Union baseball completes series sweep at No. 24 UAH
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Union University baseball team completed a series sweep at No. 24 University of Alabama in Huntsville Saturday afternoon. Union pulled out an 8-7 victory in 10 innings to get the sweep. Union improved to 3-3 on the season and in Gulf South Conference play. Alabama Huntsville drops to 2-4 overall and in league play.
Union won the Friday double-header 3-2 in game one and 17-7 in game two. UAH led 1-0 after the first inning of game one in the series. Union scored two runs in the top of the second of that game and never trailed again in the series.
Saturday’s game started with Union getting a pair of runs in the top of the first. An RBI groundout by Britt Netterville and then a two-out RBI double from Austin Zeitler got the Bulldogs going. UAH tied the game in the bottom of the second with two runs.
The teams both scored a run in the fourth inning making the score 3-3. Drew Hill’s single, another two-out his, drove in Patrick Music.
Union’s big inning came in the sixth when the Bulldogs put up a three-spot. Union scored the first run on a wild pitch, then two more on another hit from Hill, driving in Music and Ryan Lee.
UAH scored two in the seventh and then pushed across a run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and force extra innings.
In the 10th innings, the teams used the tie-breaker rule, placing a runner on second base to start the inning. A rule added for this year to help speed up the games amid COVID restrictions. Union got two runs in the top half and needed both. Zeitler doubled to start the inning, driving in Dorian Berry from second. Zeitler advanced to third on a fly ball then scored on a sacrifice fly from Music to give Union its eighth run.
In the bottom of the 10th, UAH scored on a sacrifice fly, but Spencer Woods got the save with a strikeout to end the game. Union catcher Ryan Lee also threw out a runner trying to steal in the bottom of the 10th for the second out.
Union used five pitchers in the game with Sam McMillian getting the start and going five innings with four hits, three runs, and four strikeouts. Ryan Middleton, Logan Portis, Parker Shreve, and Woods all tossed in relief. Shreve (1-0) gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth but earned the win after Union took the lead. Woods earned the save, his first of the year.
Offensively, Union was led by Zeitler with three hits, while Lee and Hill added two hits each. Hill led with three RBI, while Zeitler added two RBI.
Both teams struck out 11 times in the game on this very cold day.
Up next for Union will be its first home games of the season, a weekend GSC series versus West Alabama, Friday and Saturday, February 19-20.
Union women drop back-and-forth battle at Delta State, 62-60
CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Union University women’s basketball team lost 62-60 in back-and-forth game at Delta State University Saturday afternoon. Union dropped to 12-4 overall and in Gulf South Conference West play. Delta State improved to 6-9 on the season and in league play.
Union and Delta State split the four-game season series, both teams winning once at home and once on the road.
Similar to Friday’s game, Delta State controlled the first quarter, jumping out to a 14-9 lead by the quarter’s end. But again, like Friday, Union responded with a dominant second quarter, outscoring the Lady Statesmen 16-4. Union led 25-18 at the half. DSU led Union 18-17 with three minutes left in the third quarter, but Union scored the final eight points of the quarter to take the lead into the locker room.
Delta State came alive in the third quarter, taking control. After scoring just 18 points in the first half, DSU scored 25 points in the third quarter. At the end of three, the game was tied 43-43.
The fourth quarter was close all the way. Union’s largest lead of the fourth quarter was three points, while DSU managed a four-point lead once. Union led 58-55 with 5:22 left in the game following a Sadie Knee jumper. Delta State took the lead 59-58 and then after a made three-pointer, led Union 62-58 with 1:39 left. Union got two free throws from Shanique Lucas with 39 seconds left to get Union to within one point. Union got the defensive stop it needed on the next possession but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Union went the final 5:22 of the game without a field goal.
Union was led by Lucas with 26 points. Jaelencia Williams added 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs shot 39 percent from the field, 18 percent (3-17) from long range, and 83 percent (15-18) from the free throw line.
Delta State outrebounded Union 41-37, including 11-4 offensively.
Delta State was led by Brown with 14 points. Buford added 13 points, including her only three pointer of the night, the final points for her team in the win. Hicks scored 12 points and Ewing led with 13 rebounds. The Lady Statesmen shot 38 percent from the field, 21 percent (3-14) from 3-point range, and 78 percent (7-9) from the free throw line.
Up next for Union will be its first home games in two weeks, a pair of games versus Alabama Huntsville, Friday and Saturday, February 19-20. Purchase tickets at www.uuathletics.com/tickets.
