The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Softball Wraps Up Home Schedule This Week
4/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 14, 2009
Chattanooga - Game 1 | Chattanooga - Game 2
Marshall - Game 1 | Marshall - Game 2 | Marshall - Game 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB softball team will closeout its 2009 home schedule this week, hosting Chattanooga for a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday and Marshall for a three-game Conference USA series beginning on Saturday.
Thursday's doubleheader against Chattanooga is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. CT at George Ward Park. The Lady Mocs are 22-18 overall this season and sits atop the Southern Conference with a mark of 12-2.
The Blazers lead the all-time series, 7-5, but Chattanooga has won the past two contests, including a 2-1 win in Chattanooga, Tenn. last season. Six of the 12 meetings have been decided by one run since the two teams started playing each other in 2001.
The Lady Mocs are coming off a doubleheader sweep of conference rival, Appalachian State on Saturday. UTC won the first game, 3-2, in nine innings before shutting out the Mountaineers, 4-0, in the second contest.
Tiffany Baker leads Chattanooga with a .358 batting average, 10 home runs, 32 RBI and a .650 slugging percentage. Michelle Fuzzard follows right behind with a .347 batting average, 28 RBI and a team-high nine doubles this season. Collectively, the Lady Mocs are batting .283 on the year.
Fuzzard also leads UTC with 97.2 innings pitched, 97 strikeouts and has compiled a record of 8-6. Her ERA is 3.51, while the team's ERA is 3.25.
Marshall will come town to take part in a three-game series, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT at George Ward Park. Sunday will feature the Senior Day game, honoring the team's two upperclassmen, Kayla Harris and Andrea Rogers. First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
The Thundering Herd is 22-12 overall and 8-4 in C-USA heading into a Tuesday doubleheader with Miami (OH), before making the trip to Birmingham, Ala.
Marshall leads the all-time series with the Blazers, 7-4. Last season, the Thundering Herd were able to down UAB in five inning, 11-0, at Dot Hicks Field in Huntington, W. Va.
Melanie Stoher is one of five players hitting better than .300 for Marshall this season. Her .373 batting average and 25 RBI lead the Thundering Herd. Joscelyn Bitner is second on the team, hitting .361 and is 15-for-20 on stolen bases. As a team, Marshall is batting .299.
Katie Murphee has seen the most action in the pitcher's circle for the Thundering Herd. In 87.1 innings pitched, Murphee has struck out 64 batters en route to an 8-4 record and a 2.73 ERA.
The UAB National Alumni Society and the Blazer Women's Athletic Society will be hosting the Softball Alumni Tailgate during the Saturday doubleheader against Marshall. The free hotdog tailgate is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. CT for all NAS and BWAS members. All members are asked to RSVP by Wednesday, April 15. Call the UAB Alumni Affairs Office at (205) 934-3555 or email amaloof@uab.edu for more details.
