The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Softball Set For Midweek Clash With Mississippi State
3/25/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 25, 2013
Game Notes vs. Mississippi State
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--The UAB softball team returns home after six games on the road to host Mississippi State on Tuesday at the UAB Softball Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.
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Last Time Out
UAB recorded its second Conference USA sweep over the weekend, taking three games on the road in Memphis.
In game one of the doubleheader, the Blazers recorded one run in the top of the second frame after falling behind, 2-0, after one inning. UAB added four more runs in the top of the third, including a three-RBI home run by senior catcher Anna Kimbrell. UAB crossed home plate twice more in the top of the fifth inning of the 7-5 win.
UAB fell behind in the second game, 4-0, until senior center fielder Whitney Fletcher hit her first home run of the year to lead off the top of the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, with two outs and two on, Fletcher hit a two-RBI triple to deep right, and ran home on a Memphis error to tie the game at four runs apiece. Senior right fielder Chandler Orr and junior first baseman Megan McGrath hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the 8th to lift UAB to the 6-4 win. In the circle, pitcher Lannah Campbell threw the final six innings of the matchup, and was perfect through five.
On Sunday, the Blazers recorded 11 runs on nine hits and took advantage of six Memphis errors en route to the 11-1 win in five innings. Fletcher and senior third baseman Kate Armstrong hit home runs while pitcher Lauren Webster struck out nine betters and only allowed three hits.
Scouting Mississippi State
The Bulldogs are 20-9 on the year, and dropped three SEC games on the road at Kentucky last week.
Mississippi State lost the first game as Kentucky hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning on Friday night, before dropping the doubleheader games, 3-2 and 7-0, on Saturday.
Junior Sam Lenahan leads the Bulldog starters with a .378 batting average, seven home runs, 28 RBI and a slugging percentage of .824. Junior Logan Foulks has also hit seven home runs on the year, and is batting .355 with a .645 slugging percentage.
Mississippi State leads the all-time series with UAB, 13-2. A season ago, the Blazers fell, 4-3, on March 20 in Starkville, Miss. The Blazers' last win over the Bulldogs came during the 2011 season as UAB won, 8-0, in six innings. Pitcher Leigh Streetman threw the complete game and struck out eight, while only giving up three hits.
Stepping Up In Conference
A number of Blazers have stepped up since conference play began, including Whitney Fletcher, Kate Armstrong, Heather Pearson and Megan McGrath.
Through nine conference games, Fletcher leads the team with a .484 batting average and has a .903 slugging percentage. With 13 RBI, she leads both the squad and the conference, and is tied for first in the league in hits with 15.
Armstrong has hit a pair of home runs since conference play began, and is batting .385--the second best mark on the squad and ninth best in the league. She has reached base in nine consecutive games and has six RBI in conference action.
Pearson is one of four Blazers with a batting average over .300 with a mark of .318, and has posted six runs on seven hits with four RBI and a slugging percentage of .545 in eight appearances.
McGrath hit one of UAB's two home runs in the come-from-behind victory over Memphis on March 23. She is batting .296 in conference play with a slugging percentage of .519, eight hits and four RBI.
No Base Is Safe
Freshman shortstop Caitlin Attfield leads the team in stolen bases with 17 successes in 18 tries, which already puts her in the UAB top-10 for steals in a season. Attfield has seven more tries than the 2012 season leader in steals, Whitney Fletcher, who had 10 in 14 tries.
Martina Landrum set the record for stolen bases in one season in 2009, when she had 38.
As a team, the Blazers have successfully stolen base 33 times, while UAB stole 35 on the year a season ago.
Bats on Fire
Catcher Anna Kimbrell continues to lead the team in slugging percentage with a mark of .691, which is second best in the league. She also sits in a tie for second in C-USA for home runs with seven.
Whitney Fletcher's slugging percentage has gone up over the last week, and her mark of .612 is fifth best in the conference while her batting average of .373 is fifth best.
With a batting average of .349, freshman Caitlin Attfield has the eighth-best mark in the conference, while her 17 steals are in a tie for fourth-most in the league.
Timely Triples
Starting with sophomore Heather Pearson's triple during UAB's 8-2 win over UCF on March 10, the Blazers have recorded six, for a tie for third-most in C-USA.
On the season, Whitney Fletcher has hit four triples, and sits in a tie for second-most overall. She is the only hitter in the league to have hit more than one in the C-USA schedule with three.
Going Yard
UAB hit six homeruns during the Memphis series, bringing its season total to a conference-best 24.
Kristen McGrath and Anna Kimbrell have hit seven apiece, both in a tie for second in the conference, and McGrath sits in a tie for first in the league in home runs hit during conference play with three.
We Love Free Bases
Catcher Anna Kimbrell has reached base 10 times this season by way of being hit by pitch to average 0.40 times per game. The mark is second most in the conference, and as of March 17, Kimbrell is tied for 35th in the nation in HBP per game.
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 29 times for the second most in conference.
Blazers Sweep C-USA Weekly Awards
For their performances at Memphis, senior center fielder Whitney Fletcher and senior pitcher Lauren Webster were named Conference USA Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.
It marks the second weekly honor this season for Webster and the first for Fletcher. Fletcher was also named hitter of the week twice a season ago.
On the weekend, UAB swept Memphis with a pair of come-from-behind wins, followed by a run-rule victory on Sunday, and Fletcher led the team with a batting average of .700. The Decatur, Ala. native, recorded six runs on seven hits, a double, triple, two home runs, seven RBI and a slugging percentage of 1.600.
Webster (7-2) threw a complete game and was credited with a save during UAB's weekend at Memphis. Webster threw the entire five-inning finale and recorded nine strikeouts, including three consecutive in the third inning of the 11-1 win.
Streetman Throws Perfect Game
Pitcher Leigh Streetman threw a perfect game as UAB topped Alabama State, 4-0, on March 19 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.
Quest For 400
With 398 wins, head coach Marla Townsend is only two 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.
Up Next
UAB will resume Conference USA action by hosting a three game series with Southern Miss on Friday and Saturday. First pitch on Friday night is set for 6 p.m. CT, while Saturday's doubleheader will have a 1 p.m. CT start.
