The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
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Mississippi State
Blazers Fall 8-4 Wednesday At No. 25 Mississippi State
3/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 18, 2009
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Cody McMurry homered and drove in three runs Wednesday night, but the UAB baseball team dropped an 8-4 decision on the road at 25th-ranked Mississippi State.
Jamal Austin matched McMurry with two hits in the game for the Blazers, who led early Wednesday before Mississippi State scored three runs in the fifth inning and four more in the sixth to take control of the game.
Ryan Powers led Mississippi State offensively with three hits and three RBI in three at-bats. Connor Powers also tallied a pair of hits for the Bulldogs.
Lee Swindle earned the win on the mound for Mississippi State (13-6), while Tristan Farrell took the loss for UAB (10-7). For the Blazers, the loss snapped a six-game winning streak.
After a scoreless opening three innings, UAB found the scoreboard first in the top of the fourth frame. Brint Hardy reached on an infield hit and then McMurry hammered a two-run shot to left field. It was McMurry's team-leading fifth home run of the season.
Mississippi State picked up its first run in the bottom of the fourth. The Bulldogs loaded the bases on walks, but Farrell came out of the UAB bullpen to limit the damage. The right-hander induced a ground ball double play from Russ Sneed that scored a run and then got Jet Butler to pop up for the third out to maintain a 2-1 UAB advantage.
UAB tacked on a run in the fifth inning on a bases-loaded walk from McMurry to take a 3-1 lead. The Blazers had an opportunity for more with the bases still loaded and one out, but Lee Swindle came out of the Mississippi State bullpen to retire the next two batters and end the threat.
Mississippi State took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth on a three-run homer from Ryan Powers. After back-to-back walks to lead off the inning, Powers sent a pitch deep to right center field to put the Bulldogs ahead 4-3.
Mississippi State then expanded its lead to five runs with a four spot in the sixth, highlighted by a three-RBI triple from Grant Hogue. Hardy nearly made a diving play on the ball in right field For UAB, but it dropped safely and all three runners scored as the Bulldogs pushed their lead to 8-3.
UAB got one run back in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly from Digger Towe. The Blazers had a chance for more in the eighth after the first two batters reached, but they could not push another run across. UAB left 11 runners on base in the game.
UAB used seven pitchers by design Wednesday, but the pitching staff was victimized by eight walks. Mississippi State, which used four pitchers, also walked eight batters. Shay Crawford pitched a scoreless inning for UAB to open the game, and Blake Huddleston added two scoreless innings. The other Blazer pitcher to keep Mississippi State off the scoreboard was James Oliver, who pitched the final 1.1 innings.
The Blazers return to action this weekend with a three-game series at Houston to open Conference USA play. First pitch Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
