The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts Mississippi State Tuesday At Regions Park
4/6/2009 12:00:00β―AM | Baseball
April 6, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team returns to Regions Park in Hoover for the second time this season when the Blazers host Mississippi State in non-conference action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
The Blazers also played Alabama last month at Regions Park -- home of the Double-A Birmingham Barons -- in a game that was suspended by rain and will be completed April 13 at Young Memorial Field.
Tuesday's game is the second meeting of the season between UAB and Mississippi State. The Bulldogs -- then ranked No. 25 in the country -- defeated the Blazers 8-4 in Starkville, Miss., March 18.
Cody McMurry homered and drove in three runs in that game for UAB, but Mississippi State scored all eight of its runs in the middle innings to overcome an early Blazer lead on the way to the win.
UAB will be looking to snap a three-game losing skid after being swept by East Carolina over the weekend to fall to 16-13. Digger Towe continues to lead the Blazers offensively with a .402 batting average and 38 RBI, while Luke Stewart owns a team-high 10 home runs. As a team, UAB is hitting .329.
Mississippi State is 16-15 after dropping two out of three games over the weekend to Auburn in SEC play. The Bulldogs have lost nine of their past 12 since the March 18 game with UAB.
Russ Sneed is hitting .367 to lead Mississippi State at the plate, while Connor Powers owns a team-best eight home runs and 33 RBI. Grant Hogue has swiped 19 bases in 21 attempts for the Bulldogs but still falls nine steals shy of Brint Hardy's total of 28 for UAB.
Tuesday's game is the only midweek contest for UAB this week. It will air live in Birmingham on WSPZ-AM 690 and will also be available through Gametracker live stats and All-Access streaming video at www.uabsports.com.
The Blazers were originally scheduled to play Alabama A&M on Wednesday, but that game has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader April 14. Following the game with Mississippi State, UAB will return to Conference USA action with a road trip to Marshall for a three-game series that starts Friday.
The first 100 fans in attendance at Tuesday's game will receive a free UAB Blazers t-shirt, and the UAB volleyball team will be recognized during the game for its historic 2008 season.
