiece. The Green Wave won the Friday contest 17-13.
Sunday's game will be broadcast live 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.
