Wave Baseball Comeback Falls Short in Game 1 at UAB, 9-6
After falling behind 9-nothing in the first eight innings of play, the Green Wave made a valiant effort in the top of the ninth scoring six, but falling short Friday night in Birmingham, as Tulane baseball fell to UAB by a 9-6 count in the second weekend of American Conference play. With the loss, the Wave drops to 14-13 for the year, 2-2 in league play. Alabama-Birmingham improves to 16-10 overall, matching Tulane's 2-2 in American contests.
Silent Bats Until the End
Green Wave batters couldn't find their way past third base until the top of the 9th. Tulane hitters wound up with only three hits in the first eight innings of play against UAB pitching, a staff that owns the second worst ERA in the American coming into the game. Center fielder Tanner Chun and Nate Johnson had the only extra base hits for the Wave: Chun leading off the 4th with a double, but getting stranded at 3rd, and Nate Johnson's two RBI two-bagger in the ninth. By the end of that final inning, Tulane had added six more hits to the three from the first eight frames.
The Wave was able to get the first batter on base five times in the contest, but couldn't take advantage of it until Tulane's final inning.
Wave Rolls Late in Final at Bats
That Tulane ninth started off with a Nate Johnson single, then Evan Burg was hit-by-pitch. Trent Liolios singled in Johnson, and the Wave was off to the races with James Agabedis' single that bounced off second base to score a run, Hugh Pinkney's single to the right side, Kaikea Harrison's fielder's choice that scored another, Chun's walk to load the bases, Tye Wood's single to score another, and Johnson's aforementioned two RBI double.
Sandwiched among those hits were a couple of strikeouts, including the final one to end the game. We asked coach Jay Uhlman what changed for his team in the ninth.
"We were taking until we got a strike," Uhlman explained. "And we got into a lot of advantageous counts. We got to see a lot of his pitches, and we decided we wanted to compete in the ninth. That's the kind of effort we need from the very beginning."
The Wave was able to build up some runs at the end, something Uhlman is hoping spills over into Saturday.
"The momentum is only as good as the next day's starter," Uhlman proselytized. "They (UAB) went from cruising to an easy win and almost ten-running us to having to hang on. Whether or not that's a hangover effect for them, we'll see tomorrow (Saturday). We need to perform better offensively. I thought we were noncompetitive for most of the game, so that effort needs to be better tomorrow."
Pitching Woes for Friday Night Starter
The Blazers jumped on Friday Green Wave starter Trey Cehajic in the second inning, putting a four-spot on the board, adding another on the Tulane right-hander in the 4th to give Alabama-Birmingham a 5-0 lead. Another run in the 5th put the score at 6-zip with two outs. That's when Cehajic was lifted for Jacob Moore with the bases loaded. Moore gave up a single that scored two more in the 5th, which ended mercifully a hitter later, giving UAB an 8-0 lead after five.
Blazer batters did most of their damage with two outs on their side of the frame, scoring six of their nine runs with just one out remaining.
After Moore, Caden Tarango took the hill, but walked two, forcing Tulane coach Jay Uhlman to go to the bullpen again, getting Michael Devenney on the mound. It was the sophomore's first appearance for the Green Wave since the one-third of an inning he put in against Creighton almost two weeks ago. The Pennsylvania native shut down the Blazers, going 2-and-a-third innings, striking out two, walking two, but not allowing a hit for the rest of the game.
"He had to bail them out (Moore & Tarango)," Uhlman told us after the game. "That's what being a good teammate is about. Michael took advantage of his opportunity (tonight). He didn't look at it as a 'I'm in here to finish out the game.' He really gave us a chance, and I'm really proud of his effort."
The victory by the Blazers puts UAB at an impressive 13-4 at Young Memorial Field. Game two of this American Conference series is set for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch Saturday in Birmingham.
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.