The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
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Mississippi State
Mississippi State Comeback Spoils UAB Baseball Opener
2/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2010
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The UAB baseball team's bid for a season-opening victory at Mississippi State was in good shape through eight and a half innings Tuesday. But back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the ninth allowed Mississippi State to escape with a 6-5 victory at Dudy Noble Field.
UAB (0-1), which never trailed until the final batter, held on to a 5-4 lead when Mississippi State left fielder Luke Adkins stepped to the plate to lead off the ninth. Adkins homered to right field, and the next batter, first baseman Connor Powers, followed with another solo shot to almost the same location to give the Bulldogs (4-0) a one-run victory.
"I thought our guys competed well, and it was a good college baseball game," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "We'll go back to work tomorrow, just as we would have done if we had won."
Mississippi State's Devin Jones earned the win after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth inning to keep the Bulldogs within a run. He was one of 10 pitchers to throw in the game as each team used five. Nick Graffeo took the loss for UAB.
The Mississippi State comeback spoiled a solid relief performance by Blake Huddleston, who pitched out of a jam two innings earlier to keep UAB in the lead. After two runs had already scored in the seventh against Beau Pender, Huddleston inherited the bases loaded with one out but recorded a strikeout and a flyout to maintain UAB's 5-4 lead. Huddleston then also threw a scoreless eighth inning.
"Blake was fantastic, and that was an exciting part of the game," Shoop said. "Our pitchers threw well. That's a tough lineup to get through. Four of their six runs came from batters who reached on walks or were hit by pitch, but I was encouraged by our pitching staff. They're going to be fine."
Catcher Digger Towe led UAB offensively with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate, two RBI and two runs scored. The senior also blasted his first home run of the season. Adkins led Mississippi State with a 3-for-5 performance and two RBI.
UAB built its lead early, starting with three runs in the first inning against Mississippi State starter Luke Bole. Second baseman Nick Crawford reached on an error as the first batter of the game and later scored on a single by Towe. An RBI double from freshman designated hitter John Frost and an RBI single from third baseman Andrew Manning followed.
Both teams manufactured runs in the second inning. They also matched each other in the fifth inning with UAB scoring on Towe's solo homer and Mississippi State plating an unearned run on a wild pitch that followed a Blazer error. The Bulldogs' two-run seventh closed the gap two one run before the ninth-inning comeback.
Ryan Woolley, who worked four innings out of the UAB bullpen, was the only Blazer pitcher to throw more than one and two-thirds. Woolley took over for starter Shay Crawford after the opening inning and worked effectively through the fifth, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits. Crawford allowed three base runners in the opening frame but kept the Bulldogs without a run before turning it over to Woolley.
The UAB infield was also key in maintaining the early lead. UAB turned three doubles plays in the first four innings, including one with the bases loaded and one with two runners on, to limit Mississippi State offensively early in the game.
UAB now returns to Birmingham for a nine-game homestand starting with a four-game series this weekend against Ball State. Friday's series opener is slated for 3 p.m. CT at Young Memorial Field and will be followed by a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday.
