BIRMINGHAM – The UAB baseball team claimed its first road win of the season as it doubled Alabama State on Wednesday night, 10-5. The Hornets threw the first punch in the bottom of the first, but the Blazers responded with a pair of runs in the top of the second to take the lead and never looked back.
Redshirt junior Thomas Johns was a spark at the plate for the Blazers, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and three RBI. Along with Johns, junior Caleb Floyd excelled at the dish, putting together a 2-for-4 day with two runs scored and two RBI. On the bump, senior lefty Austin Bohannon got the start and went 3.2 innings with four strikeouts and just three hits allowed. Senior right-hander Sylvester Toe was credited with the win after tossing 1.2 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts and one hit allowed.
Alabama State got on the board first, knocking a leadoff double and finding home on a lost wild pitch in the bottom of the first.
UAB countered in the top of the second, scoring two of its own. Senior J Paul Fullerton led off the inning with a single to right and was driven home to even the score on a triple by junior Caleb Floyd. Soon after, the Blazers jumped in front as redshirt junior Thomas Johns drove in Floyd on another single.
The Green and Gold doubled the lead in the third as freshman Chandler Simpson and redshirt sophomore Jess Davis both reached base keeping the ball in the infield. As Jess Davis stole second, Simpson came home on the throw for UAB’s third run. Jess Davis next picked up his fourth stolen base in two games as he stole third and was pushed home on a grounder by Colton Schultz to put the Blazers up, 4-1.
The Hornets cut the lead back to two in the bottom of the fifth as the leadoff man was hit by a pitch and later came home on a single.
UAB answered once again in the top of the sixth, breaking the game open with four more runs. Schultz kicked off the inning with a single and moved a couple of bags before Floyd doubled him home. After redshirt senior Zack Davis reached on an error, Johns roped a gapper to right center, digging it out for a triple while scoring Floyd and Zack Davis. Simpson drove in the final run of the half inning as his first collegiate double brought Johns home for an 8-2 UAB lead.
Alabama State didn’t go down without a fight, scoring one more on a single followed by a walk and an RBI single.
The action continued in the seventh as UAB tallied another score. Schultz drew a walk to get on first and was driven home on J Paul Fullerton’s rocket to the warning track in right center. The Hornets still didn’t back down in the bottom of the frame, scoring a pair on another sing-walk-single sequence after the leadoff man reached base on an error to cut the Blazer lead to 9-5.
In the top of the ninth, UAB struck the final blow after sophomore Pate Fullerton swatted a leadoff single and journeyed home on a couple of Hornet miscues.
Graduate senior closer Mac McCarty closed out the game, forcing a putout and tallying a pair of punchouts to preserve UAB’s 10-5 win.
The Green and Gold will come back home to close out this week’s action with a weekend series against Miami (Ohio). The Blazers and Redhawks are set to square off in games one and two at Regions Field with a 4 p.m. start on Friday and a 1 p.m. start on Saturday. The series finale is slated for a 1 p.m. start on Sunday at Young Memorial 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-
