The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Softball Travels To USF Tournament
2/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 16, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB softball team will continue its 2011 campaign at the USF Tournament Friday through Sunday in Clearwater, Fla. The Blazers will play five games over three days against Indiana, USF, Ole Miss, No. 25 DePaul and Fordham. UAB will face Indiana in its tournament opener Friday at 4 p.m. ET.
USF TOURNAMENT
UAB will compete at the USF Tournament in Clearwater, Fla. Friday through Sunday. At the tournament the Blazers will face tough competition in No. 25 DePaul, the reigning Big East Champion, who is currently 4-1. The Green and Gold are also slated for matchups with USF, who is also 4-1, and 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Fordham, along with Indiana and Ole Miss. The Blazers are currently 2-3 after last weekend's All-Alabama Classic. Third baseman Kate Armstrong and shortstop Kayla Orr are both hitting .357 and combined for 10 hits and seven RBI last weekend. The Blazers utilized four different pitchers during the tournament, with freshman Leigh Streetman (0-1) and Lauren Webster (1-1) leading the way, recording ERAs of 1.40 and 1.00, respectively.
SCOUTING INDIANA
Indiana finished last weekend's Kajikawa Classic with a 2-3 record. The Hoosiers fell to #2 Arizona, #12 California and Texas Tech, but picked up victories over Nevada and Cal Poly. Shortstop Breanna Saucedo leads the team with a .375 batting average with six hits and four runs. First baseman Sarah Olson is hitting .357, after notching five hits, including two doubles and one home run, last weekend. Morgan Melloh (1-3) appeared in all five of Indiana's games last weekend, recording a 3.04 ERA after allowing 23 hits and 10 earned runs in 23 innings pitched.
SCOUTING USF
USF is currently 4-1 after hosting last weekend's USF-Wilson-DeMarini Tournament. The Bulls defeated C-USA's Marshall, Long Island, Florida Gulf Coast and NC State, before falling to Florida, 12-0. Shortstop Kourtney Salvarola led the team offensively, going 7-for-14 with six runs and eight RBI. Right fielder Gina Kafalas and left fielder Ashli Goff also hit over .400 over the weekend to combine for nine runs and 11 total bases. Lindsey Richardson (2-1) and Capril Catalano (1-0) saw the most time in the circle, with ERAs of 3.18 amd 3.32, respectively.
SCOUTING OLE MISS
Ole Miss (1-4) dropped three straight games at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend. The Rebels faced tough competition in No. 16 BYU and No. 14 Oregon. Ole Miss has used a trio of pitchers this season in Brittany Barnhill (0-2), Kendall Bruning (0-1) and Lindsey Perry (0-1). Barnhill has a team-low ERA of 2.33 after surrendering three earned runs and five hits in nine innings pitched. At the plate, left fielder Brittany Broome leads the team with a .500 batting average.
SCOUTING DEPAUL
Last year's Big East champion is currently ranked No. 25 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll after finishing 4-1 at last weekend's FIU Combat Classic hosted by Florida International. The Blue Demons recorded a big victory over formerly-ranked Ohio State, defeating the Buckeyes, 5-4, in extra innings. Left fielder Samantha Dodd had a strong weekend at the plate, hitting at a .471 clip with four runs and three RBI. Kirsten Verdun has team-high five RBI after blasting two home runs.
SCOUTING FORDHAM
2010 NCAA Tournament participant Fordham currently owns a 1-3 record. The Rams fell twice to #17/18 Georgia Tech at last weekend's Dot Richardson College Classic. Shortstop Samantha Pellechio hit at a team-high .333 clip over the weekend. Chelsea Plimpton (1-2) recorded a 1.56 ERA in the circle, tossing one shutout and allowing four earned runs in 18 innings pitched.
ARMSTRONG NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Sophomore Kate Armstrong was named to the All-Alabama Classic All-Tournament Team after hitting .357 for the weekend with five hits, one run and five RBI. The Vestavia Hills, Ala., product's best performance of the tournament came against Jacksonville State, when she was 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and three RBI.
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST...
UAB pitchers Lauren Webster and Leigh Streetman both struck out 16 batters over the weekend. Webster (1-1) recorded a 1.00 ERA after giving up just four hits and one earned run in seven innings pitched, while Streetman (0-1) allowed seven hits and two earned runs in 10 innings pitched to post a 1.40 ERA.
Alisha Smith (0-1) also recorded double-digit stikeouts over the weeked, fanning 10 batters. The Springville, Ala., native struck out six batters in five innings pitched against Jacksonville State, and four batters in three innings against Samford.
2011 BLAZERS
UAB lost just two members of its 2010 NCAA tournament team, returning 16 letterwinners and seven position starters in 2011. First-team All-Conference USA selections Mandy Lowman and Kayla Orr will lead the Blazer offensive attack, with second-team All-C-USA selections Alisha Smith and Lauren Webster returning in the circle.
Smith and Webster will be joined in the circle by junior Amber Torres and newcomers Leigh Streetman and Lannah Campbell.
Behind the plate, UAB returns last year's starter, Lowman. The Huntsville, Ala., product finished the season ranked third in the league with 44 RBI. Lowman also ranked sixth in batting average (.343) and on-base percentage (.432). She set a UAB single-season RBI record and recorded 15 multiple-hit games and 10 multiple-RBI games.
With five starters returning and four talented newcomers, the Blazers will have a lot of depth in the infield this season.
Junior Erica Sisson returns for the Blazers at first base.
The Blazers have several options at second base with junior Catherine Douglass and senior Natalie Mitchell competing for the starting job. Head coach Marla Townsend may also utilize freshman Heather Pearson.
Orr, who started all 59 games in 2010, will return at shortstop for the Blazers this season. Orr broke UAB's single-season slugging percentage record (.565), ranked seventh in the league with a .339 batting average and tied for fourth with 43 RBI. She blasted a team-high 10 home runs and had 14 multiple-hit games.
Sophomore Kate Armstrong, who started 54 games for the Blazers last season between second base and designated player, has moved to third base. Armstrong was named to the C-USA All-Freshman team after posting a .260 batting average and a .416 slugging percentage. She recorded 12 extra-base hits and had five home runs.
The Blazers return two starters in the outfield from last season in seniors Caley Walden and Sallie Van Kirk. Walden, who made 55 starts in left field last season, will move over to center field to replace departed senior Martina Landrum. Van Kirk made 54 starts in right field in 2010 and will resume that starting role this season.
Sophomore Hailey Glynn will replace Walden in left field. Glynn made 12 starts in the outfield last season and saw action in 30 games.
THREE BLAZERS TABBED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Junior catcher Mandy Lowman, junior shortstop Kayla Orr and sophomore pitcher Lauren Webster were selected to the Conference USA 2011 Preseason All-Conference Team.
After standout seasons, Lowman and Orr were tabbed to the 2010 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Mideast Region First Team, while Webster was a second-team selection. In addition, Lowman and Orr were named to the All-C-USA First Team, and Webster was named to the All-C-USA Second Team. Webster was also voted the league's Freshman of the Year after recording a 1.77 ERA and a 17-5 overall record, including a perfect 7-0 record in league play.
BLAZERS PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN C-USA
The Blazers have been picked to finish second in this season's conference race. Houston was picked to win the league in 2011, receiving 70 points and three first-place votes from C-USA's nine head coaches. UAB and 2010 C-USA regular season and tournament champion East Carolina both received 63 votes to be chosen to finish as the runners-up.
