The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Tuesday, February 27
Birmingham / Mary Bowers Field
6:00 PM
UAB
vs
University of Alabama
UAB Hosts No. 10 Alabama in Home Opener on Tuesday
2/26/2018 12:38:00 PM | Softball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB will play its home opener against No. 10 Alabama on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at Mary Bowers Field after spending the first three weekends of the season on the road.
It will be the 22nd meeting all-time between the two programs with Alabama having won each of the previous 21 games in the series. The teams met twice last season with Alabama winning the first matchup 5-4 in eight innings and the second game 8-0 in five.
Alabama (9-2) and UAB have meet annually since 2008 and have played twice a year every season since then with the exception of the 2011 season when the Tide and Blazers played only once.
The Blazers are coming off the Trojan Classic which saw them go 3-2 with wins over Troy, Tennessee Tech and Murray State. Alabama meanwhile, hosted the Easton Bama Bash which saw it go 3-1 with its final game of the tournament getting cancelled due to weather.
UAB (6-9) has faced three ranked teams already this season, playing No. 2 Florida and No. 16/20 Michigan in the opening weekend of the season at the USF Wilson DeMarini Tournament. It then squared off with No. 3/4 UCLA at the Mary Nutter Classic last weekend.
This will also be the fourth team on UAB's schedule that made last season's NCAA Tournament. Including tomorrow's game against the Tide, the Blazers have eight games left against tournament teams this season with an away game against Alabama on March 20 and three games apiece against Marshall and Louisiana Tech.
Freshman pitcher Emily Kachel has picked up three wins in her last four starts to improve to 4-3 on the year with a 2.07 ERA and 37 strikeouts. She has allowed only eight walks through 50.2 innings pitched this season.
She recorded her first career shutout against in-state foe Troy last Friday in a 1-0 victory.
Leading the offense has been senior Madison Millsaps, who has a team high .419 batting average and .490 on-base percentage. The Centre, Ala. native also leads UAB in RBI with 11 through 15 games.
Analyse Petree has provided UAB's lineup with some power as she has three home runs this season and hit two homers during the Trojan Classic.
Alabama is led in the circle by Alexis Osorio, who sits 3-1 on the year with an 0.56 ERA and has tossed three complete games. Madison Preston has provided an added punch in the circle as she is also 3-1 with an 0.84 ERA and four complete games under her belt.
Claire Jenkins leads the Crimson Tide with a .462 batting average, while Bailey Hemphill is tied with Peyton Grantham for the team lead in RBI with each player having driven in 10 runs.
The gates will open at 4:30 p.m. with tickets for premium seating costing $15, while standard adult tickets will be $10 with youth tickets (17 and under) at $6.
Gold Card
For tickets, UAB fans also have the opportunity to purchase a Gold Card which allows access to six different sports, including softball, baseball and women's basketball throughout the upcoming season.
A single admission Gold Card is $65, while a dual admission card can be purchased for $120, admission for three is $165, and a 4-pack of Gold Cards is $200. Fans who purchase a Gold Card will be given a membership card they show to gain admission into each specific event. Fans can purchase a Gold Card at the UAB Athletics Ticket Office located at Bartow Arena, or by calling 205-975-UAB1.
It will be the 22nd meeting all-time between the two programs with Alabama having won each of the previous 21 games in the series. The teams met twice last season with Alabama winning the first matchup 5-4 in eight innings and the second game 8-0 in five.
Alabama (9-2) and UAB have meet annually since 2008 and have played twice a year every season since then with the exception of the 2011 season when the Tide and Blazers played only once.
The Blazers are coming off the Trojan Classic which saw them go 3-2 with wins over Troy, Tennessee Tech and Murray State. Alabama meanwhile, hosted the Easton Bama Bash which saw it go 3-1 with its final game of the tournament getting cancelled due to weather.
UAB (6-9) has faced three ranked teams already this season, playing No. 2 Florida and No. 16/20 Michigan in the opening weekend of the season at the USF Wilson DeMarini Tournament. It then squared off with No. 3/4 UCLA at the Mary Nutter Classic last weekend.
This will also be the fourth team on UAB's schedule that made last season's NCAA Tournament. Including tomorrow's game against the Tide, the Blazers have eight games left against tournament teams this season with an away game against Alabama on March 20 and three games apiece against Marshall and Louisiana Tech.
Freshman pitcher Emily Kachel has picked up three wins in her last four starts to improve to 4-3 on the year with a 2.07 ERA and 37 strikeouts. She has allowed only eight walks through 50.2 innings pitched this season.
She recorded her first career shutout against in-state foe Troy last Friday in a 1-0 victory.
Leading the offense has been senior Madison Millsaps, who has a team high .419 batting average and .490 on-base percentage. The Centre, Ala. native also leads UAB in RBI with 11 through 15 games.
Analyse Petree has provided UAB's lineup with some power as she has three home runs this season and hit two homers during the Trojan Classic.
Alabama is led in the circle by Alexis Osorio, who sits 3-1 on the year with an 0.56 ERA and has tossed three complete games. Madison Preston has provided an added punch in the circle as she is also 3-1 with an 0.84 ERA and four complete games under her belt.
Claire Jenkins leads the Crimson Tide with a .462 batting average, while Bailey Hemphill is tied with Peyton Grantham for the team lead in RBI with each player having driven in 10 runs.
The gates will open at 4:30 p.m. with tickets for premium seating costing $15, while standard adult tickets will be $10 with youth tickets (17 and under) at $6.
Gold Card
For tickets, UAB fans also have the opportunity to purchase a Gold Card which allows access to six different sports, including softball, baseball and women's basketball throughout the upcoming season.
A single admission Gold Card is $65, while a dual admission card can be purchased for $120, admission for three is $165, and a 4-pack of Gold Cards is $200. Fans who purchase a Gold Card will be given a membership card they show to gain admission into each specific event. Fans can purchase a Gold Card at the UAB Athletics Ticket Office located at Bartow Arena, or by calling 205-975-UAB1.
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