The Marshall baseball team saw its three-game winning streak snap when the UAB Blazers took game two of the three-game series by a score of 5-1 Saturday afternoon at Young Memorial Field.
UAB starter Ben Bullard fired a complete game and improved to 2-2 this season. The junior allowed five hits, walked one, and struck out seven in what was the longest outing of his career. Bullard gave up hits to only three different Thundering Herd hitters and retired 14 straight at one point late in the game.
Marshall starter Mike Mason (3-2) took the loss after surrendering five earned runs in 5.2 innings on the hill. The Herd (10-12, 1-1 C-USA) fought from behind all day as Mason allowed three of his runs in the first frame.
UAB (15-9, 1-1 C-USA) added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth, two innings after Marshall cut into the three-run deficit.
The Blazers benefitted from three hits and three walks in the bottom of the first as Mason struggled to get outs in the early going. Michael Busby and Tanner Bryant both had RBIs in that inning for UAB.
Mason settled down after the first and worked through five innings managing only three more base runners. In the sixth, however, two hits and a walk saw UAB add two more runs to its lead and forced Mason into an early exit.
Nathan Gomez’s double followed shortly by Alfredo Brito’s single helped the Herd grab a run with two outs in the fourth. Brito’s hit gave the junior a 10-game hitting streak while Gomez’s double helped his hit streak climb to six games.
The pair led the stagnant Herd offense with two hits apiece, and Adrian Farris claimed Marshall’s other hit, a single to left to lead off the fifth inning.
The third and deciding game of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.