The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Southern Miss
Blazers Let Early Lead Slip Away to Southern Miss
3/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 30, 2008
HATTIESBURG, Miss. --- The UAB softball team let an early lead slip away Sunday against Southern Miss, eventually falling 7-1 and losing the series.
Andrea Rogers and Leigh Walker each had two hits for the Blazers who fall to 18-21 overall and 5-7 in the conference. Southern Miss, who won the first game of the series, moves to 18-19 and 4-8 in league play. Southern Miss won its eighth series in nine attempts with the Blazers and hold the all-time series lead 9-21 after the weekend series.
UAB had its opportunities as well, but left 11 runners on base for the game, including seven in the final four innings.
"It's pretty simple," head coach Marla Townsend said. "The team that gets the most runners on base and scores them wins the ballgame."
Southern Miss came through when it counted, leaving just three runners on and scoring seven runs on six hits.
Kayla Harris earned the start one day after holding Southern Miss to one hit, marking the first time that she started two games of a league series in her career.
Harris (8-7) faired not nearly as well, allowing four runs on four hits. She lasted four innings in the circle a day after one of the best starts in her career.
She picked up where she left off Saturday, however, retiring eight straight batters to start the game, before giving up her four runs, two of which unearned.
The Lady Eagles first got to Harris and tied the game at 1-1 in the third inning with a single thru the left side and triple off the glove of Stevie Bennett who almost made the fantastic diving grab, that would have ended the inning. Allison Bullard scored on the play from first base when the ball hit off of Bennett's glove and rolled towards the fence along the first base line.
Southern Miss then scored three runs in the fourth inning to extended its lead to 4-1. The Lady Eagles scored two more in the fifth and one in the sixth, giving them a six-run win.
The Blazers wasted no time scoring the game's first run as Andrea Rogers drove in Holly Krzan in the first inning, making it a 1-0 game. It would be the only run of the day for the Blazers who would finished 4-for-18 with runners base.
They had a chance to really open their lead in the second with the bases loaded with the order ready to turn over. Caley Walden fouled on slap attempt, Krzan hit into a fielder's choice to home and Walker grounded to third.
"We should have scored in that inning with are nine, one and two hitters coming up and that hurt," Townsend said. "But I thought we would come back and score some more runs."
Walker's singles came in the fifth and seventh innings. Her sacrifice in the first inning allowed Krzan to move to second base, giving her the opportunity to score on Rogers' eighth double of the season. Rogers also had a single and finished 2-for-4 at the dish.
It was the 10th multi-hit game of the season for Rogers, who has reached safely in the last nine games. Walker recorded her 8th multi-hit game of the year.
Amanda Allen was hit by a pitch twice Sunday, increasing her total to 13 on the season.
UAB and Southern Miss were playing for the series, after splitting Saturday's doubleheader. Samantha Davis backed the Lady Eagles' win with a three hitter, before Harris shutdown their bats with her second career one-hit effort.
The loss continued the Blazers' struggles on the road, who fall to 2-11 on the season away from George Ward Park.
UAB committed two errors which gave way to three runs for the Lady Eagles. Southern Miss' one error kept the fourth inning open for Krzan who flew out to left, ending the inning.
"We had several chances to take advantage of their mistakes and we didn't and we left runners on base," Townsend said.
Southern Miss scored two runs on Ashlyn Harmon's chopper in front of the plate, which forced shortstop Kayla Orr to hurry her throw to first. Holly Milner came home on the batted ball and Lauren Castellvi on Orr's throw that came in low. Harmon then came to scored on a wild pitch to give the Lady Eagles a 4-1 lead after four inning.
An error on Leigh Walker allowed two runs to score for the Lady Eagles in the fifth. Walker quickly made up for the miscue, however, with a diving stab and flip to Krzan that started an inning ending double play. UAB turned two double plays on the day and three on the weekend.
A bases loaded walk to Meghan Harbuck scored the Lady Eagles' final run of the game.
Laura Callway had her five-game hitting streak snapped in the losing effort.
UAB travels to Chattanooga Wednesday for a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. The Blazers will return home for a single game with Mississippi Valley State at 6 p.m. Thursday. UAB hosts Tulsa in a three-game Conference USA beginning Saturday.
