The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Softball Heads To South Alabama Invitational
2/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 18, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB softball team will play in its second tournament of the season this weekend at the South Alabama Invitational in Mobile, Ala.
The Blazers (2-2) will play their first game of the weekend Friday at 6:30 CT against Northwestern State (4-1). Friday's matchup will mark the first meeting between the two teams.
"We are looking to build off the momentum from last weekend," UAB head coach Marla Townsend said. "We played solid defense at the Bulldog Round-Robin and we look to improve that along with our offense this weekend."
In their last outing, the Northwestern State Demons sweeped a doubleheader against Prairie View A&M last Wednesday at home. The Demons shut out the Panthers 13-0 in the first game and routed them 13-2 in the second game.
Head coach Donald Pickett's squad returns junior catcher Kayla Cole. Cole tallied three hits, two runs and three RBI against the Panthers, including her second home run of the season. Sophomore first baseman Samantha Roberts also returns for the Demons. Roberts slugged three hits, including two doubles, and two RBI against Prairie View A&M.
Saturday the Blazers will play Nicholls State at 11:30 a.m. CT and then face Northwestern State for the second time at 4:30 p.m. CT.
"Junior Laura Callaway is from Mobile and we have had several recruits from the Mobile area," Townsend said. "We look forward to playing this weekend in front of a lot our prospective student-athletes."
Nicholls State will open their 2010 campaign this weekend at the South Alabama Invitational. The Colonels were scheduled to play in the Centenary Tournament last weekend, but it was cancelled due to snow.
Last season Nicholls State finished with an overall record of 30-25 and a 14-16 record in conference play.
The Colonels return 12 players this season, including All-Southland Conference pitcher Lacey Gros. Gros ranked second in the SLC last season with 259 strikeouts and a 1.69 ERA.
Nicholls State also returns sophomore outfielder Megan Gaspard. Gaspard, a 2009 All-SLC Honorable Mention, led the conference in stolen bases with 20. Gaspard will resume her role as the Colonel's leadoff hitter this season after leading the team with a .277 batting average in 2009.
The Blazers will conclude the tournament Sunday with a contest against tournament host South Alabama at 3 p.m. CT.
"We have started a good, friendly rivalry with South Alabama," Townsend said. "We have a lot of respect for them and we look forward to playing them in this tournament."
The Jaguars enter the invitational with a 2-2 record on the year. Last Tuesday South Alabama dropped a 6-3 decision to No. 8 Alabama. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when Alabama put two runs on the board. The Jaguars took the lead at the top of the sixth after a home run by sophomore Haley Hopkins, but Alabama scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to clinch the win.
Freshman outfielder Brittany Campbell led the Jaguars offensively against the Crimson Tide going 2-for-4 and posting two RBI.
UAB opened its 2010 campaign last weekend at the Bulldog Round-Robin hosted by Mississippi State. The Blazers went 2-2 on the weekend, picking up two wins against Stephen F. Austin.
Four Blazers were named to the All-Tournament Team. Seniors Martina Landrum and Cameron Skates, junior Caley Walden and sophomore Mandy Lowman all received accolades.
Lowman led the Blazers offensively over the weekend, slugging three home runs and six hits. She also posted 15 total bases, five RBI and a batting average of .500.
