The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
TENNESSEE TECH
UAB Hammers Tennessee Tech, 15-5
3/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 12, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team continued its hot hitting, recording a season-best 17 hits and defeating Tennessee Tech, 15-5, on Saturday afternoon at Young Memorial Field. The win was the Blazers' second in as many games over the Golden Eagles and UAB has now scored 26 runs in the first two games of the series. The Blazers improve to 10-5 while the Golden Eagles drop to 3-10.
Ten different UAB batters notched at least one hit in the game. Nathan McCorkle went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and now has six hits in the first two games of the series. Seth Rollin also contributed three hits and Rush Knight hit his first home run of the season in the UAB victory.
Ryan Huffman (2-0) was outstanding in relief for UAB, allowing just one hit in 4.2 innings to pick up his second victory of the season.
Trailing by a run in the bottom of the second, the Blazers scored to tie the game. Seth Rollin grounded a two-out single up the middle and scored from first when Phillip Bell followed with an RBI triple down the right field line.
The Blazers took the lead in the next inning. Clint Toomey was hit by a pitch and Dan Stucky drew a walk with one out. After Cole Helms fouled out to third, Nathan McCorkle continued his hot hitting, smashing a two-run triple off the wall in right-center field. The triple was McCorkle's second hit of the game, and gave him six RBIs in the first two games of the series.
The Golden Eagles jumped ahead in the top of the fourth inning. Matthew Selvog led off with a single, his second hit of the afternoon, and came around to score when Corey Kemp doubled over Toomey's head in center field. Nathan Marty followed with a home run to right, giving his team a 4-3 lead. Tennessee Tech would add one more run on a Matt Mihoci two-out single before the inning came to an end.
The Blazers would tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth. Bell led off by ripping a double down the left field line, then plated the tying run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan Metcalf.
Cole Helms led off the bottom of the seventh for UAB and reached second on an error by Tennessee Tech centerfielder Hunter Mize. After McCorkle was hit by a pitch, Zac Ward came through with a double down the right field line, scoring both runners and giving the Blazers a 7-5 lead. Bell contributed to UAB's lead with a sacrifice fly which scored Ward two batters later, and Rush Knight's first home run of the season put the Blazers up by five. With Rollin on base after a single, Knight drilled a ball off the scoreboard in left field to give his team some breathing room heading into the late innings.
The Blazers will wrap up their series against Tennessee Tech on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Young Memorial Field.
