The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Softball Set To Face No. 4/5 Alabama
4/9/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 9, 2013
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--The UAB softball team is set to continue its six-game road swing as it travels to Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Wednesday to take on in-state foe No. 4/5 Alabama. First pitch in the second game of the home-and-home series is set for 6 p.m. CT.
Follow @UABSoftball on Twitter for in-game updates.
Last Time Out
Senior center fielder Whitney Fletcher led the Blazers in their sweep of the doubleheader with Lipscomb last week with a home run and six total RBI. In game one, UAB was boosted by a five-run second inning in the 8-1 win over the Bisons. Fletcher hit her third home run of the year in the bottom of the sixth inning and was 3-for-4 at the plate.
In the second game of the series, junior pitcher Leigh Streetman struck out 11 Lipscomb batters and Fletcher hit a walk-off RBI triple to right center with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning of the 1-0 win.
Last Wednesday, UAB traveled to Ridgeland, Miss., to take on Mississippi State, and was edged, 3-2. In the loss, senior right fielder Chandler Orr and sophomore third baseman Amy Dennis hit solo home runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Scouting Alabama
The Crimson Tide are 35-6 on the year and most recently took two of three games from SEC foe Missouri over the weekend. Alabama took game one, 4-1, before dropping a 9-4 decision last Saturday. On Sunday, Alabama took the rubber match, 14-6 in six innings.
On the year, Haylie McCleney leads the team with a .469 batting average and 61 hits, while Kalia Hunt has the most RBI with 44.
In the circle, pitcher Jackie Traina has an ERA of 1.88 in 137.2 innings and an overall record of 17-3. Traina also leads the Crimson Tide in home runs with 13 on the year and has a batting average of .357.
Last Meeting
UAB and Alabama last met at the UAB Softball Field on Feb. 19. Crimson Tide pitcher Jackie Traina gave up six walks while senior catcher Anna Kimbrell hit a grand slam of the 8-4 loss.
RPI Update
In the most recent RPI poll, UAB is ranked at No. 32, its highest ranking in program history. The previous best was No. 33, which the 2012 squad reached on April 16.
The Blazers are ranked second highest in Conference USA, with Tulsa leading the league at No. 21.
On the season, UAB has picked up wins over two teams in the RPI top-30, No. 7 Washington (Feb. 7) and No. 29 Mississippi State (March 26).
Blazers In The National Polls
UAB has received votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top-25 for the second-consecutive week. In the poll released on April 2, the Blazers picked up one vote, while the poll released on April 9 lists the squad with five votes.
Winning At Home UAB is currently 10-2 on the year in games played at the UAB Softball Field, and has won eight straight, dating back to the 7-4 win over East Carolina on March 17. The longest home win streak in program history is 10 games, set in 2002.
Scoring First, Scoring Often
On the season, UAB is 9-0 in games where it scores in the first inning. The Blazers are 21-2 on the year when they score first, and are 19-0 when leading after the sixth inning.
Down To The Last Out
The Blazers have scored runs with two outs 54 times this season (39.4 percent), and Whitney Fletcher leads the team as she has driven in two-out runs 14 times.
Of the last 61 runs scored by UAB--dating back to the doubleheader at Alabama State on March 19--the Blazers have crossed home plate with two outs on the board 29 times, and 10 of those situations were batted in by Fletcher.
Fletcher recorded seven two-out scores during UAB's sweep of Memphis on March 23, including three in the Blazers' comeback during the top of the seventh inning of game two, where UAB won, 6-4.
Each of the nine runs scored by the Blazers in the three-game series with Southern Miss (March 29-30) occurred with two outs on the board, including a three-RBI home run by catcher Anna Kimbrell.
No Base Is Safe
Freshman shortstop Caitlin Attfield leads the team in stolen bases with 18 successes in 22 tries, which already puts her in the UAB top-10 all-time list for steals in a season.
With her 18th stolen base occurring during the series with Southern Miss, Attfield now sits in a tie for 10th place in career steals with former Blazer Holly Krzan (2004-08). Lindsay Stanley (2004-07) owns the school record in career-stolen bases with 100.
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 39 times in 32 games, while UAB stole 35 all of last season.
Record Watch
With five triples on the season, Whitney Fletcher is tied for first place in single-season triples with Martina Landrum, who originally set the school record in 2010.
Fletcher's seven career triples places her in a tie for fourth place in the all-time books with Landrum (2008-10) and Cliffanie Engram (2000-03). Catherine Crawford (2009-12) owns the record with 12.
Designated hitter Kristen McGrath is nearing Mandy Lowman's (2009-12) school record for career home runs. Lowman hit 32 in four years, while McGrath has racked up seven so far this season for a total of 26, and currently sits in a tie for second all-time with Andrea Rogers (2006-09).
McGrath has also entered the UAB top-10 all-time list in career RBI with 25 this season for a career total of 84, good for seventh place and one behind the seventh-place mark of 85. Lowman's 126 RBI is UAB's top mark.
Bats on Fire
Whitney Fletcher and Anna Kimbrell lead the team in slugging percentage with marks of .631 and .623, respectively.
Fletcher's mark is second best in the conference while Kimbrell's is third. With eight home runs, Kimbrell has hit the second-most in the league.
With a batting average of .343, freshman Caitlin Attfield has the 10th-best mark in the conference, while her 18 steals are in a tie for fourth most in the league.
Going Yard
UAB has hit 28 home runs on the year, which is second most in the conference behind Marshall's 29.
Anna Kimbrell leads the team with eight home runs while Kristen McGrath has hit seven on the year and sits in a four-way 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 15 times this season by way of being hit by pitch to average 0.47 times per game. The mark is second most in the conference, and as of April 8, Kimbrell is fourth in the nation in HBP per game.
Outfielder Chandler Orr has been hit by pitch eight times this season, fourth most in the league.
As a team, the Blazers have been hit 38 times for the second most in conference.
Success in the Circle
The UAB pitching staff has posted the best ERA in the conference with a mark of 1.77. The Blazers have held their opponents to a conference-best .178 batting average, and have allowed the fewest hits at 138.
The pitching staff has also allowed the fewest earned runs in the conference with 54, and have only walked 75 batters--also a top mark in C-USA.
In conference action, UAB's ERA is second lowest at 1.52. The Blazers' pitchers have held the opposing batting average to a league-best .165, while Streetman's own mark of .131 is also top in C-USA.
Campbell's opposing batting average is second best at 1.44, while she also owns the second-lowest ERA at 0.95. Webster's ERA in league action of 1.64 is currently third best.
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 currently tied for ninth nationally in saves, recording 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.
UAB's pitching staff now holds the top-three spots in career saves, starting with Leigh Streetman's 12. Streetman picked up her first save this year when she pitched 2.1 innings in UAB's 2-0 win over UCF on March 9. Her second save of the season came in the series finale with Southern Miss on March 30, when she threw 3.0 innings and allowed no hits in the 2-0 win.
Webster, who picked up her sixth career save as UAB came back to beat Memphis, 7-5, on March 23, sits alone in second place, while Campbell's five career saves puts her in a tie for third place.
Reaching 400
Head coach Marla Townsend reached 400 career wins on Friday, March 29, as UAB topped Southern Miss in a 1-0 shutout where pitcher Leigh Streetman threw her second no-hitter of the season.
Up Next
Up next, the Blazers will hit the road to take on Tulsa in a crucial conference series as both teams lead the league with records of 11-1. The three games will start with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT, while Sunday's finale is set for a Noon CT first pitch.
