The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Marshall
Marshall Bats Too Much for UAB in Finale
4/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB baseball team fell to Marshall on Sunday afternoon by the score of 5-2. The Thundering Herd took the series with the victory and evened its record at 15-15 on the year and 6-6 in Conference USA. The Blazers also draw even overall at 16-16 while falling to 5-7 in conference.
“Good part about leaving guys on base is that you had them on base and had shots,” said UAB assistant coach Perry Roth in reference to the nine base runners left on by UAB. “Bad part is you just couldn’t score enough.”
Marshall got to work early with a pair of runs on three hits in the first inning. UAB cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third inning. A leadoff hit from Price Visintainer led to a run when Carter Pharis drove him home two batters latter with an RBI single to make it 2-1.
The Thundering Herd’s Andrew Zban doubled the visitor’s score in the next frame with a home run to right field and a 3-2 count with a runner on, putting UAB in a 4-1 deficit.
The Blazers would cut into the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Visintainer knocked in a run himself with an RBI single up the middle to score Antonio Ralat. The Green & Gold had a chance for more with runners in scoring position but left the fourth down 4-2.
UAB only tallied two more hits in the final five innings of the ball game while Marshall added an insurance run with a solo homer from Leo Valenti in the top of the seventh inning to push it to the final score of 5-2.
The Blazers were outhit 11-7 in the game. The top of the order hit well with Visintainer, Pharis, and Pierce Ressmeyer all collecting a pair of hits, but the five through nine slots in the order totaled one hit in the game.
“We’ve had some really competitive at-bats out of some guys the last two weeks,” said Roth. “But we need more consistency one through nine on a daily basis. There has been a ton of giveaway outs and weak contact.”
Ryan Ruggles was tagged with the loss. He started for the Blazers and went four innings allowing six hits, four runs, and two walks while striking out three. He is now 2-4 this season.
Austin Thomas was stellar out of the bullpen for UAB. He threw five innings in relief conceding five hits, one run, one walk, and two strikeouts.
Jacob Niggemeyer earned his first win as he threw four innings in relief for starter Patrick Murphy. Niggemeyer allowed just one hit, one walk, and hit one batter, as he allowed no runs. Matt Reed was credited with his third save of the year after going one-two-three in the ninth inning.
The Blazers travel to Alabama for the start of an eight-game road stretch. UAB and the Crimson Tide are slated for a 6:00 p.m. first pitch in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
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 (@UAB_Athletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uab_athletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
