The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Marshall
UAB Beats Marshall to Clinch Conference USA Tournament Berth
5/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 12, 2007
CHARLESTON, W. Va. - The UAB Blazers had their bats working again on Saturday, beating Marshall, 14-5, at Appalachian Power Park. Senior outfielder J.R. Bond was 3-for-4 with five RBI and a home run to help the Blazers earn their fourth straight trip to the Conference USA Tournament, to be held May 23-27 at East Carolina.
UAB improves to 22-30 (9-11 C-USA) with the win, while Marshall is now 19-28 (4-15 C-USA).
Freshman southpaw Shay Crawford (4-3) earned the win on the mound for the Blazers after throwing six complete innings in which he struck out three and gave up just two earned runs. Junior right-hander Kasey Croft earned his first save of the season after he pitched the final three innings, striking out two and allowing no runs.
Marshall right-hander Jeremy Slone (3-4) got the loss after allowing 10 runs in 6.0 innings of work.
"It feels awesome, fourth year in a row, it's pretty sweet," said Bond about clinching a spot in the C-USA Tournament. "We want to get as hot as we can going into the tournament and I feel like we're playing pretty well right now. I felt pretty good out there today, my swing is coming around and I feel relaxed out there."
Aside from Bond's stellar offensive showing, several other Blazers shined on Saturday. Junior first baseman Ryan Keedy was 5-for-5 with two runs scored in the game. Keedy is now batting .643 with two home runs and three RBI in his last three games.
Junior second baseman Tyler Rollin was 3-for-5 with a run scored and junior outfielder Phil Bell was 3-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore outfielder Brint Hardy also had multiple hits in the game, going 2-for-5 with two RBI.
The Thundering Herd was led by second baseman Josh Valle and his 1-for-3 day with an RBI and a run scored.
UAB's 20 hits against the Herd mark a season-most allowed by Marshall all season.
Bond got the Blazers going with his two-run blast over the wall in left-center field in the first to give the Blazers an early 2-0 edge. Keedy scored on the homer after laying down a bunt-single to get on base.
Marshall came back to take the lead in the bottom of the first by getting three unearned runs home. The Blazers had two errors in the inning. Second baseman Josh Valle scored first baseman Brit Vincent on a single to center and then designated hitter Brendan Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to center to score left fielder Jeff Rowley. Valle later scored the final run of the inning on a single to center by third baseman Thad Ledford to give the Thundering Herd a 3-2 advantage.
UAB evened things up at 3-3 in the second after freshman shortstop Jonathan Merritt and Rollin hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. With one out and the two middle infielders on first and third, Rollin took off for second and was caught stealing, however the play at second allowed Merritt to score and tie the game.
After a pair of scoreless innings, UAB regained the lead, 5-3, with a two-run fifth inning. Patmon singled up the middle to lead off the inning and then Bell bunted his way on. After a sac-bunt by Keedy moved the two runners into scoring position, Bond came to the plate and lined a single up the middle to score both runners.
The Herd got one run back in the bottom half of the fifth when center fielder Nick Damas singled through the left side to lead off the inning and then came around to score on a ground out to third by right fielder Nate Lape to cut the Blazer lead to 5-4.
The Blazers blew the game open in the sixth, scoring five runs on six hits to open up a 10-4 lead. Sawyer delivered the biggest blow of the inning with a two-run single up the middle to score Patmon and Bell. Lovdahl drove in the final run of the inning, scoring Keedy on a double down the left field line.
UAB kept the runs coming in the seventh, taking a 13-5 lead behind a two-run single up the middle by Bell that scored both Rollin and Patmon. Bell scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Bond to give Bond his fifth RBI on the day.
The Blazers added one more run in the eighth.
The Blazers and Herd will play the final game of the series at Appalachian Power Park on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. CT.
