BIRMINGHAM – The UAB baseball team took one back from UNC Asheville in the series finale, holding the Bulldogs scoreless for a 5-0 win on Sunday. The Blazers jumped on top early with three runs in the bottom of the second and padded their lead with a pair in the seventh and eighth while the pitchers contained the Bulldogs for the all-around win.
Junior Caleb Floyd went yard early for his first homerun as a Blazer, and redshirt sophomore Jess Davis had the most consistent day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. From the mound, sophomore Tyler O’Clair (1-1) got the start and the win as he tossed 5.1 scoreless innings. Junior Dylan Cunningham also did his job on the bump, forcing an out before graduate senior Mac McCarty took over and sustained the shutout for his second save on the season after fanning four batters in 3.1 innings of work.
“We finally played a clean game. We only allowed three free base runners, so they had to earn everything they could, and it’s just really hard to score when you do that,” said coach Brian Shoop. “Tyler was good. He can be better, but he competed with runners in scoring position. I thought Zack (Davis) made a heck of a play on the ball up against the wall. Then we got the ball to Mac who was just lights out. We’d like to get ball in his hand with as many leads as we can because we’ll have a pretty good chance. We weren’t great offensively, but we were better. When we can get our runners on base, that’s a real weapon for us to put a ton of pressure on them. If they’re not on base, they can’t utilize that speed. Long way to go, but a good step.”
The Blazer bats were hot early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second. Floyd got things started, leading off the inning with a solo shot over left. Senior Zack Davis then drew a walk, and junior Justin Wiley later put the ball in play to move into scoring position and push Zack Davis to third. Freshman Chandler Simpson delivered at the plate next, knocking a sacrifice fly for his first career RBI. Jess Davis capped the inning with a double, scoring Wiley for the 3-0 Blazer lead.
After a few quiet innings, Jess Davis was back at it with a single in the bottom of the seventh. The Kearney, Mo., native stole second and advanced to third on a misthrow before coming home on a Colton Schultz single. UAB added the final blow in the eighth as Simpson picked up his first hit as a Blazer, stole second and scored on a Jess Davis successful stretch single to reach the final tally. McCarty took care of business on the mound next to secure the 5-0 UAB win.
UAB (2-5) will begin another full slate next week, heading to Alabama State for a midweek tilt before hosting Miami (Ohio) for a weekend series. The Blazers and Hornets will square off on Feb. 26 at the Wheeler-Watkins Baseball Complex before the Redhawks come south for games Feb. 28-29 at Regions Field and the series finale on March 1 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-
