TAMPA, Fla. - Six-seeded West Alabama Tigers baseball kept its postseason run alive on Friday afternoon, defeating seven-seeded Trevecca Nazarene Trojans, 7-3, in an elimination game at the NCAA South Region Tournament in Tampa, Florida.
With the victory, the Tigers improved to 35-16 overall and advanced to another elimination matchup on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET against the loser of the winners' bracket contest between second-seeded Tampa Spartans and third-seeded Rollins Tars.
UWA wasted little time getting on the board as senior outfielder
Rashad Robinson launched a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the first inning to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.
The Tigers added three more runs in the second inning, capitalizing on timely hitting and Trevecca Nazarene miscues. Robinson picked up his second RBI of the day with a groundout before
Hudson Walburn ripped a two-run double into left-center field to extend the lead to 4-0.
UWA continued to apply pressure in the third inning.
Layth Holiday delivered an RBI single to score
Kyle Blevins, while another Trojans error allowed
Tre Fulmer to score later in the inning, pushing the Tigers advantage to 6-0.
On the mound,
Colin Woodham turned in a strong outing for UWA. The right-hander earned the win after tossing 7.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out four. Woodham improved to 6-2 on the season.
Trevecca Nazarene attempted to rally in the sixth inning when Cade Martin connected on a two-run homer to left field, cutting the deficit to 6-2. The Trojans added another run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Noah Boughton, but the Tigers bullpen held firm.
UWA added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning after Walburn was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing home Holiday for the final 7-3 margin.
Walburn led the Tigers offensively, finishing 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a double. Holiday also posted a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Robinson finished with two RBIs and his leadoff homer, while Blevins, Fulmer,
Tanner Jones,
Austin Thacker, and
Kaiden Jones each recorded a hit.
Following Woodham's outing,
Ryan Ladner and
Camden Lyke combined for two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to secure the victory.
The Tigers will return to action Saturday afternoon as they continue postseason play in the NCAA South Region Tournament.
