LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The 12th-ranked
University of West Alabama baseball team
dropped two contests on Sunday at Tartt
Field. UWA (6-4) fell 7-2 to No. 1 Tampa
in the early outing of the day and were
downed 16-3 in the final contest by No.
19 Southern Arkansas.
In the
outing against the Spartans (6-2), UWA
plated the first two runs of the contest
in its first at-bat. Nick Wheeler
blasted a two-run homerun to left center
that scored Douglas Frazier, who hit a
two out double down the right field
line. The Red and White held the 2-0
margin through the first three innings.
UT pulled within one in the fourth
inning and tied the game in the sixth
inning, when Correy Figueroa scored on a
fielder’s choice. Tampa took the lead in
the seventh inning on a Nick Nordgren
homer to left field. The Spartans added
one run in the eighth and three
additional runs in the ninth, on
back-to-back-to-back homeruns.
Kasey
Nafzger (0-2) received the loss with
seven innings pitched. The right-hander
allowed three runs on eight hits with
eight strikeouts. Colter Millican
pitched the final two innings of the
affair, surrendering four runs on five
hits.
In the
night cap, UWA found itself in a hole
early, as SAU (9-3) plated a total of
six runs in its first three trips to the
dish. The Muleriders, who went 4-0 on
the weekend, found their lead cut in
half in the bottom of the fifth, as
Wheeler cranked his fourth dinger of the
weekend over the center field wall. The
homer scored Douglas Frazier and Kyle
Standridge, two of Wheeler’s seven RBI
over the four game session. SAU answered
with four runs in the top of the sixth
and six supplementary runs in the
seventh for the win.
Josh
Varner (1-1) got the loss on the mound
with three innings of work. The
sophomore allowed six runs, four earned,
on eight hits. Brian Burgess, Trevor
Zugmaier and Andrew Parten combined for
the final four innings on the bump.
West
Alabama returns to action on Wednesday,
Feb. 18, as UWA hosts Stillman College.
First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Live stats will be available at
athletics.uwa.edu.
