The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Jacksonville State
No. 25 UAB Softball Falls to Jacksonville State, 7-2
3/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
JSU 7, UAB 2 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The 25th-ranked UAB softball team fell to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, 7-2, Tuesday night at UAB Softball Field.
UAB (21-6) lost its program-best streak of 15 consecutive wins, and fell at UAB Softball Field for the first time this season after opening the yearwith eight home wins.
"Any time we're going to face a quality team like Jacksonville State, we know it's going to be a good game," UAB head coach Marla Townsend said. "Obviously, we'd love to have that first inning back, but I was proud of the girls in the way that they responded to adversity. I challenged them in the bottom of the fourth inning to win the second half of the ball game, and they did that."
Madison Hir (3-1) was the starting pitcher for UAB, but was charged with her first loss of the season in an outing that lasted 0.2 innings.Cara Goodwin pitched the final 6.1 innings for UAB, but did not factor into the decision despite holding the Gamecocks (16-7) to one run on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Taylor West (5-2) held a UAB offense that averages nearly six runs a game to two in a complete-game outing, as she was credited with the win for the Gamecocks.
Caitlin Attfield led the Blazers offensively with a pair of singles, notching her 16th multiple-hit game of the season. Ashley Johnson and Anna Theriot drove in UAB's run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double and a sacrifice fly, respectively.
Jacksonville State's first six runs came in a burst in the first inning, with the first four driven in by the Gamecocks' Ella Denes on a grand slam to left. The Gamecocks loaded the bases again in the frame, scoring the final two runs on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Sloan and an RBI single by Emily Woodruff.
The Gamecocks loaded the bases a third time in the second, with one batter reaching on a walk and two reaching after being hit by pitch. Jacksonville State's Melanie Steer singled to left center to bring home the lead runner, but Goodwin retired the final two batters to hold the score at 7-0 after two.
Goodwin blanked the Gamecocks the rest of the way to set up the Blazers' offense, who hung a pair of runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth on Johnson's RBI double and Theriot's sacrifice fly. UAB put runners on base throughout the midweek tilt, but left seven runners stranded, as the Blazers could not complete the comeback.
"I was proud of the way that we battled back and put runners on base," Townsend said. "We had the right hitters up, but just didn't come through in a couple of occasions. Obviously, getting those two runs in the sixth was a step in the right direction. We're going to take this game and just get back to work. Look at what we've done since February 21 - we've won 15 out of our last 16 games. I'm pretty proud of that."
The UAB softball team will be back in action this weekend, as the Blazers make the trip to San Antonio for a three-game Conference USA series with UTSA. The Blazers and Roadrunners will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. CT and 3:30 p.m. CT, respectively. The two teams wrap up the series on Sunday, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. CT.
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.
