Jacksonville Runs Away with Game One Win Over UAB

Friday, February 27

Birmingham, AL

2 p.m.

UAB

5-5

Jacksonville

9-1

Jacksonville

UAB

Jacksonville Runs Away with Game One Win Over UAB

2/27/2026 6:15:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM – A 5-run ninth inning put the game away for Jacksonville (9-1) on Friday as the Dolphins took game one of the 3-game series over UAB (5-5), 10-2. JU scored the first five and final five runs of the game.

The Dolphins scored the first of their runs in the top half of the second inning. Derek Bermudez, the nation's leader in RBI, broke the scoring seal with a solo home run to left to put JU up, 1-0.

Jacksonville got two more runs in the top of the fourth. Blake Edmonds roped a double in the left center field gap to score Sammy Mummau and Conner Spelman to add to the JU advantage.

JU opened the seventh with two more runs courtesy of a Roger Vergara 2-run home run to right to put the Dolphins up, 5-0.

UAB would finally get on the board in the bottom half of the inning with a run of its own. Wesley Helms ripped his second home run of the season over the left field wall to cut the JU lead to 5-1.

The Blazers would get another run in the bottom of the eighth on an Austin Pierzynski RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-2. The hit was part of Pierzynski's first career multi-hit game.

Jacksonville broke the game open in the top of the ninth inning. The first three hitters of the inning reached by way of singles with the third of the three being a safety squeeze executed by Jonah Shields which brought home Archer Ogbourne to get a run back for JU. Two batters later, with the bases full of Dolphins, Logan Baratta cleared the bases with a triple to right center to put JU up, 9-2. On the next pitch, Conner Spelman dumped his third hit of the day to left center to score Baratta to cap the scoring for Jacksonville on Friday.

JU senior southpaw Alex Walsh tossed six shutout innings and struck out six in route to his third win of the season. The outing drops his season ERA to 0.59. Austin Williamson picked up his first save out of the Dolphin bullpen.

NOTES

- Andrew Hunt saw his 9-game hit streak come to an end, but he extended his on-base streak to 15 games dating back to last season.

- Austin Pierzynski recorded his first career multi-hit game.

- Wesley Helms picked up his third multi-hit game of the season. Helms has now recorded a hit in six of his last seven games.

- Alex Dupuy notched his second mutli-hit game of 2026. He has a hit in five of his last six games.

- Mason Steele tallied his season-high in strikeouts with seven across 5.0 innings (tied for season-high).

- Christian Helmers set his career-high with six strikeouts across 3.1 innings.

UAB and Jacksonville face off for game two of the 3-game series on Saturday. First pitch from Young Memorial Field will be at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
For more information on the UAB Baseball team, follow @UAB_Baseball on X and Instagram.

SPORT GIFT ACCOUNTS
There are numerous ways to support UAB Athletics in our efforts to improve the Blazer student athlete experience. Sport gift accounts directly impact operational support to our teams in resourcing them with a more competitive edge in the American Conference. Follow the link or connect with the Blazer Boosters team on how you can continue to fuel success.

2025-26 GOLD CARD
The 2025-26 Gold Card is on sale. The 2025-26 Gold Card will get you access to all home events for Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Softball, and Baseball (Regions Field & Young Memorial Field). This card is not valid for American Conference or NCAA Championship events.