BIRMINGHAM – Despite a late comeback effort, the UAB baseball team fell 5-3 on the road at Jacksonville State on Wednesday. After going scoreless and giving up five runs in the first seven innings, the Blazers plated two in the top of the eighth and added another run in the top of the ninth before the Gamecocks managed to tame the rally and come out on top.
UAB was led at the plate by junior Justin Wiley from the nine hole along with senior Colton Schultz once again. Wiley went 2-for-3 with an RBI at the plate while Schultz, who’s now batting .357 on the season, went 2-for-4 with a run scored on the day. The Blazers pitched by committee as eight different pitchers spent an inning on the bump. Graduate senior Mac McCarty had the most explosive performance of the bunch, striking out the side in the bottom of the eighth.
“The Jacksonville State pitchers were fantastic,” said coach Brian Shoop. “I think until the ninth inning, all but four of our hitters were in a two-strike count. I’m not sure I’ve ever played in a game like that. You’re going to have success when you do that. It was a really good job by their staff.
“We have a good offense. We’re going to hit. It’s just a matter of time.”
Jacksonville State got on the board first in the second inning, opening with a triple and scoring the first run on a following single. A walk and fly into shallow right later, a sacrifice fly to left center brought in the final run of the inning.
The Gamecocks added another run to their lead in the bottom of the third, getting home by way of a pair of doubles, and bolstered their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run shot over right-center field.
The Blazers showed life at the plate in the top of the eighth, cutting Jacksonville State’s lead to three. Redshirt junior Thomas Johns drew a leadoff walk to start, and senior Austin Triplett singled to follow. The pair then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch to set up Wiley’s RBI single. A sacrifice fly by redshirt sophomore Jess Davis would drive in the second run of the inning.
UAB’s final push in the top of the ninth began with a leadoff double by Schultz and a following single by redshirt senior Zack Davis to give the Blazers runners on the corners. Junior Ian Ladner hit into a double play to drive in Schultz, and despite a double by Triplett soon after, the Gamecocks closed out the game on top.
The Blazers will come back home next to wrap up the week with a series against UNC Asheville. The games are currently scheduled for Friday through Sunday at Regions Field. Live stat and streaming information for each game is available on the UAB baseball schedule page.
Fans may secure baseball season tickets by purchasing the 2020 Gold Card for $65. The Gold Card is an exclusive offer that grants you admission into all baseball, softball and women’s basketball events for the remainder of the academic year. Mini plans and single game tickets are also available here. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.
For more information on the UAB baseball team, follow @UAB_Baseball on Twitter and Instagram.
-Go Blazers-
