The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Houston
Houston Hands UAB First Loss At C-USA Championship
5/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 24, 2008
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The eighth-seeded UAB baseball team lost its first game at the 2008 Entergy Conference USA Championship against fourth-seeded Houston Saturday afternoon, 10-5, at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. Catcher Allen Aubin was 4-for-4 with two RBI in the losing effort for UAB.
UAB falls to 26-33 with the loss, while Houston is now 37-22. The two teams will play again Saturday night with the winner to advance to the Sunday's championship game against either Southern Miss or Marshall. Saturday night's game is tentatively scheduled for 9:00 p.m.
Ty Stuckey (3-3) earned the win for Houston after throwing 4.1 innings of relief in which he gave up three runs on six hits.
Johnny Volk (2-1) was tabbed with the loss after giving up seven runs on five hits in 4.1 innings pitched.
Left fielder Phil Bell added offense for UAB, going 3-for-5, while shortstop Jonathan Merritt was 1-for-4 with three RBI and a home run.
Left fielder Jake Stewart was 2-for-3 with two RBI, three runs scored and a home run for, while third baseman Bryan Pounds was 3-for-4 with four RBI and a home run for Houston.
Houston jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to scoring two unearned runs after two Blazer fielding errors and a pair of hit batters in the inning. Stewart provided the biggest hit of the inning with his two run homer to left field.
The Cougars added another run in the fourth when Stewart hit a two-out double off the left field wall and then scored on a single through the left side by Pounds to take a 4-0 lead.
In the fourth, it was UAB's turn to take advantage of a Houston miscue as an error on Pounds at third base put center fielder Cody McMurry aboard and the Blazers eventually loaded the bases with two outs for Aubin who lined a single to left field to score both McMurry and third baseman Luke Stewart for unearned runs that cut the deficit to 4-2.
Houston pulled away 7-2 in the fifth as Pounds hit a home run to straight away center field and then a triple by second baseman Ryan Lormand scored first baseman Jimmy Cesario for the second run of the inning. Lormand scored on a sacrifice bunt by right fielder Bryan Tully to score the final run of the inning.
The two teams exchanged sacrifice flies in the sixth to make it 8-3 and then Lormand scored another Cougar run in the seventh by doubling and then coming home on a single by center fielder Zak Presley.
Merritt made it a 9-5 game in the eighth by hitting a two-run home run to left field and then Houston plated one last run in the eighth to earn the 10-5 victory.
