Baseball Clinches Series with 5-2 Win over UAB

Saturday, March 22

Memphis, Tennessee (Nat Buring Stadium)

2:00 PM

University of Memphis

10-10, 2-0

UAB

6-12, 0-2

UAB

Memphis

Will Hudgens allowed one run on five hits and struck out five to record his first win of the year.

Mar 22, 2008 | Baseball

Box Score

March 22, 2008

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -

Memphis 5, UAB 2

UAB (6-12; 0-2 C-USA)        000 001 100 - 2  8 1
Memphis (10-10; 2-0 C-USA)   002 030 00x - 5 11 2

University of Memphis starter Will Hudgens allowed one run on five hits and struck out five and closer Matt Yokley fanned three in an inning and a third to help Memphis hold off UAB, 5-2, in C-USA action on Saturday. The Tigers win the series with their fourth straight win. They also improve to 10-10 overall and 2-0 in C-USA play, while the Blazers fall to 6-12, 0-2 in C-USA.

Memphis, who has claimed victory in each of its first two league tilt for the first time since the 1995 season, jumped on top for the second consecutive outing, crossing a pair of runs in the home half of the third. Tyler Huelsing drew a one-out walk and Brett Bowen followed with a single into leftfield. Trey Wiedman drove a double off the leftfield wall to bring Huelsing around and Cole Shelton belted a single to left field to score Wiedman. The Tiger DH had two hits and also drove in two to lead the U of M's 11-hit offensive attack.

Ahead 2-0, Hudgens worked out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the top of the fifth. After Billy Lichtner lined out to Eric Farrell at second base, Hudgens gave up singles to Allen Aubin and Brint Hardy. He walked Jonathan Merritt on four pitches. With Blazers on all bases, Hudgens fanned Nick Crawford and Phil Bell flew out to right field.

A leadoff single by Bowen stirred up a big fifth inning for the Tigers as they extended their lead to 5-0. Wiedman, who went 2-for-5 on the day, battled Blazers starter Brandon Wallace, before lining a single up the middle. With Bowen on second and Wiedman on first, freshman Robby Graham loaded the bases with a perfectly placed bunt single inside the third base line. A fielder's choice groundball by Shelton scored Bowen for a three-run lead for Memphis. Chad Zurcher worked a walk to load the sacks for a second time in the inning. That set up a sac fly by Farrell and Chris Kirkland drove home Shelton with a single to right field to chase UAB starter Brandon Wallace.

Hudgens ran into trouble in the sixth. He walked Ryan Keedy to lead off the stanza and Luke Stewart banged a single through the right side in the next at-bat. Keedy scored the Blazers' first run of the day on a fielder's choice groundball by Cody McMurry. An errant throw by Bowen at third ended the day for Hudgens, with runners on first and second.

Senior lefthander Neil Schenk got Memphis off the hook by retiring the first three batters he faced. He struck out Lichtner and Aubin and then induced a fly ball to center by Hardy to end the UAB scoring threat.

UAB closed the gap to 5-2 in the seventh, when Merritt drew a leadoff walk and then scored on a single to center by Keedy.

The Blazers threatened again in the eighth, using a leadoff infield single and a pair of walks to load the bases with just one out before Tiger Head Coach Daron Schoenrock opted to call on closer Matt Yokley. Yokley promptly struck out Merritt and got Crawford to fly out to Chalmers in center.

Still holding the three-run cushion in the ninth, Yokley worked through an infield single and an outfield error to retire the Blazers and take home save No. 14 for his career. Yokley also preserved Hudgens' first win of the year.

UAB left 14 men on base in the game--11 in the fifth through ninth innings.

Wallace was the loser, giving up five runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings.

The Tigers and Blazers will play the series finale on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at Nat Buring Stadium.