The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Softball Heads To 2004 Holiday Inn Select-Tulsa Festival
2/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 26, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB softball team will compete in its second six-team tournament of the 2004 season this weekend as the Blazers travel to Tulsa, Okla., for the 2004 Holiday Inn Select-Tulsa Festival. The three-day event begins on Friday and will be held at the Donna J. Hardesty Complex on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
"We've definitely seen some progress in our last couple of games and our bats have really come around," said UAB head coach Marla Townsend. "Right now, we just need to work on our pitching and our defense. Our team is ready to play and this team has the best attitude that I have ever seen and we're looking forward to having a great weekend."
UAB (1-8) kicks off the tournament on Friday with a game against the Texas Tech Lady Raiders at 9 a.m., followed by an afternoon matchup versus the Drake Bulldogs at 3 p.m. The Blazer softball team has never faced Texas Tech in its five-year existence and UAB owns an 0-2 mark against Drake.
Texas Tech (4-13), which recently competed in the 2004 Mardi Gras Classic in Lafayette, La., heads into this weekend's event in the midst of a four-game losing streak. The Lady Raiders swept UTEP in a doubleheader on Feb. 18, defeated Southeastern, 8-0, in last weekend's opener and then dropped four-consecutive contests against Louisiana-Lafayette, Prairie View, Stephen F. Austin and Southeastern.
Drake (7-0) enters the 2004 Holiday Inn Select-Tulsa Festival as the only team in the competition without a loss.
At the Metrodome Classic earlier this season, the Bulldogs swept all seven of their games and limited their opponents to five runs. During the four-day event, Drake defeated Minnesota, Western Illinois and Wisconsin-Green Bay two times apiece and then also notched a key win versus Northern Illinois.
In UAB's inaugural season, the Blazers met Drake in an early-season doubleheader at George Ward Park and were defeated, 3-1, and 5-1. Since then, the two programs have not played and will meet on Friday for the first time in over four years.
On Saturday, the Blazers will again compete in a pair of games as they square off against both the homestanding Tulsa Golden Hurricane at 1 p.m. and the Centenary Ladies at 7 p.m.
"It is always a good atmosphere to play in a tournament like this one, because I feel that our players will be able to gain a lot of good experience," Townsend said. "It will be good to play against five different teams, but right now we're just working on our game and it really doesn't matter who we're playing. We just need to come out and take care of business this weekend."
Tulsa (9-4) is coming off a strong showing at the Best Western All-Suites Hotel Tournament held at USF last weekend where the Golden Hurricane posted a 3-2 record against tough competition. They registered wins versus Maryland, 3-1, Temple, 9-1, and North Carolina State, 8-0, but fell in a pair of one-run games against Hofstra, 1-0, and USF, 3-2.
Centenary (8-7) heads into this weekend's tournament with a full head of steam after the Ladies knocked off the Florida Gators, 7-4, at the Crowne Plaza Houston Classic on Sunday. With the win, Centenary concluded the three-day competition with a 2-3 record and outscored its competition, 20-15, over the weekend. On Saturday, the Ladies posted a 13-0 blowout victory over Manhattan.
UAB holds a 1-1 all-time record against Tulsa and boasts a 3-0 advantage versus Centenary. The Blazers split their series with the Golden Hurricane last season and have not faced Centenary since the 2002 campaign. UAB has outscored the Ladies, 24-1, in the three meetings between the two schools.
The Blazers are scheduled to close out the 2004 Holiday Inn Select-Tulsa Festival on Sunday with a game against Conference USA foe Saint Louis at 9:30 a.m.
Saint Louis (3-2) has only competed in one weekend of play this season and four of the Billikens' five games have been decided by one run. After opening the 2004 campaign with a 7-0 loss against East Tennessee State, Saint Louis beat Oakland, 8-7, lost to Tennessee-Martin, 2-1, and then defeated both Indiana State, 3-2, and Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne, 8-7.
UAB owns a decisive 11-2 advantage in the all-time series against Saint Louis, but the Billikens took two of the three games versus the Blazers last season. Prior to the 2003 campaign, UAB had reeled off 10-consecutive victories in the series.
The UAB softball team will look to snap its eight-game losing streak on Friday as the Blazers meet the Texas Tech Lady Raiders at 9 a.m. in the opening game of the 2004 Holiday Inn Select-Tulsa Festival held in Tulsa, Okla. In its second game of the three-day tournament, UAB will match up against the Drake Bulldogs at 3 p.m. on Friday.
2004 Holiday Inn Select-Tulsa Festival
Donna J. Hardesty Complex - - Tulsa, Okla.
UAB's Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 27
UAB vs. Texas Tech, 9 a.m.
UAB vs. Drake, 3 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 28
UAB at Tulsa, 1 p.m.
UAB vs. Centenary, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 29
UAB vs. Saint Louis, 9:30 a.m.
