FLORENCE, Ala. (March 2, 2024) – The University of North Alabama baseball team split a pair of matches with UAB in a Saturday doubleheader at Mike D. Lane Field in Florence, Ala. Both games were high-scoring affairs, with the Lions coming out on top 9-8 in game one before a 10-8 UAB victory in game two.
The Lions move to 3-7 on the season, while the Blazers exit Saturday’s games at 4-6.
Game 1 — UAB 8, North Alabama 9
UNA opened up the floodgates early in game one. Leadoff hitter Jackson Ferrigno jumped on the first pitch he saw and sent it over the fence to put the Lions up 1-0. Jonathan Lane swiftly followed suit with a double to the right center field gap and following a Gehrig Frei walk, a Kyle Machado double down the line added another to the UNA lead.
After an error and a groundout pushed across a pair of runners, Dominick McIntyre joined the party, notching an RBI single of his own. Catcher Levi Jensen lasered one down the right field line for his second homer of the season to put UNA up 7-0. Ferrigno tallied his second extra base hit of the inning on a double before a groundout ended the home half.
Jacob James made his third start of the season and continued to dominate. The southpaw from Loretto, Tenn. struck out nine batters and only allowed three hits across five innings of work. James has now struck out 26 batters on the season and has tallied 204 strikeouts in his career. He became just the fifth player in program history to reach the 200 strikeout mark.
UAB picked up a pair in the fourth and the fifth before Frei scored his second run of the game on a fielder's choice from Knight to push the Lion lead to 8-2. The Blazers rallied from down six in the ninth to tie the game on a Jake Smallwood two-run home run.
Andrew Knight played hero in the series opener, leading off the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off solo shot for his third home run of the season.
Game one is the first walk-off victory by a North Alabama team since May 14, 2022 when UNA defeated Bellarmine 5-4 on a game winning single by Devne Daniel.
Pitchers of Record
W – Anthony Pingeton (1-0)
L – Braxton Brooks (1-2)
S – None
Game 2 — UAB 10, North Alabama 8
UAB got out to an early lead in the second game of the day thanks to a wild pitch and two RBI singles, making it 3-0 after the top of the first.
It didn’t take the UNA offense long to respond, after loading the bases twice, a pair of wild pitches made the score 3-2. Lane drove home another runner on a ground ball to short, tying the teams at three-all.
Knight continued his hot streak, doubling home two more with the bases loaded, putting UNA up 5-3 after two full frames.
Machado and Knight singled in the fourth inning, followed by a Dominick McIntyre walk to load the bases. Cal Cook brought home Machado and Knight to extend the UNA lead to 7-3.
A pair of singles in the top of the fifth helped the Blazers get one back as UNA starter Jacob Bradshaw would end his day with four and two thirds innings, allowing five hits and four runs. Caleb Menina entered in relief and struck out a UAB pinch hitter to strand two runners.
Machado — a Preseason All-ASUN selection — pushed the lead back out to four with an RBI double, but a sacrifice fly in the sixth by UAB cut it back to a three-run lead. The Blazers rallied in the seventh to tie the game, scoring three runs on three hits and a pair of walks.
The Blazers broke through and took the lead in the eighth with two walks, an error and an RBI single from Peyton Puckett. The UAB bullpen held the UNA offense at bay for the final six outs.
Pitchers of Record
W – Brooks House (1-1)
L – Justin Battle (0-1)
S – Christian Clack (1)
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions and Blazers close out the series with a rubber match on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Mike D. Lane Field.
