The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Alabama
Blazers Blank No. 22 Alabama, 8-0, Tuesday
3/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB baseball team jumped out to a big lead in the second inning and took home an 8-0 shutout victory over Alabama on Tuesday evening at Regions Field.
“This is always a good game because Birmingham turns out for it,” head coach Brian Shoop said. “It is a good atmosphere and a fun crowd. It has been a pretty good game over the years. Tonight, our pitchers only walked one batter, we made no errors, and we didn’t hit a guy until the last inning. It’s really hard to score when you do that. Our pitching and defense are how we’ve won over the years. We don’t walk people, and we play clean defensively.”
The Blazers (9-12, 2-1 C-USA) took a 4-0 advantage thanks to the strong efforts of left fielder Riley McCown in that second inning. He ended the top of the frame with a sliding catch on the warning track. In the bottom half, he scored a pair with a two-run double into the corner in left.
McCown came in to score moments later on a Jared Nixon double, also to left field. The Blazers added a fourth run on a Brewer Hicklen flare that found grass in shallow center, bringing in Nixon to give UAB a 4-0 lead at the conclusion of two innings.
Carter Pharis added an RBI single in the third inning to give the Blazers a 5-0 lead and chased Alabama starter Mike Oczypok from the game after 2.2 innings pitched.
“It was incredible to see Riley and Nixon contribute,” Shoop said. “We’ve had trouble at the bottom of the lineup, and to see doubles was fantastic. And I thought Riley was the player of the game for the defensive players.”
Adam Lamar started the game for UAB and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk, to go along with a strikeout. Kyle Davis — who improved to 1-0 with the win — threw the next two innings, also keeping the scoreboard blemish-free.
Stephen Baggett contributed three innings before yielding to freshman Matthew Calvert for the ninth, as the four pitchers combined to allow just four hits in the game, and only one Alabama runner reached third base in the contest.
Hicklen added another RBI single in the fourth and finished 3-for-5. Nixon had a three-hit night as well, with two doubles, two runs scored and a run batted in. McCown drove in a pair of runs in a 2-for-3 effort. Mitch Williams did not register a hit, but drew a pair of walks.
Chance Vincent went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Crimson Tide.
The Blazers hit the road to Boca Raton, Florida, to take on conference foe Florida Atlantic over the weekend. Game times Thursday and Friday are 5:30 p.m. CT, with Saturday’s game at noon.
For more information on the UAB baseball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Baseball). For more on all Blazer sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
