BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The West Alabama men's baseball team collected its first victory of the 2022 season on Wednesday afternoon against Miles College. Six innings, including three multi-run frames for the Tigers, led UWA to a 15-13 win over the Golden Bears at Rickwood Field. UWA improves to 1-9 on the season.
For the midweek clash, West Alabama sent Tyler Benson to the mound to face off against Miles (2-4) left-hander Matthew McDonald. Benson pitched 4.0 innings before retiring to the dugout while McDonald worked for 2.0.
SCORING
After McDonald escaped a jam in the top of the first that saw runners on first and third, the Golden Bear offense struck in the bottom half. A double and a sacrifice bunt put a runner on third base for Miles, and a ground out to the shortstop scored him.
Two innings went by scoreless, but in the top of the fourth inning, the Tigers got on the board in a big way. The first four at-bats in the side resulted in singles. Josh Bower and Jacobby Hawthorne collected RBIs in the hitting streak, scoring Brayden Lyman and Connor Christian, respectively, and an error by the shortstop scored Bower. UWA took a 3-1 lead.
After a strikeout and a walk, the Golden Bears retired McDonald, and Kolton Easterwood took over pitching duties. Easterwood sat down his first batter with a swinging strikeout, but a wild pitch gave the Tigers their fourth run. Before the close of the side, UWA scored two more runs. Jake Nemith singled to left field to bring Volger and Thibodeau across the plate.
The Tigers continued landing hits and scoring runs in the fifth. Josh Bower connected for a double to right field and a Hawthorne single and steal put runners on second and third. Thibodeau scored both with a two-RBI single for a score of 8-1.
A fielder's choice took Thibodeau off the base, but a double and a hit by pitch loaded the bases. A walk scored Kitterman, and a single to right field by Lyman scored Colden Peeples and Vogler. Tigers enter the bottom half of the inning ahead of the Golden Bears, 11-1.
Miles came into the frame strong, leading off with a triple and back-to-back walk to put three runners on bases. West Alabama retired Benson, and Cade Miller took the mound. His first batter hit an RBI single, and two additional runs were scored on a sacrifice fly and another single. Miles cut into the Tigers lead 11-4.
The Golden Bears added a fifth run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Tigers answered with four runs in the top of the eighth to maintain their lead. Lyman, Thibodeau, and Vogler hit for singles, and Lyman, Christian, Hawthorne, and Sam Smith scored runs.
UWA appeared to be heading to an uncontested victory, but eight runs for Miles in the bottom of the ninth almost erased it. The Golden Bears had five hits in the frame, while the Tigers committed two errors.
The Tigers closed the game 15-13 for their first win of the 2022 season.
AT THE PLATE
Brayden Lyman led the Tigers at the plate with a 4-for-6 appearance. The Land O'Lakes, Fla. native also had two RBIs and two runs against Miles. Jake Nemith and Jonathan Thibodeau had a game-high of three RBIs, and Jacobby Hawthorne had a game-high three runs.
Jacob Bisharart led the Golden Bears with four hits on six at-bats for three RBIs and three runs.
ON THE MOUND
The Tigers went through seven pitchers at Rickwood Field. Cade Miller earned his first win of the season, pitching 1.0 innings to allow two hits with no runs or walks.
The Golden Bears saw eight pitchers take the mound. Mason Kirby fell to 0-3 on the season with 2.1 innings pitch for four hits against, six runs (three earned), three walks, and two strikeouts.
UP NEXT
West Alabama will return home for its first conference three-game series against Mississippi College. The game is set for Friday and Saturday but may change due to the weather. Friday's competition will begin at 5 p.m., and Saturday's doubleheader is at 1 p.m. at Tartt Field.
To stay connected with the UWA baseball team, follow @UWA_baseball on Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
