The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Kennesaw State
UAB Baseball Grinds Out 4-3 Win Over Kennesaw State
3/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A great showing by the pitching staff and timely hits from the lineup led UAB past Kennesaw State, 4-3, on Saturday, evening the three-game series at 1-1.
“We had some big two-out hits,” head coach Brian Shoop said. “Mitch Williams and Adam Smith came through with some big hits for us in key situations. We can’t live and die by those, but they were tack-on runs at the time that proved to be the game-winners.”
The Blazers (5-6, 0-0 C-USA) drew first blood in the first inning on an RBI groundout from Griffin Gum, but Kennesaw State struck back in the fourth thanks to a couple of UAB errors to tie the game.
The Owls (3-4, 0-0 A-Sun) fell behind via passed ball. Blazer freshman Jared Nixon motored home and scored on a close play at the plate to put his team back on top, 2-1, in the fifth.
UAB’s two key two-out hits came in the following inning to extend the lead to 4-1. Freshman Riley McCown jumped aboard first base with a single and advanced to second on a balk. Williams followed up with a single roped to left to plate McCown, and Williams later scored on Smith’s double down the line in left.
Freshman starting pitcher Tanner Graham (1-1) threw six innings, surrendering just two hits to the Kennesaw State offense. The right-hander struck out four and allowed an unearned run before giving way to Thomas Lowery in the seventh.
Lowery’s first inning of relief was rocky as the Owls plated two runs on two hits in the seventh to bring them within one run of tying the contest, but the lefty was lights-out through his final two frames. Lowery went on to pitch a scoreless eighth and ninth to earn his second save of the season and secure Graham’s first collegiate victory.
Six Blazer batters tallied hits Saturday. Freshman Luke Eigsti was 2-for-3 in his collegiate debut, while Evan Peterson, Nixon, Smith, Williams and McCown accounted for the remaining five.
The Blazers return to action Sunday at Regions Field to wrap up the series. First pitch of the rubber-match is scheduled for 1 p.m. Children’s tickets are available for $1 with the purchase of an adult’s full-priced ticket.
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).
