The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Softball Hosts Magic City Classic This Weekend
2/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 24, 2011
Tournament Notes 
| Tournament Central
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB softball team will host the Magic City Classic this weekend. The Blazers will play four games against Radford, Stephen F. Austin, Eastern Illinois and Alabama State, with their first game Friday against Radford at 7:30 p.m. at UAB Softball Field.
While UAB will serve as the official host for this year's tournament, due to the increased size of the tournament field, Samford will also host games Saturday and Sunday.
MAGIC CITY CLASSIC
UAB has compiled a 31-6 record at the Magic City Classic since the tournament's start in 2002. UAB has won six tournament titles and finished as the runner-up in 2008. Last year, the Blazers went a perfect 4-0 in tournament play, downing Troy, Alabama State, Samford and Nicholls State by a combined score of 30-8. Kayla Orr was named the MVP Player of the Magic City Classic, Lauren Webster was tabbed MVP Pitcher and Kate Armstrong was selected to the All-Tournament Team. This weekend, UAB (5-6) is scheduled for contests with Radford, Stephen F. Austin, Eastern Illinois and Alabama State over the three-day tournament.
SCOUTING RADFORD
Radford currently owns a 2-3 record. The Highlanders opened their season at the Georgia Southern Tournament, notching a pair of victories over Georgia Southern, but falling to Mercer twice. In its last outing, Radford fell to Virginia Tech, 2-0, at home.
Taylor Cunningham currently leads the Highlanders at the plate with a .429 batting average. Kristen Shifflett has posted a team-high six RBI and six hits.
In the circle, Stephanie Dameron (2-1) has a 0.00 ERA after surrendering just three hits and no earned runs in 14 innings pitched.
SCOUTING STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Stephen F. Austin is sitting at 2-10 heading into the Magic City Classic. The Ladyjacks opened their season at the Houston Invitational, going 0-4 against tough opponents, No. 7/9 Michigan and No. 23 Houston, along with Southern Illinois and Ohio.
Stephen F. Austin then dropped a pair of contests to Texas A&M in midweek action before going 2-3 at last weekend's Ragin' Cajuns Invitational hosted by No. 15/17 Louisiana-Lafayette. In their last outing, the Ladyjacks fell to Houston Baptist, 2-0.
Center fielder Amber Price is leading Stephen F. Austin at the plate, hitting at a .350 clip with 14 hits, including five doubles. Pitcher Monika Covington (0-6) has made the most appearances in the circle for the Ladyjacks, recording a 7.15 ERA and giving up 27 earned runs.
SCOUTING EASTERN ILLINOIS
Eastern Illinois owns a 2-2 record after opening its season at the Mardi Gras Classic two weekends ago. The Panthers fell to fell to Northwestern State and host Louisiana-Monroe before defeating Indiana State and the Warhawks in their second matchup.
Pitcher Reynae Hutchinson leads Eastern Illinois at the plate, hitting a .625 clip with five hits. She also has a 1-0 record and 0.00 ERA in the circle. Amber May (2-2) has tossed the most innings, posting a 0.98 ERA in 14.1 innings.
SCOUTING ALABAMA STATE
Alabama State went 3-0 in its last outing against Maryland Eastern to improve to 3-5 for the season. The Hornets opened went 0-5 at their season opening All-Alabama Classic.
Stephanie Hernandez (2-1) and Sarah Levern (6-5) split pitching duties, owning 5.07 and 11.04 ERAs, respectively. Brehanna Rodrigues is batting a team-high .417, while Ayesha Famble leads the team with seven RBI.
LAST TIME OUT
Tuesday night's matchup between the UAB softball team and No. 2 Alabama was scoreless through six innings due to solid pitching on both sides, but the Crimson Tide used a late rally to defeat the Blazers 3-0 at UAB Softball Field.
Alabama's Kelsi Dunne (6-0) prevailed in a pitchers' duel with UAB freshman Leigh Streetman (1-2), fanning 14 batters and holding the Blazers to just one hit.
Streetman registered seven strikeouts and held the Crimson Tide to only three hits through the first six innings, but surrendered an earned run in the seventh to take the loss.
WEEKEND RECAP
Last weekend UAB went 3-2 at the USF Tournament hosted by USF in Clearwater, Fla. The Blazers fell to Indiana, 8-2, in their tournament opener, but rallied with a 6-2 win over tournament host USF. Natalie Mitchell led the Blazer offensive attack, hitting 2-for-3 with one run and three RBI.
Saturday the Blazers opened with a 3-0 victory over Ole Miss. Leigh Streetman (1-1) went the distance against the Rebels, surrendering just four hits and fanning four batters. UAB next faced No. 25 DePaul in another defensive battle. The scoreless game was forced into extra innings, with the Blazers falling 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth on an infield single with the bases loaded.
Catherine Douglass blasted an RBI-double in the sixth to spark UAB's 2-0 win over Fordham in its touranment finale. Amber Torres and Lauren Webster (3-2) combined for a solid game in the circle, with Torres allowing just two hits in three innings and Webster one in four innings.
OUTHITTING OPPONENTS
UAB currently owns a 5-6 record, but has outhit or tied eight of its 11 opponents in 2011.
Despite losses to Jacksonville State and DePaul, the Blazers outhit the Gamecocks, 8-6, and the Blue Demons, 6-3. The Green and Gold also fell to South Alabama, 4-2, even though both teams had four hits.
TOP HALF OF THE LEAGUE
In the latest conference statistics, UAB ranks fourth in the league in both batting average and earned run average. The Blazers are hitting .252 as a team and have recorded 34 runs and 78 total bases.
In the circle, the UAB pitching staff has combined for a 1.90 team ERA. The Blazers have held opponents to a .180 batting average and have surrendered 18 earned runs.
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST...
The Blazer pitching staff performed well at the USF Tournament, tallying two shutout victories and combining for 28 strikeouts. Lauren Webster (3-2) went 2-1 over the weekend, recording a 1.62 ERA and holding opponents to a .163 batting average.
Leigh Streetman (1-2) surrendered just four earned runs in two appearances at the tournament.
Against DePaul, Lannah Campbell (0-1) allowed just three hits and no earned runs in 7.1 innings in the circle. The Satsuma, Ala., product also stuck out nine batters in her first collegiate start.
