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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Kennesaw State baseball team (7-3) supported starting pitcher Luke Torbert's stunning Saturday show with a five-run eighth inning for a 9-3 win against UAB (5-4).
The opening innings at UAB's Young Memorial Field were reminiscent of yesterday's contest, with both offenses stifled by their opposing starting pitchers. Torbert was perfect through four innings, refusing to give up a single base runner in the top half of his first win of the season.
While Blazer pitcher Tyler O'Clair was pitching a gem of his own, his defense let him down when a passed ball and a fielding error scored solitary runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Owls' first earned run of the day came in the top of the sixth inning, when Garrett Hodges smoked a pitch far past the right-field wall for his second home run of the season; his last stroll around the bases came last Friday against West Virginia, another solo shot.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham's baseball team answered with a solo home run of their own to bring the scoreline to 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh, still in favor of the visitors. The hit was the one blemish on Torbert's line, which ended after the seventh inning. The junior threw seven innings of one-run, three-hit ball and his first win of the season evens up his current 1-1 win-loss record.
The Blazers made a pitching change in the top of the eighth, which may have been the catalyst to an offensive outbreak from the Owls. It started with Jesse Sherrill's second lead-off hit of the day. The second baseman was impressive at the plate all game, going 3-4 and reaching base four times on Saturday afternoon.
A grounder hit to shortstop by Tyler Tolve should have been an easy double play, but the fielder let it between his legs to advance Sherrill to third. Senior center fielder Alex Carballo then laid down a perfect bunt down the first-base line to score Sherrill from third base, giving Carballo his third-straight game with an RBI.
His outfield counterpart Terence Norman then stepped up to the plate, who launched a ball a mile high into the sky. The ball continued to move through the air and landed on the other side of Young Memorial Field's left-field wall for a three-run big fly from the former ASUN Preseason Player of the Year.
The inning didn't end before Sherrill came up again for his second at-bat of the frame. The Gordon State College transfer walked with the bases loaded for his lone RBI of the day. The top of the eighth finally ended with KSU leading UAB 8-1.
Walks and errors caused Kennesaw State some trouble in the bottom half of the inning, but the away team still held a strong 8-3 lead heading into the ninth.
Nick Hassan, who started the game at catcher, blooped a pitch under the strike zone to left field to take a 9-3 lead into the potential final three outs of the matchup.
Brison Finney got three straight outs after allowing a leadoff single to confirm a 9-3 victory for Kennesaw State, their third in a row.
The Owls return to Young Memorial Field tomorrow afternoon to conclude the UAB series, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. EST.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State baseball news, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
