The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
USF*
Blazers Defeat USF, 8-5
5/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 15, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -Designated hitter Nathan McCorkle went 3-for-4 with two doubles, three RBI and a run scored in helping lead UAB to an 8-5 win over the University of South Florida in Conference USA baseball action Saturday afternoon at Young Memorial Field.
UAB (25-25, 11-14 C-USA) took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Shortstop Josh Miljavac led off the inning with a home run to right field. McCorkle later doubled to left center field, scoring catcher Eugene Rodriguez. Right fielder Cole Helms followed with a double to left center field, bringing in McCorkle.
The Blazers added two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Miljavac collected his second RBI of the contest when he singled to left field, allowing third baseman Zac Ward to score the Blazers' first run of the inning. First baseman Daniel Hill later grounded into a double play, allowing center fielder Levi Patmon to score from third base. UAB led 5-0.
USF (30-21, 11-14 C-USA) got on the board in the top of the third inning with a solo home run to right field by shortstop Myron Leslie.
UAB got out to a 6-1 advantage in the bottom of the third on a solo home run to left field by Helms.
The Bulls posted a run in the top of the fourth inning on designated hitter Matt McHargue's sacrifice fly to left field that brought in catcher Devin Ivany.
The Blazers answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth when McCorkle got his second RBI of the game, singling through the right side and scoring Rodriguez. UAB led 7-2.
UAB added a run in the bottom of the sixth inning when McCorkle collected his third RBI of the game, doubling to right field and scoring Hill.
USF cut the lead to five runs in the top of the eighth inning when Ivany doubled to left field, scoring Ty Taborelli, who had pinch hit for center fielder Jeremy Bellotti.
The Bulls pushed across two runs in the top of the ninth inning when second baseman Mike Macaluso doubled to right field, scoring Nick Cardieri, who had pinch hit for first baseman Brian Baisley, and Taborelli. The USF rally came up short however, when Eric Roberts came on in relief of Blazer starter Adam Price with two outs in the inning and struck out Leslie to record his fourth save of the season.
Price (5-5) picked up the win for UAB after working eight and two-thirds innings and allowing five runs, four of which were earned, on seven hits. He walked two and struck out two.
The series is now tied at one game apiece as USF won the Friday game.
"After Friday night, coming back was huge," said UAB head coach Larry Giangrosso. "We got a great pitching performance out of Adam (Price). That saved our bullpen. He pitched well and we got enough hitting to score. We are proud of the win. It boils down to coming in tomorrow and trying to win the series."
USF starter Daniel Albritton (4-3) took the loss for the Bulls after pitching two innings and giving up six runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out two.
Miljavac ended the day going 2-for-3 with two RBI and Helms was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.
The teams conclude the three-game series Sunday at 1 p.m.
The 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.
