The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Taking a Look Back at the 2015 UAB Softball Season
5/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB softball team recently wrapped up its 2015 campaign at the Conference USA Championship in Miami, Fla. The Blazers finished out their slate with a 32-19 overall record, marking their sixth consecutive season with 30 or more wins.
In the first year of C-USA's two-division format, the Blazers finished second and one win behind first in the C-USA West Division with their sixth-straight year with 15 league wins or more.
"I am extremely proud of the records we set as a team and the great strides that our young players made, in addition to the strong finsih this senior class had," UAB head coach Marla Townsend said. "I know we will use this season to motivate us further in the off-season and put an even more successful team on the field next spring. 'Team 16' contributed to the community through many service projects, and I am proud of how they represented UAB in a very positive manner."
Playing the nation's 25th-ranked non-conference schedule, UAB finished the season with a No. 49 ranking in the RPI, marking the sixth year in row that the Blazers have posted a final RPI better than No. 50.
UAB's top wins this season included a 1-0 victory over then-No. 13/11 Minnesota on March 1, as well as a 5-4 victory in eight innings over Mississippi State in the Blazers' home opener on Feb. 24.
The Blazers played six teams that earned berths in the NCAA Tournament field in 2015 (Minnesota, Mississippi State, Chattanooga, WKU, Alabama and Auburn). The Blazers played four total games against the latter two squads, both of which were Women's College World Series participants.
Those teams, along with Marshall, Lipscomb, Troy, Texas State and UTSA finished among the top-75 teams in the RPI, and accounted for 18 of UAB's 51 matchups this season.
In the midst of the early schedule, the Blazers put together a 15-game win streak, going undefeated from Feb. 21 to March 15 to record the longest consecutive win streak in program history.
As a team, UAB finished the year with the program's top single-season fielding percentage, as the Blazers fielded at a .976 rate for the season. The mark also accounted for the No. 14 team fielding percentage in the nation.
The Blazers rounded out their strong defensive showing in 2015 with 23 double plays and ranked No. 28 in the country in double plays per game (0.45).
At the plate, UAB's 2015 squad posted team records in batting average and slugging percentage, hitting at a .298 clip, while slugging at a rate of .462.
The Blazers reached base at a rate of .382 this season, recording their highest team on-base percentage in program history. Hoisting the Blazers to that mark was a program-low 201 strikeouts at the dish, shattering the previous school record (288 in 2006).
Among the individual highlights of the 2015 season was the play of junior shortstop Caitlin Attfield, who was the first player in program history to be named C-USA Player of the Year.
With the 2015 season coming to a close, the Niagara Falls, N.Y. native headlines UAB's record books as the all-time career leader in batting average (.417), on-base percentage (.470) and hits (237), while her .523 career slugging percentage is just shy of the program's top career mark (.524 by Kristen McGrath).
Attfield finished the season batting .473, a mark that shattered her own single-season school record (.425 in 2014) and ranked seventh in the nation, while tying for UAB's top on-base percentage in a single season (.511).
En route to her record-breaking hitting clip, Attfield recorded 80 hits, which was eight hits short of her own school record set in 2014. Attfield accounts for three of UAB's top-five single-season individual hit totals, as her 69 hits in her 2013 freshman campaign ranks fifth on the Blazers' single-season list.
Additionally, Attfield finished with 43 runs scored in 2015, bested only by Martina Landrum's school-record 47 runs scored in 2010.
Matching Attfield's on-base percentage this season was junior first baseman Sara Beth Williamson, whose 2015 season totals check into UAB's single-season record book in seven categories. Each also placed in UAB's single-season doubles list, as Attfield (15) and Williamson (14) checked in tied at third and fifth, respectively. Their totals were part of 79 Blazer doubles in 2015, the most in school history.
Williamson, a Faulkner State transfer from Gardendale, Ala., made an immediate impact as a power hitter in her first season in Birmingham, slugging .743 to shatter the previous program record (.628 by Kristen McGrath in 2014), while recording the second-most RBI (45) and sixth-most home runs (11) in a season in school history.
Williamson recorded the program's third-highest batting average in a single season (.407), and posted the fourth-highest walk total (32) while going down on strikes only 10 times.
For their efforts, Attfield and Williamson were selected to C-USA's All-Conference First Team, while sophomore utility player JoJo Fallen was tabbed to C-USA's Second Team and freshman right-hander Megan Smith was an All-Freshman Team pick. Each of Attfield and Williamson were also NFCA Mideast All-Region First Team selections, marking the first time in program history that Blazers have placed two on the region's first team.
Fallen, who batted in the No. 2 spot in the order in 40 games this season, hit .303 with four home runs and 26 RBI, while finishing 16th in the nation in sacrifice hits per game (0.30 per game, 16 in 2015). Smith earned a team-high 14 wins in her freshman campaign, a mark that ties for the ninth-most in a single season in school history.
Hayley Davis rounded out Blazer honorees with a selection to the C-USA All-Tournament Team. The senior outfielder from Tarpon Springs, Fla. led all tournament participants in home runs (2) and total bases (8), while tying for the tournament's highest RBI total (3).
All four of the Blazers' all-conference selections are set to return heading into the 2016 season, highlighting 19 returning players from the 2015 squad. All five pitchers the Blazers used this season - a staff solely consisting of rising sophomores and juniors - are also set to return.
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.
