BIRMINGHAM – The UAB baseball team dropped its series opener with UNC Asheville, 7-3, on Friday. Although the Blazers closed the gap near the end, loading the bases and scoring a run to bring the tying run to the plate, the Bulldogs’ separation proved too much to overcome.
UAB was once again led at the plate by senior Colton Schultz, who drove in a pair to bring the Blazers within striking distance. Fellow senior Austin Bohannon toed the rubber at the start, going 4.1 innings with three strikeouts and ultimately taking the loss.
“I thought that was one of the poorer baseball games the UAB baseball team has played in a long, long time,” said coach Brian Shoop. “I don’t want to take anything away from Asheville because I thought they played well. I thought their starter threw fantastic. With that said, we have a lot of very capable hitters having very uncompetitive at bats. As long as that continues, we’re going to really struggle. It’s not much more complicated than that. When you have more errors than you have hits in a game, that’s going to be a really bad game.”
UNC Asheville opened things up in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of a handful of UAB miscues to manufacture three runs on just one hit in the inning. The Bulldogs came back in the fifth with one more as the leadoff batter walked and was driven around the bases on a screamer down the left-field line and subsequent grounder for a 4-0 lead.
The Blazers surrendered two more in the sixth as four Bulldog singles drove in a pair. UAB then showed its first sign of life at the plate in the bottom of the frame as junior Justin Wiley walked and made his way around the bases on a wild pitch and with a steal. Schultz next stepped in and put the ball in play to get Wiley home.
UNC Asheville increased its lead back to six in the top of the seventh as another error allowed a run to score. The Blazers responded later in the eighth, dialing the Bulldog lead back to five. Freshman Chandler Simpson drew a leadoff walk and found his way home after singles by redshirt sophomore Jess Davis and Schultz.
Down to the final three outs, UAB gave UNC Asheville a scare. Pinch hitters Caleb Floyd and Pate Fullerton both got on to start as Floyd walked and Fullerton singled. After a pop out, freshman Leo Harris also pinch hit and drew a walk to load the bases. Nine-hole batter Justin Wiley then stepped to the plate and pushed Floyd home on a Bulldog error. Now trailing 7-3 with one down, the Blazers were unable to further the rally as UNC Asheville came out with the win.
“With all that said, I think we’re going to have a great day tomorrow,” added Shoop. “I think we’re going to put up a lot of runs, and I think we’re going to play well.”
The Blazers will continue the series with game two against UNC Asheville on Saturday, moving to Regions Field for a 1 p.m. contest. 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-
