The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Kennesaw State
UAB Sweeps Doubleheader With Kennesaw State
4/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 22, 2009
KENNESAW, Ga. - The UAB softball team picked up two non-conference wins here on Wednesday afternoon against the Kennesaw State Owls at Bailey Field. The Blazers walked away with a 2-1 win in the first game and a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.
With the win, UAB improves to 17-29 on the season overall. Kennesaw State now sits at 19-28 on the year.
"We came out seeing and hitting the ball very well today," said UAB head coach Marla Townsend. "We did what we needed to do and played a sharp, consistent game. Everyone executed well today and it is nice gain some momentum with the two wins."
In the first game, the Blazers grabbed an early 1-0 in the top of the first inning. Martina Landrum was able to reach base on a fielding error on the Owls. She then stole second base and advanced to third by a sacrifice bunt by Catherine Douglass. With two outs, Amanda Allen singled through the right side of the infield to score Landrum.
UAB added a run to their lead in the second inning after Cameron Skates hit a stand-up double to right centerfield. Pinch runner Tiffany Smith was able to score from second to give the Blazers a 2-0 lead.
Kennesaw State started to chip away at the Blazers' lead in the bottom of the third. Jessica Symanski tripled and Lyndsay McCurry was able to bring Symanski home with a shot through the left side to cut the lead, 2-1. McCurry would later be caught stealing to end the inning before the Owls could plate any more runs.
Both teams' bats went cold for the rest of the game and the Blazers managed just one hit in the final four innings.
Kennesaw State threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the second inning. The Owls had a runner on second with two outs, but pitcher Amber Torres was able to field a shot back to the circle and make the out at first for the 2-1 win.
Torres (7-5) picked up her third-straight, complete-game win going all seven innings. She struck out five on the afternoon, allowed four hits and walked one batter.
April Harper (9-8) recorded the loss after pitching all seven innings and striking out eight Blazers. Harper gave up five hits and two runs, only one was earned, on the afternoon.
The second game picked up where the first game left off with the Blazers struggling at the plate. But Martina Landrum got things going in the top of the third with a single up the middle. She recorded her 30th stolen base on the season and advanced to second base during the next at bat. She was able to reach third safely after Caley Walden hit a sacrifice hit for the second out. But Douglass went down swinging before Landrum could cross home plate.
UAB's Allen led the fourth inning off with a single up the middle and was replaced by Smith as a pinch runner. Laura Callaway followed with another single up the middle and Smith moved to second. Mandy Lowman laid down a sacrifice bunt and both runners were able to advance. With one out, Cameron Skates was able to put one over the right field wall to give UAB a 3-0 lead. It was the junior's fourth on the season. At the end of the inning, the Blazers had scored three runs on four hits and left one runner on base.
Defensively, UAB was able to retire 11 batters in a row, before the Owls were able to put two runners on base after drawing back-to-back walks from Kayla Harris in the bottom of the fourth inning. The runners would advance to second and third on a passed ball, but Kennesaw State would end the inning before plating any runs.
In the top of the fifth, Walden and Allen both reached base safely on two singles. With runners on first and third, Callaway hit a RBI double to into the gap in right field, scoring Walden. Allen would later score on a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Lowman for a 5-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Kennesaw State's Jamie Kekaualua, Holli Huffman and Klair Wells led off the inning with three straight bases hits and the Owls' first run of the game to cut the deficit, 5-1. With no outs, Lindsey Croft came in for the Green and Gold and replaced Harris in the pitcher's circle. The Owls were able to post one more run on a sacrifice hit before Croft closed the inning with a strikeout. At the end of six, KSU still trailed, 5-2.
KSU was able to get two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, but Croft forced a fly out, fanned one batter and forced a foul out to earn her first save on the season.
In five innings pitched, Harris (2-3) allowed two runs, one of which was unearned, and four hits in her second win of the season.
Next up for the Blazers will be a single-game contest against Samford on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Bulldog Field.
