The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Towson
UAB Softball Sweeps on Day One of Citrus Classic 2
2/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
ORLANDO, Fla. - The UAB softball team swept at day one of the Citrus Classic at the Disney Wide World of Sports on Friday, defeating Northern Iowa, 3-1, and Towson, 9-0, in five innings.
UAB (12-5) will return to Disney World on Saturday for another pair of games, taking on Miami (Ohio) at 12:15 p.m. CT and Western Illinois at 2:30 p.m. CT.
The Blazers got complete games from each of their starters today, as both of Cara Goodwin (4-0) and Madison Hir (3-0) went the distance in their respective games.
Over the seven innings she pitched in the game against Northern Iowa, Goodwin held the Panthers to one run on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Hir tossed a one-hit shutout against Towson, going five innings and limiting the Tigers to a hit and three walks with four strikeouts.
Between the two games, Sara Beth Williamson paced UAB offensively with 3-for-4 hitting (.750), her fifth home run of the season, a pair of runs scored and three RBI. Caitlin Attfield finished Friday 4-for-7 (.571) with a double, three runs scored and two RBI. Amy Waters rounded out the offensive performers with a pair of hits, including a double, and two RBI against Towson.
UAB took the lead in the first inning against Northern Iowa on Williamson's two-run home run and never relinquished the lead. The Blazers added their third run on an Anna Theriot RBI single in the fourth, which was her second base hit of the game.
Northern Iowa was able to manufacture a run on a Kristin Lock RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, but Goodwin shut the Panthers out over the final three innings to seal the Blazers' win.
The Blazers scored the game winning run in the first against Towson as well. After Attfield and Kelly Britt led off by reaching first and second, a Williamson sacrifice bunt moved them up a bag, followed by a Heather Pearson RBI bunt just inside the left field line to plate Attfield.
The Blazers scored the rest of their runs in an eight-run third inning. After Attfield drove in the first two on a two-run single to left field, Britt and Williamson drove in a run each on RBI singles.
From there, the Blazers scored four runs in the third on a two-out rally, with the first driven in by Ashley Johnson on a single through the left side. With the bases loaded, Rachel Dunsford forced in the next by drawing a walk, and Waters finished off the scoring with a two-run double to the left-center gap to cap the scoring at 9-0.
Towson's lone hit was a single off the bat of Macie McGeehan in the third, as Hir needed only 70 pitches to clinch a one-hit shutout and the Blazers' second win of the day.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account,@UABathletics. For an in-depth look into the UAB softball program, follow @uabsoftball on Twitter.
