The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Set To Host Eighth Annual Magic City Classic
2/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 26, 2009
Birmingham, Ala. - For the eighth year in a row, the UAB softball team will be taking part in the annual Magic City Classic Tournament, Feb. 27-March 1 at the Spain Park High School Softball Complex in Birmingham, Ala.
The Blazers first game will be on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT against Alabama State. On Saturday, UAB will take on Samford at 1:30 p.m. CT followed by Northern Illinois at 4:00 p.m. CT. On the last day of the tournament, hhe Green and Gold will face Pittsburgh at 11:00 a.m. CT and Michigan State at 1:30 p.m. CT.
For a complete tournament schedule, live stats and box scores, click here.
Since the Magic City Classic started in 2002, the Blazers are 25-6 in the tournament and have outscored their opponents, 141-59.
Last season, UAB finished 4-1 with their sole loss coming against the tournament's eventual champions, Georgia Southern, 2-0.
In all, the Blazers have captured five tournament titles and were named runner-up in 2008.
Scouting Alabama State
Alabama State has struggled in 2009, dropping its first 10 contests before recording a 5-3 victory over South Alabama.
Alabama State is coached by Telma O'Neal-Hall. Over the past three seasons in Montgomery, Ala., O'Neal-Hall has posted a record of 22-73
Last season the Hornets were 4-34 overall and 2-12 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Scouting Michigan State Michigan State enters the Magic City Classic with a 4-6 record for 2009. The Spartans are currently on a four-game losing streak after posting a 1-4 record in Florida Gulf Coast University's Spring Break Invitational.
Two Spartans, Gina Mondo and Kara Weigle, are batting over .400 on the year. Mondo has the team's highest average, .458, and a .750 slugging percentage. Weigle leads the team with 14 hits and has a batting average of .424.
Michigan State's pitching rotation consists of four pitchers that share equal amount of time on the field.
Shae Bass is 1-1 on the year and holds the team's best ERA, 3.32. Megan Hair has pitched the most innings, 20.1, for the Spartans and has a team-high nine strikeouts.
Michigan State is coached by Jacquie Joseph. In 16 years at East Lansing, Mich., Joseph has posted a record of 476-107-1.
Scouting Northern Illinois
The Huskies of Northern Illinois are 2-3 on the season. One of the two wins came against previously ranked No. 18 Houston. Down three runs in the bottom of the sixth, NIU rallied back with five of its own to steal the victory from the Cougars.
Northern Illinois's Andrea Colosimo leads the team with a .267 batting average, two home runs and a team-high five RBI. Colosimo has also entered the pitching circle three times this season. In three innings of work, she has allowed two hits and struck out four.
Morgan Bittner (1-2, 3.71 ERA) has pitched 17.0 innings for the Huskies. She has posted 16 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .167 batting average.
Northern Illinois is coached by Lindsey Chouinard. Chouinard is 15-33 in her second season at DeKalb, Ill. A former player at DePaul, Chouinard, led the Blue Demons to four Conference USA Championships and a WCWS appearance in 2000.
Scouting Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Panthers enter the 2009 Magic City Classic on a two-game winning streak. The Panthers last win was a 7-0 shutout against Texas A&M Corpus Chirsti on Feb. 22.
Niki Cognigni leads Pitt in the batter's box. She has a team-high .346 batting average and nine hits on the season.
Sam Card is second on the team with a .267 average and a team-high four RBI.
Pitcher Alyssa O'Connell has been effective in the circle and is 2-0 on the season with a 0.84 ERA.
Cory Berliner leads the Panthers with 26 strikeouts in 25.0 innings pitched.
Holly Aprile is in her first season as the head coach at Pittsburgh.
Scouting Samford
The Bulldogs are currently 5-6 as they enter the Magic City Classic for the eighth straight year. In their most recent outing, Samford jumped out to a 5-0 lead over Troy but allowed the Trojans to rally and claim the win, 8-5.
Jessica Owens leads the team with an impressive .545 batting average. She has a team-high 18 hits and eight runs scored.
Katie England is the team's RBI leader with 11 and has two home runs on the season.
The Bulldogs are coached by Beanie Ketcham. Ketcham is 163-172-1 in her eighth season at Samford.
Due to the possibility of inclement weather, game times and locations may be changed. Check here for updates.
