The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Louisiana Tech
UAB Softball Splits With Louisiana Tech In Saturday Doubleheader
4/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game One: Final Stats | Box Score (PDF)
Game Two: Final Stats | Box Score (PDF)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB softball team split its doubleheader with the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters on Saturday at UAB Softball Field.
Louisiana Tech (26-11, 9-5 C-USA) took game one by a score of 6-4, while UAB (25-13, 9-4 C-USA) won game two, 8-6.
"I thought we were relentless in the second game," UAB head coach Marla Townsend said. "Even in the latter part of the first game, we came back, got baserunners on and had the winning run at the plate. We played against a very good Louisiana Tech team and we'll put the errors and mistakes behind us. We know that we will compete in one game tomorrow with the mentality that championships are won on Sundays."
The Blazers were led at the plate by Amy Dennis, who was 3-for-5 (.600) for the doubleheader with a grand slam and a walk. Caitlin Attfield went 5-for-8 (.625) with a double and a pair of RBI, while Ashley Johnson and Hayley Davis each also recorded three hits apiece.
Megan Smith (12-6) was the winning pitcher for the Blazers in game two, allowing the Lady Techsters six runs (five earned) in her 10th complete game of the season. Madison Hir (3-3) was charged with the loss for the Blazers in game one, allowing the final two runs in one inning of relief.
Cara Goodwin did not factor into the decision in her game one start after allowing the Lady Techsters four runs (three earned) in the first five innings.
Game One Recap
UAB scored first with a run in the bottom of the first frame. Attfield led off with a double, and moved to third on a JoJo Fallen flyout to right. Davis followed with a fielder's choice bunt to the circle to plate Attfield, who beat the throw home to give the Blazers an early 1-0 lead.
Louisiana Tech took the lead in the top of the second with a three-run frame. Bianca Duran set the table with a double, and scored from second on an errant throw on Jamie Godwin's following single. A pair of back-to-back RBI doubles from Karlee Jensen and Kristen Miles accounted for the final two runs, giving the Lady Techsters a 3-1 advantage.
The Blazers cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the second. A walk from Rachel Dunsford and singles from Heather Pearson and Dennis loaded the bases for Attfield, who singled up the middle to plate the lead runner.
After a scoreless third inning, UAB retook the lead with two runs in the fourth. In a two-out rally, the Blazers put runners on the corners on a Pearson HBP and a Dennis single to right. Attfield delivered her third single of the game up the middle, which combined with a fielding error by Louisiana Tech's Godwin in center to allow both runners to score, giving the Blazers a 4-3 lead.
The Lady Techsters tied the game back up at four apiece with a run in the sixth. Duran led off with a single, and Godwin followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. Katie Smith sacrifice bunted both runners over, and Jensen followed with a sacrifice fly to left to drive in Duran from third.
Louisiana Tech scored the game's two go-ahead runs in the top of the seventh. The Lady Techsters led off with runners on first and second on a Tori Charters walk and Anna Cross single. Pauline Tufi plated the lead runner on a single to left, and Kassie Harris followed with a sacrifice fly to close the scoring at 6-4.
Game Two Recap
Louisiana Tech started off game two with three runs in the top of the first. The Lady Techsters led off with runners on first and second on a Miles walk and a Cross single. Tufi drove in each runner on a two-run single, moved to second on the throw home and then scored on Duran's following single.
UAB answered with a run in the bottom of the frame. After Attfield and Fallen led off with singles, Williamson sent a grounder to the left side, but a throw attempting to putout Williamson was dropped by the first baseman. The ball caromed away from the Louisiana Tech defense, and Attfield beat the eventual throw home to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Lady Techsters added two more runs in the second inning on a pair of UAB defensive miscues. Jensen led off the inning with a single, and moved up to second on a Charters walk. Jensen was then retired on an unassisted fielder's choice at third, but a throw that went awry at first allowed Charters to take third. Tufi plated her with a single through the right side, and a booted ball by the UAB defense in right field allowed Cross to reach home plate and move the score to 5-1.
UAB took its first lead of the game with a six-run third inning. Singles from Davis, Pearson and Mary Warren loaded the bases, and Johnson followed with a single through the left side to plate the first two baserunners. Dunsford loaded the bases again with a single through the left side, and Dennis cleared the bags and put the Blazers up, 7-5, with a grand slam over the left field wall.
The two teams traded a run apiece to make the score 8-6 after four innings. Louisiana Tech picked up its run on a Tufi sacrifice fly, while UAB picked up its fourth-inning run on a Dunsford bases-loaded walk.
The Lady Techsters threatened with runners on the corners in the top of the seventh. With two outs in the frame, a Smith offering got away from Johnson and caromed to the backstop. Johnson gathered the ball and threw to Smith, who tagged the runner breaking from third to record the final out of the ballgame and seal the 8-6 win.
The UAB softball team returns to UAB Softball Field for the rubber match against Louisiana Tech on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT.
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