University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
23-22, 11-8
UAB
22-21, 6-10
Martin Dominant in 9-2 Victory over UAB
May 07, 2010 | Baseball
May 7, 2010
Memphis, Tenn. -
UAB (19-12; 2-3 C-USA) 101 000 000 - 2 7 3 Memphis (14-17; 5-3 C-USA) 001 302 03x - 9 16 0
Senior starter Brennon Martin allowed just two run in 6.2 innings, and the Memphis offense banged out 16 hits as the Tigers inched one win closer to a possible 2010 C-USA Tournament berth with a 9-2 win over UAB in game one of the three-game set on Friday night at FedExPark.
Memphis improves to 23-22 on the year and 11-8 in C-USA play. UAB falls to 22-21, 6-10 in league action. The Tigers surpass .500 for the first time on over a year with the win.
Martin, who picked up his first win as a starter since a complete-game effort against Rice on March 26, scattered seven hits and struck out four in his final start in front of the home crowd. The only two runs the southpaw gave up were solo home runs in the first and third innings by Jonathan Merritt and John Frost, respectively. Other than the two homers, just three UAB baserunners advanced as far as second base.
While Martin baffled the UAB offense, the Memphis offense connected early and often. Trailing 2-0, the Tigers got on the board with an RBI-double by Derrick Thomas in the third.
Memphis used the longball to grab the lead in a three-run fourth inning. Rick Russell clubbed a leadoff homer to left to knot the contest at 2-all. Heith Hatfield made it 4-2 with a two-run shot over the centerfield wall. The round-tripper was the third of the year for Hatfield, who finished the night 3-for-4 with three runs and a pair of RBI.
Memphis continued to add on to its lead with two runs in the sixth and three more in the eighth. Thomas lined his second double of the night into the left centerfield gap and scored on an RBI-single by Drew Martinez. With Martinez on first and no outs, Blazers relief pitcher Ryan Woolley's pickoff attempt at first was wide right and rolled deep into foul territory down the rightfield line. Martinez advanced to third and was allowed to score when the UAB defense mishandled the ball.
The Tigers offense put the game out of reach in the eight behind consecutive hits by Phillip Chapman and Hatfield. Thomas's two-run single made it 8-2 and Martinez, who collected four hits and drove in two, singled through a drawn-in infield to bring Thomas in with the game's final run.
Memphis recorded 10 hits for the 18th time in 19 games and posted a nine-hit advantage in the contest. Martinez led the club with four hits, while Hatfield and Thomas added three. Russell and Adam McClain had two hits each on the night. Martinez increased his hit streak to 13 games, while McClain's streak improved to 11 games. Chad Zurcher went 1-for-4 with an infield single to extend his current hit streak to 17 games.
Ben Paullus and Chase Joiner held down the bullpen for Memphis. Paullus allowed just one hit in 1.1 innings, while Joiner tossed a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Tigers will honor their senior class in a pre-game ceremony on Saturday afternoon. Game two of the series will follow and is set for 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Martin, Brennon (4-5)
L: Kloskowski (4-4)
Batting:
2B: J. Merritt 1 ; J. Frost 1
HR: J. Merritt 1 ; J. German 1
RBI: J. Merritt 1 ; J. German 1
Base Running:
RUNS: J. Merritt 1 ; J. German 1
Batting:
2B: Hatfield, Heith 1 ; Thomas, Derrick 2
HR: Russell, Rick 1 ; Hatfield, Heith 1
RBI: Martinez, Drew 2 ; Russell, Rick 1 ; Hatfield, Heith 2 ; Thomas, Derrick 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Martinez, Drew 1 ; Russell, Rick 1 ; McClain, Adam 1 ; Chapman, Phillip 1 ; Hatfield, Heith 3 ; Thomas, Derrick 2
CS: Martinez, Drew 1 ; McClain, Adam 1
PO: Martinez, Drew 1
