Blazers Fall at Rice in Game One, 8-5

Friday, May 11

Houston, Texas

6:30 P.M.

UAB

19-27, 11-14

Rice

22-26-2, 10-13-2

UAB

RICE

Blazers Fall at Rice in Game One, 8-5

5/11/2018 11:11:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score

HOUSTON – A six-run third inning pushed the Owls over the Blazers as the UAB baseball team fell 8-5 at Rice on Friday night.

With the win, the Blazers are now in a three-way tie for third place with the Owls and WKU in the Conference USA standings.

"For the second weekend in a row a six-run inning is what beat us," head coach Brian Shoop said. "It's hard to overcome when you give up six in an inning and we gave up that many because we walked three batters and had a hit-by-a-pitch in the same frame and then if you give up a couple of hits in the mix it ends up being a hard deficit to get out. Other than that inning, we would have won the game 5-3."

UAB (19-27, 11-14) struck first in the second inning as Stephen Dobbs started the frame with a double into right centerfield. A Thomas Johns' single moved him to second base before Price Visintainer grounded into a fielder's choice deep enough to plate Dobbs and give UAB a 1-0 lead.

Visintainer scored the second run of the inning as Cole Collins hit a two-out single to right field to extend the lead to 2-0.

Rice (22-26-2, 10-13-2) answered in the bottom of the third inning as it plated six runs on four hits and a UAB error to take a 6-2 lead.

Pharis led off the fifth inning with a double off the wall in right centerfield and would come around to score as Dobbs grounded out to the right to cut the game to 6-3.

The Owls put another run on the board in the bottom of the fifth as a bases-loaded walk scored the seventh run of the game for Rice, giving them a 7-3 lead.

UAB held Rice scoreless until the bottom of the eighth when the Owls scored a run off a wild pitch to extend their lead to 8-3.

The Blazers rallied in the top of the ninth as Schultz led off the inning with a single. Pharis then smashed his second double of the night to push Schultz to third before a wild pitch scored him to cut the Owls' advantage to four.

One batter later, Blackwood grounded out to third base as Pharis scored on the throw to make the game 8-5.

Tanner Graham (3-7) took the loss for the Blazers after going a season-low 3.0 innings and allowing six runs on six hits with four walks to no strikeouts. Isaiah Gonzales-Montoya, Kevin Davis and Sylvester Toe all pitched in relief with Davis tossing a career-high 3.0 innings and allowing just one run on no hits with three strikeouts.

Pharis and Collins paced the Blazers at the plate as Pharis went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored, while Collins reached base four times with a single, a walk and was hit by a pitch on two occasions.

"I though Gonzales-Montoya, Kevin Davis and Toe did a great job of keeping us in the game and I thought our guys kept battling," Shoop said. "We got it to 6-3 and then in the seventh we had runners on second and third with nobody out and we were unable to push one across. That one hurt. In the eighth, we got first and second, Cole Collins just missed a double down the left field line that sliced foul. And the we got two runs in the ninth. So again, the guys kept battling and kept fighting, but in the end it's that six-run inning that's a tough hole to get out of."

UAB issued a season-high 10 walks as the Owls turned four of those into runs. The Blazers out-hit Rice, 8-7, and made one error to the Owls' three.

The two teams meet again on Saturday in game two. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. from Reckling Park.

For more information on the UAB baseball team follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Baseball) or on Instagram (UAB_Baseball).