The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Enters Conference Tournament As No. 8 Seed
5/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 6, 2009
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala - The UAB softball team (20-33, 8-16 C-USA) will travel to El Paso, Texas to begin play in the 2009 Conference USA Softball Championship presented by Helen of Troy. The Blazers enter the single-elimination tournament as the No. 8 seed and will face No. 9 seed Memphis (22-29, 7-17 C-USA) on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. CT in a play-in game. The winner of the contest will advance to play No.1 seed and 2009 C-USA regular season champions Tulsa at 3:30 p.m. CT
"We are excited to have this kind of opportunity," said UAB head coach Marla Townend. "We know what to expect from our opponents. We just have to go out and play our game and stay focused. We can be successful if we can do that."
The trip to El Paso, Texas marks the Blazers' seventh appearance in the C-USA Softball Tournament in the program's 10-year history. In 2002, the Green and Gold advanced to the title game but fell to DePaul in extra innings, 2-1.
Memphis enters the tournament looking to end UAB's season for the third-straight year. The Tigers beat the Blazers as the ninth seed in the play-in game last season in Houston, Texas, 8-6. In 2007, Memphis swept UAB at home and then swept UCF to jump ahead of the Blazers in the standings and take the final spot in the C-USA Championship when only the top six teams made the tournament.
The Tigers ended their regular season last week as the Blazers were able to win two of three games in Memphis, Tenn. Both Blazer wins were run-ruled, including a 14-0 loss. UAB holds a 7-6 all-time advantage over the Tigers.
As a team the Tigers are batting .261. Individually, Leila Dolfo leads UM with a .322 batting average, nine doubles and 25 RBI. Brittany Gooch is second on the team with a .313 batting average and has a team-high 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts.
Memphis' pitching has posted an overall ERA of 3.22. Janelle Valle (8-13) leads the team with a 3.04 ERA in 136.0 innings pitched.
The last time out, UAB ended the 2009 regular season winning three of the last four games.
At Memphis last Tuesday, Mandy Lowman hit two three-run home runs to lead the Blazers to a six-inning, 9-0 shutout in the first game of the doubleheader. The Tigers were able to capture game two, 5-1, but UAB won the series with a 14-0 shellacking on Sunday in five innings. Nine players for UAB recorded a hit in the win, with Martina Landrum going 3-for-5 at the plate.
On Saturday, the Blazers were able to rally after posting a three-run seventh inning to beat crosstown rival, Samford, 4-3.
Kayla Harris hit a two out, two-RBI double to right centerfield to drive in the winning runs.
