Jefferson Reporter

 Timely hitting and shutdown pitching from Aidan Moza over the final two innings helped lead the UAB baseball team to a 7-6 win at Alabama on Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa. The win not only marked UAB's first win at Alabama since 2014, but it also completed UAB's first season sweep of the Crimson Tide since 2012.

 

After the Crimson Tide again tied the game with a single run in the bottom of the seventh, UAB (23-13) went ahead for good when Logan Braunschweig drove in Darryl Buggs from third base with an RBI fielder's choice, sprinting to first base to avoid the inning-ending double play.

 

Moza then took over from there, facing just six Crimson Tide batters over the final two innings to record his second win of the season. The right-hander induced a 5-4-3 ground-ball double play in the eighth, erasing a leadoff single from Alabama's Tommy Seidl. He finished off the scoreless frame when Alabama cleanup batter Zane Denton grounded out to first base.

 

Moza then sat down the Crimson Tide in order in the bottom of the ninth, striking out the final two Alabama batters to secure the huge midweek victory. Moza's 2.2 innings of one-hit baseball helped the Blazers improve to 11-4 in one-run games this season.

 

"We showed a lot of resiliency tonight," head coach Casey Dunn said. "We answered their runs each time, and our guys kept battling.

 

"I can't say we played the best or cleanest we have this year, but we kept fighting and found a way to scratch across some runs when we really didn't swing the bats that well. We were able to find one more than they had, so it was a great night for us."

 

Alabama (23-15) struck first in Tuesday's midweek matchup with three runs in the third, chasing UAB starting pitcher Leo Harris with back-to-back singles to open the third frame. After Alabama pushed its first run across with a bases-loaded walk, right fielder Andrew Pinckney smacked a two-RBI single down the left-field line to make it 3-0 Crimson Tide. UAB third baseman Brandon Willoughby got a glove on Pinckney's hard-hit ball to third, but he was unable to keep it in the infield.

 

The Blazers immediately answered Alabama's trio of runs in the top of the fourth with a grand slam from Matthew Golda. After the Blazers loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a fielder's choice, Golda stepped to the plate with two outs. The shortstop worked the count to 1-1 and then unloaded on the third pitch of his second at-bat of the game, blasting a go-ahead grand slam to left field to give the Blazers a 4-3 lead.

 

Golda's towering shot to left field was his second home run of the season. It also marked UAB's first grand slam since Darryl Buggs slugged a grand slam in the Blazers' 9-8 win over Belmont on March 11.

 

Alabama would tie the game in the fourth when Drew Williamson singled through the left side for an RBI base hit. The Crimson Tide then jumped ahead 5-4 in the fifth when Bryce Eblin lifted a sacrifice fly to center field. Despite allowing the go-ahead run, Blazer reliever Thomas Ballard limited the damage in a bases-loaded situation, using back-to-back strikeouts following Eblin's sacrifice fly to end the inning.

 

A pair of singles from Henry Hunter and Caleb Floyd sparked UAB's rally in the sixth. After new Crimson Tide pitcher Landon Green entered the game with runners on second and third and two outs, John Marc Mullins and Braunschweig worked back-to-back walks, bringing home the tying run to make it a 5-5 ballgame.

 

The Blazers then jumped ahead when Josh Sears beat out an infield single to shortstop, scoring Floyd from third to make it 6-5 UAB. Left-hander JC Sewell then did his job in the bottom half, posting a scoreless frame to maintain the Blazers' advantage.

 

Christian Hall extended his reached-base streak to 28 games with a single in the fourth inning. Despite being outhit 11-8 in Tuesday's game, the Blazers took advantage of nine walks from Alabama pitching. Braunschweig and Sears each recorded two walks apiece, while five other Blazers also reached base via a base on balls.

 

The Blazers will look to build upon their back-to-back wins over top 80 RPI teams this weekend when UAB travels to Charlotte for a three-game series. First pitch for Friday's series opener is set to begin at 5 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.

Original source can be found here.