The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
UCF
Blazers Earn Come-From-Behind Win Over UCF, 12-8
4/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 25, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB belted out 16 hits and scored runs in six of the nine innings as the Blazer baseball team came from behind to claim a 12-8 Conference USA victory over UCF Saturday afternoon at Young Memorial Field.
The Blazers and the Knights have now won a game each in the three-game series, with the Knights earning the win in Friday night's series opener. UAB (24-19, 6-8 C-USA) and UCF (14-26, 4-10 C-USA) will play the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday, with the first pitch scheduled for Noon.
"Each day is a new day I guess," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "We lost that bad (Friday night) because of me. It wasn't the players. I made a decision, it was a hard decision, that we conceded the game and went with position players (as pitchers) so our bullpen would be strong enough to win the series.
"I feel good about tomorrow with Kyle (Roberson) pitching for us. Anything can happen, but I wanted to put our team in a position to take two of three games and now we have a chance to do that."
Between Friday's 29-9 loss and Saturday's 12-8 win, UAB and UCF combined for 58 runs in the two games. The 58 runs ties the UAB school record for combined runs in consecutive games. The only other time that happened was during the 1999 season, on April 30 and May 1, when UAB played at USF. USF won the first game, 26-3, on April 30. The Bulls got a second win over the Blazers, 15-14, in 11 innings on May 1.
Freshman Keith DePew and sophomore Nick Crawford led the Blazers' offensive attack. DePew went 3-for-4 with a trio of singles, one RBI and two runs scored on the day. Crawford added two RBI and one run after going 4-for-6.
UCF's offense got started early by posting three runs in the first inning, which marked the second straight game the Knights began with a trio of runs in their first at-bat.
UAB put its first run on the board in the bottom of the second when junior Luke Stewart knocked one out of the park over right centerfield to make the score, 3-1. The homer was Stewart's 12th of the season and his second of the series.
UCF, after scoring three runs in the first, went scoreless for three straight innings. That allowed the Blazers to take their first lead of the game, as well as their first lead of the series, in the fourth inning. The change in momentum was due in large part to three UCF errors in the frame, which directly led to four UAB runs.
But UCF came back to life in the top of the fifth inning, scoring four runs on three hits to retake the lead at 7-5.
The Blazers responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth, courtesy of solo home runs by junior Digger Towe and sophomore Andrew Manning, to tie the game at 7-7.
After a Shane Brown single put UCF back on top, the Blazers would take the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth scoring three times to take a 10-8 advantage. UAB would add insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to seal the win.
UAB sophomore Blake Huddleston pitched well in earning his second win of the season (2-0) after coming into the game in relief in the fifth inning. Huddleston threw 4.2 innings, allowing just three hits and one run and did not walk a batter.
Joining DePew and Crawford with multiple hits for UAB were Stewart and Manning. Stewart was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs and RBIs, highlighted by the solo home run in the fifth. Manning was 2-for-3 at the plate, with a two runs and two RBIs on the day.
Beau Taylor was UCF's top hitter, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and one run scored. D.J. Hicks also tallied a pair of RBI on two hits for the Knights.
Bryan Brown received the loss for UCF, allowing four runs and six hits in 1.1 innings pitched. Kyle Sweat got the starting nod for the Knights, going 5.0 innings and giving up seven runs on eight hits in 25 at bats.
