April 1, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team dropped a 9-2 decision to cross-town rival UAB Wednesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

With the loss, Samford drops to 10-17 overall, while UAB improves to 16-10. The game marked the second night that Samford took on UAB. On Tuesday night, the Blazers defeated the Bulldogs, 17-7, at UAB's Young Memorial Field.

"There were some positives to what we did tonight, but the one big inning we gave up is what stands out," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "The one inning (fifth inning) where they scored four runs, we walked four guys, and we just can't do that. We did have some guys who pitched okay tonight."

Samford was led by Wayne Miller, going 2-for-5 at the plate. Mason Meredeth drove in both of Samford's runs in a 1-for-4 performance. Josh Martin, who was one of eight pitchers used by Samford, tossed 3.0 innings, giving up three runs on five hits to take the loss.

For UAB, Cody McMurry went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Andrew Manning went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Colin McMurry, one of seven pitchers used by the Blazers, pitched 1.0 inning in relief to earn the win.

UAB grabbed the early lead with two runs in the top of the first inning. Cody McMurry singled to drive in Brint Hardy and Jonathan Merritt for a 2-0 UAB lead.

Samford came back with a run in the bottom of the first inning to cut the lead to 2-1. Miller tripled to lead off the inning. With one out, Meredeth singled up the middle for Samford's first run of the game.

The Blazers added a run in the second inning to make the score 3-1. Manning led off the inning with a solo home run for a two-run UAB lead.

Samford plated a run in the bottom of the third inning to cut the lead to 3-2. Miller doubled to center field to lead off the inning. After moving to third base on a fly out, Miller scored when Meredeth grounded out to second base.

The score remained 3-2 until the top of the fifth inning when UAB plated four runs to pull away and take a 7-2 lead. Hardy singled up the middle to drive in Merritt, who had singled to lead off the inning, for the inning's first run. Luke Stewart and Austin Taylor both walked with the bases loaded for the next two runs. The final run of the inning was scored when Manning hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in McMurry.

The Blazers added a run in the seventh inning and another in the ninth to make the final score 9-2. Manning drove in the run in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly, and McMurry homered to center field for the run in the ninth inning.

Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs play host to Davidson in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series. The first pitch for Friday's game is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Joe Lee Griffin Field.