FLORENCE, Ala. (April 3, 2024) – The University of North Alabama baseball picked up win number 10 on the season behind a five-hit performance from redshirt sophomore Gehrig Frei, taking down Alabama A&M 13-5 in Florence on Wednesday.
 
The Lions improve to 10-17 on the season, while the Bulldogs move to 3-24.
 
Frei accounted for seven of UNA's 13 runs, driving in four while scoring three of his own. The Lion third baseman picked up North Alabama's first five-hit game of the Division I era and the most since Dylan Calhoun had five hits on April 23, 2016 against Christian Brothers. 
 
Frei's historic day started in the first inning, picking up a single through the left side to ignite a North Alabama rally. Dominick McIntyre doubled to left-center field, bringing home Frei as the first run of the game. Following a Kyle Machado single to put runners at the corner, Andrew Knight brought home McIntyre on a sacrifice fly. 
 
The Lions extended the lead in the second as Leighton Jenkins brought home a runner on his sixth double of the season. Second baseman Bryant Loving scored on a shallow sacrifice fly to the Alabama A&M shortstop, extending the lead to four. Frei rocketed his team-leading sixth home run of the season to left center, bringing home Jenkins and making the score 6-0 after two innings.
 
After a Loving walk and a Ferrigno double, Frei singled for the second time on the evening, bringing home both runners and leaving North Alabama with an eight run lead after three.
 
UNA pitcher John Allen Stogner enjoyed his best start of the season, notching a season-high in innings (4.0) and strikeouts (4) while finding season lows in runs (0) and hits (2) on his way to picking up his second victory of the season. 
 
Alabama A&M attempted a comeback, amassing five unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth before North Alabama had a chance to respond in the home half of the sixth inning.
 
UNA scored two runs in the sixth on a pair of wild pitches before adding three more runs in the seventh to extend the lead back to eight. Four of UNA's final five runs were scored on wild pitches.
 
Justin Battle, Kevin Henrich and Dane Sykes all pitched scoreless outings out of the North Alabama bullpen, combining for 3.1 innings, two hits, one walk, three strikeouts and no earned runs. 
 
North Alabama picked up 12 walks at the plate, the most since UNA tallied 12 against Miami (OH) on Feb. 26, 2023 and one shy of the Division I program record of 13 drawn against Lipscomb on May 20, 2022. Levi Jensen tied the North Alabama Division I program record with four walks in a game, joining Landon Langston (2019) and Luke Harper (2022).
 
Machado and McIntyre each enjoyed 2-for-4 afternoons with two walks. All nine North Alabama starters reached base in some capacity, with eight scoring runs. 
 
Pitchers of Record
W – John Allen Stogner (2-2)
L – Gabe Nicholson (0-1)
S – None
 
 
COMING UP NEXT
North Alabama travels to Jacksonville, Fla. to take on Jacksonville in an ASUN series on April 5-7.
 
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