The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Roberson Honored As Conference USA Pitcher Of The Week
4/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 20, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- On the heels of a near no-hitter Saturday against Southern Miss, UAB senior pitcher Kyle Roberson has been named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week.
Roberson carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning Saturday as he guided UAB to a 4-1 victory at Southern Miss in the second game of a doubleheader. The senior right-hander struck out seven and retired the side in order six times as he threatened to throw the first nine-inning no-hitter in UAB history.
The only three base runners he allowed through eight innings came on walks, and only one of them advanced past first base. He retired the first 10 batters he faced before a pair of one-out walks in the fourth. The only other base runner he allowed through eight innings was immediately erased on a steal attempt in the sixth as Roberson faced just two over the minimum until the ninth frame.
The first two Southern Miss batters of the ninth hit safely to end the no-hit bid, but Roberson went on to earn his sixth win of the season, having one run charged to him on two hits in 8.0 innings of work. He matched the longest outing of his career.
The Clay, Ala., native becomes the first Blazer to earn pitcher of the week honors since he did it on May 18, 2008. He is the third UAB player to receive a weekly award from the league office in 2009, joining Digger Towe and Luke Stewart, who have both received the hitter of the week award.
With Saturday's win, Roberson improved his record to 6-3 on the season, tying him for second in the conference in wins. He owns a 4.94 ERA and ranks sixth in the league with 54.2 innings pitched and eighth in the conference with 47 strikeouts. For his career, Roberson ranks eighth in UAB history with 140 career strikeouts and ninth in school annals with 30 career starts.
Roberson's performance helped UAB to a doubleheader sweep of Southern Miss as the Blazers won their second straight conference road series by taking two out of three games from the Golden Eagles over the weekend.
UAB (22-17, 5-7 C-USA) returns to action Tuesday with the first game of a midweek, home-and-home series with Troy. The Blazers travel to Troy for a 6 p.m. (CT) game on Tuesday and then host the Trojans at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. UAB then remains home for a three-game C-USA weekend series against UCF, starting Friday at 7 p.m.
