The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Faces Lipscomb To Open NCAA Softball Championship
5/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 19, 2010
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB softball team will face Lipscomb to open the 2010 NCAA Championship at the Tuscaloosa Regional held Friday-Sunday, May 21-23 at the University of Alabama. First pitch at the Alabama Softball Complex is slated for Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT. This will mark the first-ever NCAA appearance for both programs.
UAB and Lipscomb are joined by Alcorn State and No. 1 overall tournament seed Alabama at the Tuscaloosa Regional. The Lady Braves and Crimson Tide will face off following UAB vs. Lipscomb contest.
The NCAA championship features a double-elimination format. The winner of Friday's games will play in game three Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The loser of Friday's games will play at 4 p.m. followed by a third game at 6:30 p.m. that will feature the loser of game three and the winner of game four. The regional will conclude with a game Sunday between the winner of game three vs. the winner of game five, with the winner advancing to the Super Regionals.
UAB has already faced two of its three potential opponents at the Tuscaloosa Regional, Lipscomb and Alabama, twice this season. Friday's contest will mark the third meeting between UAB (36-20) and Lipscomb (48-11) this season. The Blazers and the Lady Bisons played a doubleheader in Nashville, Tenn. on April 20. Lipscomb claimed the first game, 1-0, before UAB took the nightcap, 7-5. The Lady Bisons lead the all-time series, 5-2.
With 36 wins to date, UAB (36-20) has achieved the second-highest win total in program history. The Blazers debuted at No. 38 in the RPI on April 13 and have never fallen below that, reaching a season-high mark of No. 34. UAB owns the top RPI in Conference USA at No. 38.
UAB center fielder Martina Landrum leads C-USA and ranks 18th in the nation in triples (5) and 19th in stolen bases (35). Landrum, a first-team all-conference selection, concluded league play ranked first in batting average (.395), slugging percentage (.632), runs scored (24), hits (30), triples (3) and stolen bases (18). As the Blazers' leadoff hitter, Landrum leads the team with a .376 batting average and .465 on -base percentage.
Fellow first-team All-C-USA selections, catcher Mandy Lowman and shortstop Kayla Orr, both lead the team with 40 RBI to set a new UAB single-season RBI record.
The Blazers bullpen features two pitchers averaging less than two earned runs per game. C-USA's Freshman of the Year, Lauren Webster, owns a 1.77 ERA and 17-5 overall record. The Mathews, Ala., product was a perfect 7-0 in league play this season and held opponents to a .200 batting average.
Smith (13-12) was named C-USA's Newcomer of the Year and has recorded a 1.99 ERA. One of the highlights of the Springville, Ala., native's season was leading UAB to a 2-0 victory over East Carolina after an 11-inning pitchers' duel against C-USA's Pitcher of the Year and national shutout leader, Toni Paisley. Smith was just one of two pitchers in the league to hand Paisley a loss this season.
Lipscomb (48-11) ranks close behind UAB at No. 42 in the RPI. The Lady Bisons finished first in the Atlantic Sun Conference and won the league's tournament to receive an automatic bid into the championship.
The Lady Bisons pitching staff ranks first in the nation with a 1.27 ERA and is led by Whitney Kiihnl. Kiihnl (31-3) also leads the nation with her individual ERA of 0.73. The sophomore pitcher has allowed just 22 earned runs in 41 appearances and struck out 319 batters.
Shortstop Courtney Billington leads the Lipscomb offense that features seven players batting over .300, with a .366 batting average. First baseman Kelly Sirus has launched a team-high 17 long balls, 33 extra-base hits and recorded 55 RBI. The Lady Bisons' team batting average of .322 ranks 12th in the nation.
For more information about the Tuscaloosa Regional, click on the above link to visit the Regional Central page. UAB fans can follow this weekend's action through Gametracker live stats and All-Access live video streaming at rolltide.com.
