The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
MEMPHIS*
Blazers Top Memphis In Slugfest, 17-12
4/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 10, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-- UAB wrapped up a three-game sweep of Memphis with a 17-12 victory over the Tigers in Sunday afternoon's finale at Young Memorial Field. The Blazers are now 18-3 at home this season, including a school record 14 consecutive victories in the friendly confines of Young Memorial Field. With the loss, Memphis falls to 8-20, 2-10 in Conference USA while UAB is 22-10, 7-5 in league play.
Every starter for both UAB and Memphis recorded at least one hit in the contest which saw 29 runs on 32 hits and eight total errors. Ryan Metcalf led the way for the Blazers, recording three hits which included his third home run of the season. Nathan McCorkle and Cole Helms also homered for UAB in the victory. Adam Amar went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI for Memphis.
UAB reliever Eric Roberts picked up the victory and improves to 2-1 after working 2.2 scoreless innings in which he allowed just two hits and struck out four. Drew Jaudon (1-2) suffered the loss for the Tigers.
After UAB starter Grant Addison retired the first two Memphis batters in the top of the first, the Tigers rallied for four runs. Amar drew a walk, then consecutive singles by Robbie Goss and Patrick Hope staked Memphis to a one-run lead. K.K. Chalmers then doubled down the right field line scoring Goss and Hope. An RBI single by Collin Bastien extended the Tiger lead to four runs.
The Blazers wasted no time cutting into the Memphis lead in the bottom of the first. J.R. Bond reached base on a single down the left field line and Zac Ward followed with a base on balls. The next batter was McCorkle who continued his hot hitting by sending his team-leading seventh home run of the season over the wall in right-center field.
Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the second, UAB pushed two runs across. Phillip Bell led off with a single and came around to score on a Ben McCullars double. After a Metcalf sacrifice bunt moved McCullars to third, Clint Toomey grounded an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at five.
A two-run home run by Amar, his fifth of the season in the top of the fourth gave Memphis a 7-5 lead.
A two-out, two-run double by Ward in the bottom of the fourth inning scored McCullars and Bond and brought UAB back within a run. With Ward on second and McCorkle on first after an intentional walk, Helms made the Tigers pay by crushing a three-run homer over the left-center field wall, his sixth round tripper on the season.
Memphis would score three more times in the top of the fifth inning to once again reclaim the lead at 11-10.
Trailing by two runs in the bottom of the seventh, UAB put two runs on the board. Seth Rollin was hit by a pitch leading off, and Bell followed with an infield single. After Rollin scored on an RBI groundout by McCullars, Metcalf lined a single through the left side, scoring Bell to tie the game at 12.
The Blazers pushed across the go-ahead runs in their final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth. After taking a two-run lead on an errory by Memphis shortstop Patrick Hope, Metcalf capped off his 3-for-3 day at the plate with his third home run of the season, a three-run shot over the left field wall which gave his team a 17-12 advantage.
The Blazers return to action on Tuesday when they host in-state rival Birmingham-Southern at 7 p.m. at Young Memorial Field.
