LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The 17th-ranked
University of West Alabama baseball team
improved to 39-9 this season, as the Tigers
took a doubleheader from Stillman on
Wednesday. UWA took game one 8-1 and
followed up with a 16-0 win in the night
cap.
In the
opening contest, Stillman placed the first
run on the board in the third inning, but
UWA answered with two in the bottom half to
take a 2-1 lead. Kevin Deese led off the
inning with a triple and two batters later
scored as Clint Moody grounded out to the
shortstop. Jeremy Finney followed with a
single and advanced to second on error and
later scored on an error by the second
basemen.
The Red
and White added two in the bottom of the
fourth off the bat of Deese, who hit his
third homerun of the season, also scoring
Matt Busbee. The final runs came in the
fifth inning, as UWA pushed four runs across
the dish.
Kasey
Nafzger (5-1) threw all seven innings in the
win, allowing the lone Stillman run on four
hits, while recording seven strikeouts.
In the
finale of the twinbill, UWA plated 15 runs
in the first three innings of the contest,
including a seven run first inning. The
scoring in the opening inning came as Jake
DeRoy stole third base and then advanced
home on a throwing error by the catcher.
Following a Rob Dahlberg walk, Tres Avans
hit his eighth homerun of the season, giving
UWA a 3-1 lead. After back-to-back singles
by Busbee and Nick Wheeler, Dallas Rogers
singled to left field, plating Busbee and
Wheeler. One batter later Chris Ransburgh
singled to right field, scoring Rogers. Rea,
in second at bat of the inning, singled up
the middle to score DeRoy and Ransburgh.
After
adding three runs in the second inning and
five runs in the third, UWA pushed its 16th
run across the plate in the sixth inning in
16-0 win, the third highest run total of the
season. It marked the 18th time
the Red and White scored double figures.
Charley
Kelley (1-1) picked up his first win,
throwing two innings. Josh Turner, Cole
Thornton, Adam Patterson and Josh Varner all
saw time on the mound.
West
Alabama returns to action on Saturday, as
the Tigers travel to Carrollton, Ga. to face
GSC East Division foe West Georgia in a
three-game, weekend series. The series
begins with a doubleheader on Saturday,
starting at 1:00 p.m.
