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UAB's 20 Hits Lifts Blazers to 14-5 Win Over Herd Baseball
May 12, 2007
UAB at Marshall Game Book
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - UAB registered a Marshall opponent season-high 20 hits to cruise to a 14-5 win over the Thundering Herd in Conference USA baseball action at Appalachian Power Park on Saturday. Marshall (19-28, 4-15) lost its fifth straight game while the Blazers (22-30, 9-11) clinched a berth in the C-USA Championship. The Herd remains a half-game behind UCF, as the Golden Knights were in progress at East Carolina, for the final spot in the eight-team tournament. UAB first baseman Ryan Keedy went 5-for-5 on the afternoon, with teammates Tyler Rollin (3-for-5), J.R. Bond (3-for-4), Phil Bell (3-for-6) and Brint Hardy (2-for-5) also collecting multiple hits. Bond drove in a career-high five runs while Bell posted three RBI. Marshall was held to eight hits, its fifth straight game under double-digit base knocks. Bond got the Blazers on the board in the top of the first with a two-out, two-run home run, his fourth of the season, which just cleared the left centerfield wall. Marshall answered in its half of the first with three runs, aided by a pair of UAB errors. Brit Vincent (Bowling Green, Ky.) led off with a single, followed by a throwing error by third baseman Ryne Lovdahl on a Jeff Rowley (Buffalo, N.Y.) grounder. With second baseman Josh Valle (Brentwood, N.Y.) at the plate, UAB starter Shay Crawford threw the ball into center field in a failed pick off attempt at second base, putting two Herd runners in scoring position. Valle then knocked an RBI single to center field, quickly followed by a Brendan Murphy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) sacrifice fly to tie the score. Third baseman Thad Ledford (Yukon, Okla.) drove in MU's go-ahead run with single to center field that scored Valle.
With the score tied at 3-3 in the top of the fifth, Bond picked up his third and fourth RBI of the game with a two-run single to give the Blazers a 5-3 edge. Center fielder Nick Damas (Willow Springs, Ill.) got the Herd offense going in the fifth with a leadoff single. The junior advanced to third on a perfect hit-and-run with Vincent, who smashed a liner through the right side. After a Rowley groundout to the pitcher, Nate Lape (Huntington, N.Y.) grounded out to third to score Damas and cut MU's deficit to 5-4. The UAB offense began to blossom in the sixth inning as it added five runs on six hits to take a 10-4 advantage. Bond, who had base hits in his last four at bats extending into last night's contest, struck out looking with the bases loaded. With two outs, however, catcher Danny Sawyer picked up Bond with a two-run single up the middle, followed up by an RBI double by Lovdahl. The sixth marked the end of the day for MU starter Jeremy Slone (Paintsville, Ky.). The senior gave up career-highs in hits (15) and earned runs (10) after throwing 111 pitches in 6.0 innings. Marshall picked up a run in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a leadoff double to the wall by catcher Tommy Johnson (Gaithersburg, Md.). Shortstop Blake Sanders (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) drove in Johnson with a sac fly for a 10-5 UAB lead. That would be the end of Marshall's run production, but he Blazer hit parade continued in the seventh with three more runs for a 13-5 lead. UAB added a run in the eighth for the decisive 14-5 victory. Slone fell to 3-4 on the season while Crawford moved to 4-3. Blazer reliever Kasey Croft picked up his first save of the season after throwing three innings to close the contest. Vincent went 2-for-4, joining Johnson (2-for-4) and Damas (2-for-4) as multiple hit batters for Marshall. The Herd and Blazers will conclude the three-game series on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET. |
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