The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
#1 Florida
Blazers Open Diamond 9 Citrus Classic 1-1
2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
College of Charleston Box | Florida Box
ORLANDO, Fla. – The UAB softball team defeated the College of Charleston before falling to No. 1 Florida to open the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports on Friday.
UAB (2-6) slugged two home runs to notch a 5-2 victory over College of Charleston (3-2) for the Blazers’ second victory of the season.
“I was proud of Cara Goodwin and Megan Smith for mixing it up in game one,” said head coach Marla Townsend. “They both did an excellent job. Scoring first was huge. The team was relentless in battling to score five runs which is one of our keys to success. Our pitching staff was able to relax. I was pleased with our performance at the plate, and we were solid defensively.”
The Blazers fell to their fourth ranked opponent of the season No. 1 Florida (7-0) by an 8-0 final in five innings.
“You can’t spot the top-ranked team in the country five runs in the first inning when we should have turned a double play to get out of the first inning,” Towsend added. “Our hitters had great at bats at the beginning of the game. We didn’t come through with the timely hits with runners in scoring position.”
Junior JoJo Fallen led the Blazers at the plate Friday going 2-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Seniors Sara Beth Williamson and Caitlin Attfield also finished 2-for-5 at the plate. Williamson drove home two RBIs.
Game One | College of Charleston (W, 5-2)
The Blazers knocked the first runs of the game with a two-RBI home run from Williamson with two outs in the bottom of the first. Williamson knocked her second homer of the season after Fallen go on board with a fielder’s choice.
College of Charleston responded by leading off the third inning with two walks and a single to load the bases. The Cougars scored two on a single to right field, but the Blazers put out two Cougars on the play to keep the damage at two.
Junior Mary Warren put the Blazers back on top, 3-2, with a one-out sacrifice bunt to score Fallen who reached on a leadoff single to center.
The Blazers knocked their second home run of the game in the bottom of the fifth off a two-RBI shot from Fallen to extend the lead 5-2.
Fallen ended game one 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Williamson finished 1-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs.
Sophomore Megan Smith (1-3) earned her first win of the season allowing four hits, two runs and two walks while striking out one over three innings. Junior Cara Goodwin pitched four innings of relief allowing just one hit and striking out three.
Sydney Shipley (0-1) was tagged with the loss for the Cougar after allowing three runs, three hits and three walks over four innings.
Game Two | No. 1 Florida (L, 8-0)
The Gators jumped to an early lead after scoring five runs off three hits and one Blazer error in the bottom of the first. The Blazers defense recovered in the second inning stranding three Gators to keep Florida off the board.
Freshman Analyse Petree led off the third inning with a single and moved into scoring position with a one-out double from senior Caitlin Attfield, but the Blazers were unable to string together a third hit to push a runner across.
The Blazers kept the Gators off the board for two innings before the Gators plated three runs in the fourth inning to secure an 8-0 victory in five innings.
Attfield and Williamson led the Blazers in game two with a 1-for-2 day at the plate with both Blazers knocking doubles.
Junior Madison Hir (1-3) was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs in her lone inning of work. Goodwin pitched 2.1 innings allowing four hits and three runs.
Freshman Tori Perkins continued her string of shutout relief appearances allowing no hits through 0.2 innings of work.
The Blazers continue the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic on Saturday with a doubleheader slate. UAB takes on Stetson at 10 a.m. CT before facing No. 16/18 Missouri at 2:30 p.m. CT.
For more information on the UAB softball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UABSoftball). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
