The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Marshall
Green & Gold Takes Game One Versus Marshall
4/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Final Stats (PDF)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB baseball team defeated Marshall in a closely played affair on Friday night. The Blazers edged out the Thundering Herd 4-3 to improve to 16-14 on the season and 5-5 in Conference USA. Marshall is now 13-15 and 4-6 in C-USA.
“We had tons of chances but thankfully we got four runs,” said head coach Brian Shoop. “It was the opposite of last Friday night when the wind was dead out (at FIU). You show up tonight, the wind flag is blowing in making every run precious. 4-3 game, every run was precious.”
UAB scored a run in the first, second, and fourth innings to start on just two hits. The scoring started with a sacrifice fly by Pierce Ressmeyer to score Price Visintainer and was followed the next frame with a run by Luke Eigsti on an error in the field by Marshall. The Blazers pushed the early lead to 3-0 with an RBI single through the left side of the infield by Brewer Hicklen with a pair on bases and Tyler Tolbert crossing the plate.
The Green & Gold would add what proved to be the game-winning run in the sixth inning. Riley McCown singled to leadoff, moved to second on a sac bunt by Tolbert, and then trotted over to third base on a single by Visintainer. Hicklen then added another RBI with a sacrifice fly to centerfield as McCown scored to make it 4-0.
The Thundering Herd began to piece together a comeback in the seventh. Two runs scored that frame the first coming via an RBI double by Reynaldo Pastrana. The last one scored on a groundout by the next batter, Cory Garrastazu, to make it 4-2.
Marshall continued its scoring in the eighth inning and had a chance for more following an RBI single by Tommy Lane. During the next at-bat, Lane was picked-off by UAB pitcher Carson Jones.
“Play of the game,” said Shoop. “That was (first baseman) Carter Pharis’ call. Big, big, big play.”
Jones then came back onto the mound in the ninth inning and retired the Thundering Herd in order on 11 pitches. The Blazer junior earned his fourth save of the season after pitching the final 2.2 innings, allowing two hits, two walks, and one run while striking out six.
Thomas Lowery continued his stretch of stellar stars. The senior tied a career-high with six strikeouts, last doing so in his one-hitter versus Western Kentucky on March 19. It also moved him past Ben Bullard for fifth in the school record books in K’s (186). Lowery threw 6.1 innings allowing four hits, two runs, and two walks. He finished with a career-high 91 pitches.
Hicklen went 1-for-2 at the plate with the two RBI and a walk. The sophomore centerfielder, who extended his hitting streak to 19 games, was lifted from the game in the eighth inning.
Only one Blazer reached base three times in the game. Visintainer was 1-for-2 at the plate and added two walks in his first ever game serving as the leadoff hitter for UAB.
Joshua Shapiro was credited with the loss after throwing 109 pitches over five innings and allowing three runs, two earned, and walking eight batters.
The win was the 299th for Shoop at UAB and the 998th of his career. The Blazers will send Adam Lamar to the mound tomorrow to face Wade Martin.
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