The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
HOUSTON*
Blazers Fall To Houston 9-3
4/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 2, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Houston scored runs in the first-fourth innings and added a run in the seventh to claim a 9-3 victory over UAB in Conference USA baseball action Friday evening at Young Memorial Field.
Blazer starter Griffin Zarbough (2-1) took the loss for UAB after working an inning and giving up six runs, three of which were earned, on six hits. He walked one and struck out one.
Lyle Northington pitched the final six innings for the Blazers and allowed two runs on five hits, walked three and struck out two.
Cougar starter Garrett Mock (2-5) picked up the win for Houston after pitching seven and two-thirds innings and allowing three runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out six.
Houston (10-18, 3-4 C-USA) pushed across three runs in the top of the first inning. First baseman Cole Bruce doubled to right field, allowing second baseman Kevin Roberts to score the Cougars' first run of the inning. Third baseman Nick Bott later singled to center field, bringing in Patrick Breen, who was pinch running for designated hitter Brett Cooley after he left the game with an injury, and Bruce.
The Cougars added three more runs in the top of the second inning. Center fielder Jake Stewart reached first on an infield single. Blazer catcher Eugene Rodriguez overthrew first base on the play, allowing catcher Brett Logan to score Houston's first run of the inning. Travis Tully later scored on a wild pitch by Zarbough. Later in the inning, Roberts doubled to right field, scoring Stewart. Houston led 6-0.
Houston posted a run in the top of the third inning when Stewart doubled to left field, bringing in shortstop Stuart Musslewhite.
The Cougars got another run in the top of the fourth inning when Bruce singled to center field, scoring Breen.
UAB (14-11, 2-4 C-USA) answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Center fielder Levi Patmon doubled to right center field, allowing shortstop Dan Stucky and second baseman Josh Miljavac to score the Blazers' first runs of the inning. Designated hitter Nathan McCorkle later singled up the middle, scoring Patmon.
Houston took a 9-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning on a solo home run to left field by Bott.
"(Garrett) Mock was really good," said UAB head coach Larry Giangrosso. "He got them deep in the game. We made a little run and tried to get back in it, but we just couldn't. Our starting pitching just wasn't good enough tonight. Lyle Northington, I thought, threw real well. He kept them (Houston) at bay and gave us a chance to get back in the game. We just never seemed to come up with a big hit. Once we got down, we just couldn't get back in the game."
UAB and Houston will play game two of the three-game set Saturday at 2 p.m. and will conclude the series Sunday at noon.
Both Saturday and Sunday's contests 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.
