The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Southern Miss
Roberson Threatens For No-Hitter As UAB Sweeps Doubleheader
4/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 18, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- UAB starting pitcher Kyle Roberson carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning Saturday as he guided the Blazers to a 4-1 victory over Southern Miss in the second game of a doubleheader between the teams at Pete Taylor Park.
Roberson was dominant on the mound in matching the longest start of his career. The senior right-hander retired the first 10 batters of the game and didn't allow a base runner until back-to-back walks with one out in the fourth inning. He quickly induced two ground ball outs to end that threat.
The only other base runner Roberson allowed through eight innings -- also on a walk -- was immediately erased by catcher Digger Towe on a steal attempt. Roberson struck out seven batters in the game and retired the side in order six times.
The Clay, Ala., product entered the final frame looking for the first nine-inning no-hitter in UAB baseball history when Southern Miss right fielder Tyler Koelling stepped to the plate. Koelling hit the third pitch he saw down the right field line for a double to break up the no-hitter and give the Golden Eagles some life.
"You try not to think about it, but it was about the sixth inning when I really started thinking about the no-hitter," Roberson said. "I had all three pitches working today. It's a little disappointing because you want to finish it off, but credit Koelling. It was a fastball up and out, and he hit it well."
Immediately after Koelling's double, Taylor Walker followed with a single for the second Southern Miss hit. After a walk loaded the bases, Roberson left the game to a standing ovation from the Southern Miss crowd.
Nick Graffeo came out of the UAB bullpen and found himself in the middle of the best scoring opportunity of the night for Southern Miss. Graffeo allowed a single to score one run but struck out the other three batters he faced to preserve the win and earn the save.
"When you're involved with a possible no-hitter, it's exciting," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "Primarily you're wanting to win, but I was really rooting for Kyle. That was the Kyle we saw at the end of last season, the pitcher who beat Rice in the conference tournament. It was really encouraging to see him pitch like that today."
The UAB victory capped off a sweep of Saturday's doubleheader as the Blazers won the weekend series from Southern Miss. UAB won Saturday's first game 11-5 on the strength of an impressive pitching performance from Shay Crawford and an eight-run eighth inning. The teams played a doubleheader Saturday because of the threat for inclement weather on Sunday.
With the pair of wins Saturday, UAB moved its record to 22-17 and 5-7 in Conference USA action, while Southern Miss dropped to 24-14 and 9-6 in the league.
"Doubleheaders are hard to win," Shoop said. "Southern Miss is one of the perennially good teams in our league, so this was a big day for our kids and a big day for our program."
In game two, UAB provided Roberson with all the run support he needed in the second inning. An Allen Aubin RBI groundout put the Blazers on the board, and Andrew Manning followed with his sixth home run of the season -- a two-run shot -- to put UAB on top 3-0. The Blazers tacked on another run in the fourth when Southern Miss pitcher Kyle Lindsey couldn't handle a Nick Crawford bunt with the bases loaded.
Manning's two hits and two RBI led UAB in Saturday's second game, while the three Southern Miss hits came from three players, all in the ninth. Lindsey took the loss for the Golden Eagles after allowing four runs on six hits in seven innings of work.
Roberson improved to 6-3 on the season with the win and finished with one run charged to him on two hits in eight innings.
While no UAB pitcher has ever thrown a nine-inning no-hitter, former Blazer Jimmy Meek pitched a seven-inning no-hitter against Birmingham-Southern in 1984, and Joe Siers tossed a seven-inning perfect game versus Charlotte in 1981.
The Blazers are back in action Tuesday with the first game of a home-and-home midweek series against Troy. Tuesday's game on the road is set for a 6 p.m. (CT) first pitch, while Wednesday's game at Young Memorial Field is set for a 6:30 p.m. start.
Blazer Notes
-- UAB has now won four of its past six games against Southern Miss after also taking two of three games from the Golden Eagles last season in Birmingham.
-- Nick Graffeo now leads the UAB pitching staff with three saves.
-- The Blazers improved to 3-2 on the season in the second games of doubleheaders.
-- UAB has not split a doubleheader this season. The Blazers have swept three (Harvard, Alabama A&M and Southern Miss) and been swept in two (Presbyterian and East Carolina).
