The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Softball Resumes Conference USA Slate At Memphis
3/21/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 21, 2013
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
@UABSoftball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--The UAB softball team is back in action this weekend, traveling to Memphis, Tenn., to take on Memphis in a three-game Conference USA series on Saturday and Sunday. First pitch for both days is 1 p.m. CT.
Follow @UABSoftball on Twitter for in-game updates for all three games.
Last Time Out
Junior pitcher Leigh Streetman threw a perfect game on Tuesday, as UAB topped Alabama State, 4-0, in the second game of its doubleheader against the Hornets. Streetman recorded a season high 10 strikeouts in the game, including the top of Alabama State's lineup in the bottom of the seventh inning. In fact, Streetman struck out five of the final six batters of the game.
The perfect game was UAB's first since 2006, when the Blazers defeated Alabama A&M, 8-0. Pitcher Jennifer Nelson recorded 14 strikeouts during the six-inning game.
In the first game of the day, the Blazers used 11 runs on 13 hits to defeat the Hornets, 11-1, in six innings. Both the number of runs and hits marks a season high for the squad. In the circle, senior Lauren Webster and junior Lannah Campbell split time, combining for nine strikeouts, while not allowing any earned runs.
For the Blazer offense in the doubleheader, sophomore second baseman Heather Pearson recorded five RBI, while she and freshman shortstop Caitlin Attfield led the team with four hits apiece.
On Wednesday, UAB dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 25 South Alabama. The Jaguars scored their three runs off a pair of homers in the bottom of the third inning. Campbell entered the game in the fourth inning to pitch in relief, and only gave up one hit and no earned runs.
Scouting Memphis
The Tigers (14-17 overall, 3-3 C-USA) picked up three non-conference wins this week, topping Samford, 3-1, on Tuesday, before claiming the doubleheader against Alcorn State, 3-2 and 8-1, on Wednesday.
In league action, Memphis opened the schedule with a three-game sweep of UTEP before being swept by Tulsa last weekend.
Senior Morgan Mosby leads the team with a .355 batting average and 13 RBI. In the circle for the Tigers, Ellen Roberts paces the squad with a 3.15 ERA in 122.1 innings.
The Blazers own a 15-8 advantage in the all-time series with Memphis. Last season, UAB swept the squad in Birmingham, 3-1, 4-3 and 2-0, before picking up another 2-0 win during the conference tournament. The Blazers have won seven of the last eight contests with the Tigers.
Stepping Up In Conference
Compared to the six games preceding the opening of the league slate, Whitney Fletcher, Kate Armstrong, Heather Pearson and Kristen McGrath have each made strides at the plate through two C-USA series.
Fletcher has scored three runs on eight hits, including two triples, with six RBI and a batting average of .381.
After leading the Blazers in batting average against East Carolina, Armstrong has an overall mark of .375 in conference play, with two runs off six hits and a home run.
Pearson leads UAB in slugging percentage through the last six games with a mark of .818, and has recorded three runs off four hits, including a triple, and her first home run of the year.
McGrath has hit three home runs since league play started, and has seen her batting average improve from .111 in the six previous games to .263.
Bats on Fire
Catcher Anna Kimbrellcontinues to lead the team in slugging percentage with a mark of .688, which is third best in the league. She also sits in a tie for fourth in C-USA for home runs with six.
Designated hitter Kristen McGrath posts a slugging percentage of .645--eighth best in the league. McGrath's seven home runs are tied for most in the conference with Mackenzie Sher of Southern Miss and Haley Outon of Houston.
With a batting average of .365, freshman Caitlin Attfield has the fifth-best mark in the conference.
Ending The Triple Drought
Sophomore Heather Pearson and senior Whitney Fletcher hit UAB's first and second triples of the year in the Blazers' 8-2 win over UCF on March 10. Fletcher is the only batter in C-USA this season to hit two triples during league action.
Before Sunday's game, Fletcher hit UAB's last triple, a season ago, as part of the Blazers' 12-4 win over Samford on April 10, 2012. UAB recorded seven total triples last season. The last triple UAB recorded during a C-USA matchup was by former Blazer Catherine Crawfordin UAB's 2-0 win over Memphis on March 11, 2012.
Going Yard
UAB has hit it out of the park 18 times on the season--to share the top mark in Conference USA with Marshall.
Going into the series against East Carolina, designated hitter Kristen McGrath and catcher Anna Kimbrell were tied for 26th in NCAA in home runs per game.
The duo has combined for 13 of the 18 home runs UAB has hit this season, and McGrath leads the league in home runs hit during conference play with three.
We Love Free Bases
Catcher Anna Kimbrell has reached base eight times this season by way of being hit by pitch to average 0.36 times per game. The mark is 35th in the nation--not including the midweek games at Alabama State and South Alabama--and her eight overall times is second most in C-USA.
Outfielder Chandler Orr has been hit by pitch six times this season, fourth most in the league.
As a team, the Blazers have been hit 26 times for the most in conference.
Success in the Circle
The UAB pitching staff has posted the second-best ERA in the conference with a mark of 1.82. The Blazers have held their opponents to a conference-best .179 batting average, and have allowed the fewest hits at 98.
The pitching staff has also allowed the fewest earned runs in the conference with 39, and have only walked 50 batters--also a top mark in C-USA.
In conference action, UAB's ERA is also second best at 1.33. The Blazers' pitchers have held the opposing batting average to a league-best .161, while Campbell's own mark of .108 is also top in C-USA.
Individually, Lannah Campbell owns the best ERA in league play at 0.00 through 19.0 innings. Campbell has struck out 21 batters, which is third most amongst C-USA pitchers. She also has the most saves in the conference with three.
Getting The Save
Pitcher Lannah Campbell recorded her fourth save of the year during the series against East Carolina, as she entered the second game in the seventh inning and got the Blazers out of a bases loaded jam to end the game in UAB's favor.
She is one of only six pitchers in NCAA to have been credited with four saves on the year. Campbell got her first in the 4-3 win over Washington on Feb. 7, as she came into the game with one out in the fifth inning.
Campbell's second and third saves came during the series at UCF, as she closed out the seventh inning of the 5-1 game one win, then made an appearance in the fifth inning of the 8-2 win in game three.
Quest For 400
With 395 wins, head coach Marla Townsend is only five away from her career milestone of 400 victories during her 14-year tenure at UAB.
Townsend recorded win No. 300 during the 2010 season when the Blazers defeated C-USA foe Memphis, 5-2, at home on May 1, 2010.
According to the schedule, this milestone is expected to also occur during league action.
Starting With A Sweep
For the third straight season and the fourth time overall, UAB has opened the C-USA schedule with a series sweep of its opponent.
During the 2002 season, the Blazers took three games from former C-USA member St. Louis, March 12-13.
In 2011, UAB defeated then-No. 25 Houston on the road, March 12-13, en route to a 6-0 start in league play.
A season ago, the Blazers took three games from Memphis at home, March 10-11, before also taking the series at Marshall March 23-24. The Blazers continued with a win in their first game of the Houston series to go 7-0 in conference play for the first time in program history.
UAB On TV
UAB is 2-0 in televised appearances this season, defeating UCF, 8-2, on March 10 before topping East Carolina, 2-1, at home on March 17. Both contests were televised by Fox Sports Net.
Up Next
The Blazers return to the UAB Softball Field next week, first hosting a midweek tilt against Mississippi State on Tuesday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT. On March 29-30, UAB will host Southern Miss for three conference games with first pitch on Friday set for 6 p.m. CT, while Saturday's doubleheader will start at 1 p.m. CT.
