The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Host Thundering Herd In Weekend C-USA Series
4/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 8, 2010
Game Notes 
| Friday Gametracker | Watch Live
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB baseball team, tied for first place through two weekends of league play, returns to Conference USA action Friday with game one of a three-game home series against Marshall at Young Memorial Field.
Senior right-hander Mitch Kloskowski (3-2, 3.98 ERA) takes the mound against Marshall right-hander Ian Kadish (1-2, 4.86 ERA) in Friday's series opener at 6:30 p.m. CT. The teams are also slated to play Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Saturday's game will air live in the Birmingham area on WJOX-AM 690 through the Blazers ISP Sports Network, while All-Access streaming video and Gametracker live stats will be available for all three games online at uabsports.com.
The Blazers (18-9, 4-2 C-USA) have been on a hot streak with wins in 11 of their past 13 games, including a Tuesday victory over 19th-ranked Alabama that gave head coach Brian Shoop his 100th win at UAB. Behind a solid pitching performance from Shay Crawford and four hits each from Luke Stewart and Jamal Austin, the Blazers earned an 11-4 win to sweep the two-game season series from the Crimson Tide for the first time since 2001.
Austin has played a major role in UAB's recent success, hitting safely in 11 of the past 12 games with a .412 batting average and a .455 on-base percentage during that stretch. The sophomore leadoff man has also stolen 14 bases to rank first in C-USA. Stewart has also come alive of late, hitting .420 with eight home runs over his past 14 games.
UAB is looking for its third consecutive series victory to start the conference season and its seventh straight weekend series win dating back to last year. The Blazers have opened league play by winning two out of three games from both Southern Miss at home and UCF on the road.
Marshall (11-16, 2-4 C-USA), on the other hand, has dropped two out of three games in its first two conference series against Tulane and Marshall. The Thundering Herd lost a midweek matchup at Ohio, 15-5, on Wednesday night and has lost 11 of its past 15 games after starting the season 7-5.
Victor Gomez leads Marshall in most offensive categories with a .348 batting average, eight home runs, 10 doubles and 34 RBI. Kurt Lipton is also hitting above the .300 mark at .337 for a Thundering Herd squad that hits .284 as a team.
UAB won two out of three games from Marshall last season when the teams met in Charleston, W. Va., but the Thundering Herd claimed two of three from the Blazers in 2008, the last time the teams played in Birmingham. UAB owns a 9-7 edge in the all-time series with 12 of those 16 meetings coming since Marshall joined Conference USA prior to the 2006 baseball season.
