The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts UT Martin For Two-Game Midweek Series
3/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 10, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team returns home for six games in six days this week at Young Memorial Field.
The Blazers kick off the homestand Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. CT with the first game of a two-game midweek series against UT Martin. The Blazers and Skyhawks will also play Wednesday, with a first pitch slated for 3 p.m. CT.
UAB enters Tuesday's game at 4-6 on the season after a weekend of tough competition at the QTI Baylor Classic. The Blazers defeated South Alabama and fell to a pair of top 10 teams in UC Irvine and Baylor. UAB had sixth-ranked Baylor on the ropes Sunday, leading by as many as seven runs, but a late-inning rally allowed the Bears to escape with an 11-8 win.
Brint Hardy came alive for UAB last Tuesday against Jacksonville State, and his hot play carried over on the team's trip to Baylor. Over four total games last week, Hardy hit .611 with six RBI and six stolen bases. For the season, the senior outfielder now leads the Blazers with a .375 batting average.
Cody McMurry tops UAB in the power categories with three home runs and 13 RBI through 10 games in 2009.
UAB will send senior right-hander Kyle Roberson (0-2) to the mound in Tuesday's game, and fellow senior right-hander James Oliver (0-2) is scheduled to take the hill Wednesday. UT Martin will counter with Coty Green (1-2) on Tuesday and Drew Flaniken (0-2) on Wednesday.
The Skyhawks are 4-4 on the year and have been off since an 8-4 loss last Thursday to Lambuth. Mark Hartsfield leads UT Martin offensively with a .471 batting average and three home runs. Four Skyhawks have hit multiple homers already this season, and UT Martin has blasted 10 long balls as a team through eight games.
Tuesday's meeting will be the third all-time between the programs and the first since 1995. The Blazers won both games played that season, picking up an 11-8 victory in Birmingham and an 11-3 win on the return trip to Martin.
Following the pair of midweek games, UAB remains home this weekend for a four-game series with visiting Harvard, starting Friday.
