The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Wednesday, May 25
Hattiesburg, Miss.
4 p.m.
UAB
31-24
3
vs
4
#14 Southern Miss
42-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UAB
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
3
6
2
Southern Miss
0
1
0
2
1
0
0
0
X
4
11
1
Photo by: CUSA
UAB Drops C-USA Tournament Opener 4-3 at Southern Miss
5/26/2022 1:12:00 AM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The UAB baseball team dropped its opening round matchup of the 2022 Conference USA Tournament 4-3 to top-seeded Southern Miss on Wednesday at Pete Taylor Park.
In a matchup that crept into the early morning hours of Thursday, neither the Blazers (31-24) or No. 14 Golden Eagles (42-14) expanded their lead to multiple runs in the ballgame. Three solo home runs accounted for seven of the runs scored in the night cap of day one at the C-USA Tournament.
With the loss, UAB will now play the loser of Thursday morning's game between fourth-seeded Florida Atlantic and fifth-seeded UTSA at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night's game will also stream live on ESPN+.
UAB scored first via a throwing error on Brandon Willoughby's ball hit to third base in the second inning. Caleb Floyd recorded an infield single to reach base, and then he came around to score all the way from first, sliding into home plate headfirst to put UAB ahead 1-0.
The Golden Eagles tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the second inning. UAB starting pitcher Jackson Reynolds limited the damage in the frame, wiggling out of a runners-at-the-corners situation with nobody out with a flyout to center field, a strikeout and a groundout to shortstop.
After a scoreless third frame for the Blazers and Golden Eagles, Second-Team All-Conference USA selection Christian Hall blasted a solo home run to left field to put the Blazers ahead 2-1. Hall's opposite-field shot marked his 11th homer of the year and his 48th RBI.
The Golden Eagles grabbed their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth, tallying a pair of runs behind a sacrifice fly and a balk to jump ahead 3-2.
First baseman Josh Sears recorded UAB's second solo home run of the game in the fifth inning, crushing a homer to left field for his team-best 18th blast of the year to make it 3-3.
Southern Miss' Slade Wilks delivered a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the fifth to answer Sears' two-out blast, giving the Golden Eagles a 4-3 advantage. Wilks' solo homer with two outs in the fifth inning served as the contest's winning run.
The Blazers put the tying run in scoring position twice following Wilks' solo home run when Peyton Puckett doubled to left field in the seventh inning and Sears advanced to second with nobody out in the eighth following a walk and wild pitch. Southern Miss ended both those scoring threats with a strikeout.
Reliver Jonah Smith shined in Wednesday's setback, tossing 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball while allowing just two hits with three strikeouts. Smith and Reynolds limited the Golden Eagles' offense to four runs, combining to strike out eight Southern Miss batters.
Offensively, Puckett recorded UAB's sole multi-hit performance with a 2-for-4 evening at the plate. Sears and Hall registered the pair of RBI in the one-run loss.
For more information on the UAB baseball team, be sure to follow @UAB_Baseball on Twitter and Instagram.
In a matchup that crept into the early morning hours of Thursday, neither the Blazers (31-24) or No. 14 Golden Eagles (42-14) expanded their lead to multiple runs in the ballgame. Three solo home runs accounted for seven of the runs scored in the night cap of day one at the C-USA Tournament.
With the loss, UAB will now play the loser of Thursday morning's game between fourth-seeded Florida Atlantic and fifth-seeded UTSA at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night's game will also stream live on ESPN+.
UAB scored first via a throwing error on Brandon Willoughby's ball hit to third base in the second inning. Caleb Floyd recorded an infield single to reach base, and then he came around to score all the way from first, sliding into home plate headfirst to put UAB ahead 1-0.
The Golden Eagles tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the second inning. UAB starting pitcher Jackson Reynolds limited the damage in the frame, wiggling out of a runners-at-the-corners situation with nobody out with a flyout to center field, a strikeout and a groundout to shortstop.
After a scoreless third frame for the Blazers and Golden Eagles, Second-Team All-Conference USA selection Christian Hall blasted a solo home run to left field to put the Blazers ahead 2-1. Hall's opposite-field shot marked his 11th homer of the year and his 48th RBI.
The Golden Eagles grabbed their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth, tallying a pair of runs behind a sacrifice fly and a balk to jump ahead 3-2.
First baseman Josh Sears recorded UAB's second solo home run of the game in the fifth inning, crushing a homer to left field for his team-best 18th blast of the year to make it 3-3.
Southern Miss' Slade Wilks delivered a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the fifth to answer Sears' two-out blast, giving the Golden Eagles a 4-3 advantage. Wilks' solo homer with two outs in the fifth inning served as the contest's winning run.
The Blazers put the tying run in scoring position twice following Wilks' solo home run when Peyton Puckett doubled to left field in the seventh inning and Sears advanced to second with nobody out in the eighth following a walk and wild pitch. Southern Miss ended both those scoring threats with a strikeout.
Reliver Jonah Smith shined in Wednesday's setback, tossing 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball while allowing just two hits with three strikeouts. Smith and Reynolds limited the Golden Eagles' offense to four runs, combining to strike out eight Southern Miss batters.
Offensively, Puckett recorded UAB's sole multi-hit performance with a 2-for-4 evening at the plate. Sears and Hall registered the pair of RBI in the one-run loss.
For more information on the UAB baseball team, be sure to follow @UAB_Baseball on Twitter and Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hall, Tanner (8-2)
L: Reynolds, Jackson (2-6)
S: Harper, Landon (11)
Batting:
2B: Golda, Matthew 1 ; Puckett, Peyton 1
HR: Sears, Josh 1 ; Hall, Christian 1
RBI: Sears, Josh 1 ; Hall, Christian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sears, Josh 1 ; Hall, Christian 1 ; Floyd, Caleb 1
HBP: Floyd, Caleb 1
Batting:
2B: Sargent, Christopher 1 ; Lynch, Danny 1
HR: Wilks, Slade 1
RBI: Wilks, Slade 1 ; Johnson, Blake 1
SH: Dickerson, Dustin 1
SF: Johnson, Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sargent, Christopher 1 ; Wilks, Slade 1 ; Lynch, Danny 1 ; Paetow, Carson 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballOF
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/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
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