The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Hosts Houston For Three-Game Set
3/30/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 30, 2012
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –The UAB softball team continues Conference USA action this weekend when it hosts the Houston Cougars for a three-game set. The Blazers and Cougars will square off in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. CT, followed by a single game on Sunday starting at Noon.
UAB At A Glance
League-leading UAB (19-11, 6-0 C-USA) is 8-2 in its last 10 games and is rated No. 44 in the NCAA’s most recent RPI.
In the last outing, the Blazers swept Marshall last weekend, marking just the second time in program history the team won its first six Conference USA games.
Heather Pearson went 3-for-5 (.600) over the weekend with one run and two RBI and Kristen McGrath batted .444 (4-for-9) with three runs, five RBI and two home runs.
Senior catcher Mandy Lowman leads the team with 36 hits and 60 total bases. The cleanup hitter is slugging .732 with a .540 on-base percentage.
McGrath has a team-high nine home runs and 27 RBI, while Whitney Fletcher leads the squad with 22 runs scored.
Lannah Campbell (8-4) leads the pitching staff with a 1.61 ERA in 17 appearances. She has fanned 88 batters and allowed just 17 earned runs in 74.0 innings pitched. Amber Torres (3-2) picked up two wins over the weekend and has allowed just 10 earned runs in 36.0 innings pitched for a 1.94 ERA.
Scouting Houston
The third-place Cougars (18-14, 7-2 C-USA) have won eight of their last 10 games, including two conference sweeps against UTEP and Memphis. Houston recently dropped a mid-week game versus No. 6 Texas, 15-4 (5).
Houston has five players batting over .300 led by Reina Gaber (.374). Sophomore Haley Outon has a team-high nine home runs, 32 RBI and is slugging .736.
Outon’s twin sister Diedre (5-3) is tops on the team with a 2.39 ERA. She earned C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of March 26, after pitching her first career no-hitter against Memphis last weekend.
Series History
Saturday will mark the 35th meeting between the Blazers and the Cougars. Houston leads the all-time series 22-12. The Cougars have an all-time record of 7-8 when playing the Blazers in Birmingham.
Last season, the Blazers swept the three-game series versus the Cougars in Houston March 12-13, 2011.
