The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Charlotte
UAB Baseball Splits Saturday Doubleheader at Charlotte
5/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After claiming a victory in the first game of the series, the UAB baseball team had to win both games of its Saturday's doubleheader in order to claim a spot in the Conference USA Baseball Championships. The Blazers took the first game, 11-8, in an extra-inning thriller, but fell, 6-4, in game two.
Game One: UAB 11, Charlotte 8
The back-and-forth game saw the lead change five times as the Blazers and Niners took the seven-inning contest to two frames of extras.
UAB jumped ahead with four quick runs, held the lead through the end of two innings and used two runs in the fourth to reclaim the advantage.
Tied 5-5 after five innings, both teams plated two runs in the sixth and were blanked in the seventh to send the game to extras, tied at 8-8.
The Green and Gold made its move in the top of the ninth, scoring three runs on two hits and an error. Senior Jacob Armstrong drew a four-pitch walk and Riley McCown moved him over with a sac bunt. Fellow senior Adam Smith came through with his second game-winning RBI of the weekend, driving a double down the line in left to score Armstrong. Leading 9-8, two insurance runs came courtesy an Evan Peterson single. Smith scored on the hit, and senior Mitch Williams scored on a fielding error.
Left-hander Ryan Ruggles (6-4) earned the win in relief, tossing 3.2 innings of scoreless, two-hit baseball. Freshman Carter Pharis led the offense with three hits and two RBIs, and redshirt freshman Brewer Hicklen was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. All five seniors in the lineup -- Griffin Gum, Peterson, Smith, Williams and Armstrong -- scored at least one run.
Game Two: UAB 4, Charlotte 6
While the scoring was tamer in the second game, three lead changes made the final game of the season interesting. Again, the game was decided in the late innings to break a tie.
Charlotte drew first blood with two runs in the second, but UAB answered quickly with two runs of its own in the third. The contest was knotted at 2-2 until the sixth when the Blazers took a short-lived one-run lead.
The Green and Gold manufactured a run following a leadoff single from Smith. Williams bunted the shortstop to second, and a Peterson single placed runners on the corners. On one out, a Gum sac bunt scored the speedy infielder from third.
Charlotte reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a four-run rally that forced the Blazers to go to the bullpen. Freshman Tanner Graham left with a runner on and one out, having allowed two runs to score, and Dylan Munger entered. The Niners' offense didn't let up against the fresh left-hander, scoring twice more on an error and sacrifice fly.
Trailing 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh, the Blazers made one final push. Hicklen scored on a McCown double, but it would prove to be the final run of the 2016 season for UAB.
Smith was 3-for-4 in the final game of his career, raising his season average to an even .200. McCown and freshman Jared Nixon each posted two hits and batted in one run.
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