The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina Hands UAB 5-3 Loss In Tournament Finale
3/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 13, 2011
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Ryan Ussery homered, doubled and drove in two runs Sunday, but the UAB baseball team closed its weekend with a 5-3 loss to 24th-ranked Coastal Carolina at BB&T Coastal Field on the final day of the Caravelle Resort Classic.
The Blazers put the potential tying run in scoring position with two outs in the ninth inning but couldn't get the key hit as they dropped to 8-6 with their third loss of the tournament. Coastal Carolina improved to 11-5 with the win.
"We played some good teams away from home this weekend, and that's not easy but that's what you have to do," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "We scored four runs in three games, and that's just not going to get it done. We're not quite there yet, but we'll keep working at it."
Ussery, Jamal Austin, Ivan De Jesus and Keith DePew finished with two hits each for UAB as the Blazers out-hit Coastal Carolina 12-10 on the day. But the host Chanticleers scored in the opening inning and led the entire way.
Coastal Carolina plated a pair of runs in the first on an RBI triple from Tommy La Stella and a run-scoring double from Hayes Orton before UAB starter David Hayes settled in. The Blazer left-hander allowed just two more runs, one in the fourth and one in the sixth, but suffered the loss.
Coastal Carolina starter Jim Birmingham earned the win as he surrendered just one run -- Ussery's third-inning solo shot -- in six innings of work before handing the ball over to reliever Ryan Connolly, who worked the final three innings.
UAB trailed 4-1 through six frames before manufacturing a pair of runs in the seventh. Following back-to-back hits from John Frost and Jacob German, Keith DePew faked a bunt and slashed a single through the left side to plate one run. After a sacrifice bunt by Nick Crawford, Ussery brought another run home on a sac fly to cut Coastal Carolina's lead to one run at 4-3.
The Chanticleers got one of those runs back against UAB reliever Ben Bullard in the bottom of the seventh for some insurance and withstood a potential UAB rally in the ninth.
With two outs in the final frame, the Blazers got a single from Crawford and a double from Ussery to keep hope alive. But Austin could not quite leg out an infield hit and was thrown out at first to end the game.
Coastal Carolina's Scott Woodward led all players with a 3-for-4 effort offensively, while La Stella and Josh Conway had two hits each for the Chanticleers.
For the upcoming week, UAB has five games on tap. The Blazers will play a midweek home-and-home with Samford and then welcome UT Martin for a three-game series next weekend. The first game of the Samford series is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT at Samford.
