The UAB Blazers baseball team lost both games of a doubleheader against Rice on May 2, as the Owls outscored them by a combined total of 28-11 and hit eight home runs during the day.
The losses are significant for UAB (28-18, 12-8), as they allowed their highest number of home runs in a single game since May 15, 2025. The results also impact their standing in the American Conference.
In the first game, UAB took an early lead when Kevin Hall Jr. scored on an Alex Dupuy single. However, Rice responded with three runs in the bottom of the first inning and maintained offensive pressure throughout. Andrew Hunt hit his sixth home run of the season to tie the game at three in the fourth inning and later tied it again at five with a double. Despite these efforts, Rice regained control with multiple home runs—highlighted by back-to-back-to-back shots from Colin Robson, Garret Boehm, and Paul Smith—in an eight-run sixth inning that gave them a commanding lead. UAB added late runs but ultimately fell short as Rice won game one 16-9.
Game two followed a similar pattern. Baylor Roberts drove in Andrew Hunt for an early lead for UAB before Rice’s offense erupted again. The Owls scored six runs in the third inning and continued adding to their total through strong hitting and capitalizing on walks. Austin Pierzynski homered for UAB in the seventh inning, but it was not enough to avoid a run-rule shortened loss as Rice secured a 12-2 victory.
Despite Saturday’s defeats, several individual achievements were noted: John Paul Head now leads UAB with 17 multi-hit games this season; Alex Dupuy and Landon Beaver have recorded sixteen each; Wesley Helms reached over one hundred career hits at UAB; and five players have fifty or more hits this season—the only such group in their conference.
The Blazers will attempt to avoid being swept when they play Rice again on Sunday at Reckling Park.
