The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Florida International
UAB Baseball Drops Friday Nail-Biter to FIU
5/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB baseball team dropped a 5-4 contest to FIU Friday night at Young Memorial Field, bringing the Blazers, Panthers, Western Kentucky and Charlotte to a tie for seventh place in the Conference USA standings.
The plot thickens for the four teams as only the top eight teams in the league qualify for the Conference USA Baseball Championship, and four teams have already punched their tickets to the postseason.
UAB (19-30, 10-15 C-USA) overcame an early 3-0 deficit after the Panthers plated three quick runs in the first inning against starting pitcher Tanner Graham. FIU totaled five hits in the inning and scored all three runs on two outs.
FIU (23-27, 10-15 C-USA) saw its lead begin to diminish as soon as the next half inning as the Blazers put a run on the board in the bottom of the first. Carter Pharis roped the first of his night’s three hits to pull UAB within two runs of the lead, scoring Jared Nixon from second.
A botched pickoff attempt by FIU starting pitcher Cody Crouse in the fifth allowed Mitch Williams to hustle home from third, and a couple of runs in the seventh put the Blazers ahead for the first time in the game.
Trailing 3-2 following the stretch, Griffin Gum lined a one-out double down the line in left to begin the go-ahead inning. Gum later scored on a Brewer Hicklen grounder to tie the game 3-3, and another clutch hit from Pharis scored Nixon to put UAB ahead 4-3.
Right-hander Garrett Whitlock was brought on in relief in the eighth, but the Panthers jumped the freshman for two runs on three hits to reclaim the lead. An RBI single from Austin Rodriguez tied the contest 4-4, and a bases-loaded hit batsman led to a one-run deficit. Whitlock escaped the inning without any further damage, but it proved to be enough for the Panthers in the late innings.
FIU reliever Dominic LoBrutto retired the UAB side on strikes in the eighth, and closer Williams Durruthy held the Blazers to only a hit in the ninth to close it out. Whitlock (3-5) received the loss while LoBrutto (3-2) was credited with the win and Durruthy picked up his ninth save.
Pharis led the Green and Gold’s offensive efforts with a 3-for-5 performance. The freshman first baseman drove in two runs, while Riley McCown and Mitch Williams each had two hits. Hicklen was credited with the Blazers’ third RBI with his seventh-inning groundout.
Despite the loss, left-hander Adam Lamar was magnificent in relief of Graham. Lamar threw 5.1 innings, allowing just four hits while striking out three Panthers.
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).
