HOUSTON – In a back-and-forth battle, the UAB baseball team won the second game of the series with Rice, 10-6, at Reckling Park on Saturday afternoon. The Blazers improve to 12-5, 1-1 C-USA on the season.
 
John Marc Mullins led the Blazers at the plate, going 2-of-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Six other Blazers (Matthew Golda, Josh Sears, Christian Hall, Brandon Willoughby, Peyton Puckett and Darryl Buggs) all recorded multi-hit games. Sears led the way with four RBIs on the day.
 
Freshman Thomas Ballard picked up his third win of the season after tossing 3.0 innings with two strikeouts. Senior Brady Greene earned his second save on the year after coming in with a runner on in the ninth and got the final three outs with a pair of strikeouts.
 
In the third, the Blazers were the first to score on a Mullins double that brought in Puckett. Josh Sears followed two batters later by hitting a two-run home run to make it a 3-0 game.
 
Rice (6-14, 1-1 C-USA) responded in the fourth by plating our runs on two hits to take the 4-3 lead.
 
The Blazers retook the lead in the fifth on a Mullins RBI triple to tie the game. In the next at bat, Golda sent a single to left for the 5-3 advantage.
 
In the fifth, the Owls tied up the game at five after bringing in a run on three hits.
 
UAB responded for a second time in the sixth. The Blazers plated three runs that was highlighted by a Golda two-run double to take an 8-5 lead.
 
The Owls responded quickly in the bottom of the sixth on a leadoff triple and in the next at bat was brought in on a sacrifice fly, cutting the Blazers' lead to two, 8-6.
 
Sears added two insurance runs in the eighth on a two-run double to bring the UAB lead to four at 10-6.
 
The series finale is set for Sunday afternoon with a 12 p.m. first pitch at Reckling Park. Fans can follow along with live stats through Sidearm Live Stats. The game will be broadcasted on CUSA.tv. This is a subscription-based service that offers a variety of packages. Click here to register for a new account.
 
Baseball season tickets are available by purchasing the 2021-22 Gold Card for $65. This exclusive offer grants admission to all UAB men's and women's soccer, volleyball, women's basketball and softball games in addition to all baseball home contests. Complete the Gold Card Request Form or contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.
 
Single game tickets for the 2022 baseball season for games at Young Memorial Field and Regions Field are available by clicking here.
 
For more information on the UAB baseball team, follow @UAB_Baseball on Twitter and Instagram.