TicketsBearcats Drop C-USA Opener To UAB, 5-4
Blazers score three runs in last two innings to steal win
Contact: Shawn Sell
3/14/2003
Brad Schutz had his team-best fifth multi-hit game of the year against UAB. |
BIRMINGHAM, ALA.---UAB scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game then pushed across an unearned run an inning later to pull out a 5-4 win over Cincinnati in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
The defeat drops the Bearcats to 5-10 overall, while UAB improves to 16-2. The loss was Cincinnati?s fifth one-run loss of the year, in addition to a four two-run defeats.
Bryan Wood was the hard luck loser for the Bearcats and drops to 0-2 on the season. Jeff Brown pitched 4.1 innings out of the UAB bullpen to pick up his second win of the year.
Trailing 4-2 entering the seventh inning, UAB?s Steve Martin started the frame off with a bunt single. Sam Clark followed with a double down the left field line off Rob Reel that plated Martin. Wood replaced Reel on the hill and induced a Kyle Leon groundout. But Daniel Hill followed with an RBI single to left that tied the game at four.
In the eighth, Wood walked lead-off hitter Eugene Rodriguez, before Drew Goneke bunted him to second. With a 2-0 count on the next hitter, Mitch Jones, Wood was yanked in favor of Mark Mueller. Mueller overcame the deficit in the count to strike out Jones. Martin was the next hitter and he chopped a grounder to first, but the ball eluded Jon DeLuca allowing Rodriguez to score from second.
?The positive of tonight?s game was that we played it tight,? said Bearcat head coach Brian Cleary. ?I thought we played hard and gave a good effort. It was another tough one-run loss for us and I think we have to find a way to score more runs. I think we swung the bats well and are getting closer to turning the corner.?
UAB started the scoring early as Seth Rollin hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot, off Cincinnati starter Nate Bouldin in the bottom of the second. The Bearcats wasted little time tying the game as Brad Dorrmann?s groundout plated Justin Niefer in the top of the third.
The Bearcats pushed out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth, scoring three runs to chase Blazer starter Lucas Trotter out of the game, with all of the runs coming with two outs. Niefer started the frame reaching on an error and was bunted to second by Brad Schutz. One out later, DeLuca ripped his team-best fourth double of the year down the right field line to scored Niefer. After a walk to Drew Saylor, Aaron Moll and Jake Smith followed with run-scoring singles, but Moll was gunned down at third on Smith?s knock to end the inning.
The Blazer got to within 4-2 in the bottom of the inning on Clark?s RBI triple that scored Goneke.
In the defeat, Schutz had his team-high fifth multi-hit game of the year, going two for three, while DeLuca also had a pair of hits. Bouldin turned in another solid outing on the mound, yielding just three hits and two walks along with the two runs. Bouldin also matched a career-high with six strikeouts.
The same two teams will return to action tomorrow afternoon in a 2 p.m. CST time start. B.J. Borsa gets the ball for Cincinnati against UAB?s Cody Cillo.
Game Notes
? Mark Muscenti?s season-high five-game hitting streak was broken following a zero for five day.
? Nate Bouldin matched his career-high with six strikeouts. He last recorded six on April 5, 2002 at Louisville.
? In Saturday?s start, B.J. Borsa will be attempting to become just the eighth pitcher in Conference USA history to total 300 career innings pitched. Borsa enters the day with 296.2 innings in his career.
? With the defeat, the Bearcats are 0-5 this season in one-run games.