The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Chattanooga
UAB Softball Team Sweeps Doubleheader From Chattanooga
5/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 4, 2005
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader from Chattanooga on Wednesday, winning by scores of 6-3 and 8-2, as the Blazers completed their home schedule at George Ward Park.
The Blazers improved to 23-35 on the season and extended their winning streak to a season-best three games and also moved to 4-1 all-time against the Lady Mocs. UAB finished the season with a 10-11 record at home. Chattanooga fell to 41-18 with the pair of losses on Wednesday.
Game one saw the Blazers score three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie, giving UAB its second-straight victory in its final at-bat. The Blazers defeated Southern Miss on Sunday, 12-11 in eight innings, in Conference USA play.
Freshman left-hander Amanda Antonovich (6-9) picked up the victory in relief of starting pitcher Jennifer Nelson. Antonovich went the final five innings and allowed two runs, one earned, and two hits while walking two and striking out three. Nelson pitched the first two innings and allowed a run on a hit. She walked three and struck out a batter. The Blazers' staff held Chattanooga to only three hits in game one.
Chattanooga starter Lacey Swarthout took the loss to fall to 26-9 on the season. She allowed six runs and eight hits in her 6 2/3 innings of work. She walked a pair and struck out five.
Chattanooga got on the board first as the Lady Mocs scored a run in the top of the second inning on Brittney Whittier's leadoff home run to left field. The Blazers responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third inning to take a 2-1 lead on first baseman Kris Lara's two-out triple down the left field line which scored both Lindsay Stanley and Chelsea McCall.
The Lady Mocs tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth on another leadoff home run, this time off the bat of first baseman Leslie Barron. Chattanooga regained the lead in the top of the sixth when Antonovich could not field Amanda Hoiness' perfectly-placed bunt in front of home plate, which allowed the go-ahead run to score.
Chattanooga's lead, though, did not last long, as center fielder Sara Christophel deposited Swarthout's first offering of the bottom of the sixth inning over the left-centerfield wall to tie the game.
Lara then easily handled three-consecutive ground balls to first base in the top of the seventh as the game went into the bottom half of the seventh still tied at 3-3. Swarthout retired the first two UAB batters to begin the seventh, but Stanley reached on a single with two outs and proceeded to steal second. McCall reached on an infield single to move Stanley to third.
Christophel stepped to the plate and hammered Swarthout's 1-1 pitch deep over the wall in left center for a game-winning three-run home run to give the Blazers the 6-3 victory. Christophel became the first Blazer player to record a multi-home run game this season and increased her team-leading total to five. She also tied a school record with her two home runs in a single game.
Game two remained scoreless for the first four innings before the Lady Mocs scored a run after confusion by the UAB defense following an out allowed Tara Tembey to race home from third. Barron grounded out to second, but the ball was then dropped by a Blazer which allowed Tembey to break for the plate slide home safe under Nicole Whitlosk's tag attempt. Brittney Wittier struck out swinging to end the inning as the Blazers were able to avoid any further damage.
The Blazers, as they seemed to all day, responded right away with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Lara singled to left field to drive home a run and then McCall also scored when Jeannie Cochran mishandled the ball.
Chattanooga took the lead 3-2 in the top of the sixth as the Lady Mocs scored an unearned run, but a six-run sixth enabled the Blazers to cruise to the eventual 8-2 victory. Whitlock belted a two-run home run, her second of the season, with no outs in the inning to score Antonovich after she led the inning off with a double. Carrie Christophel also added a two-run single in the frame.
Brittany Hodge started for UAB and went the first five innings before giving way to Antonovich, who picked up her second win of the day to move to 7-9 this season. Hodge allowed two unearned runs and six hits in her five innings of work while walking five and striking out five. Antonovich allowed a hit and no runs in two innings. She walked one and struck out one.
Ashley Frizzell (11-7) went the distance for the Lady Mocs and took the loss. She allowed eight runs, only three earned, and nine hits in her six innings of work. She walked five and struck out four.
Stanley finished the day 5-8 with four runs scored and is now 14-22 over her last five games and currently has a 10-game winning streak. Second baseman Leigh Walker and Antonovich each collected two hits apiece in game two. Sara Christophel was 2-4 with four RBI and two runs scored in game one while Lara was 2-3 with a pair of RBI.
The Blazers will finish their regular season this weekend when they face Houston in a three-game C-USA series which begins on Saturday with a doubleheader set for 1 p.m. The teams will play the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
UAB sits in seventh place in the current conference standings, and is one of three teams fighting for one of two remaining spots in the C-USA Tournament which will be held May 12-14 in Tampa, Fla. Houston (9-12) is two games in front of UAB and in fifth place while Southern Miss (8-13) is one game ahead of the Blazers thanks to their series win versus UAB this past weekend as the Golden Eagles won two of three at George Ward Park.
The Blazers can earn a berth into the tournament in two different ways. If UAB sweeps Houston, then the Blazers are in, but if they only win two of three games versus the Cougars, then they must hope for an East Carolina sweep over Southern Miss this weekend in Hattiesburg, Miss.
DePaul, Louisville, East Carolina, and tournament host USF have all qualified for the tournament.
