UAB Drops Both Games of a Double Header Against Kennesaw State

Wednesday, March 7

Kennesaw, GA

6:30 PM

UAB

7-17

Kennesaw State University

9-8

UAB

Kennesaw State

UAB Drops Both Games of a Double Header Against Kennesaw State

3/7/2018 9:26:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score Box Score

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Blazers fell in both games of its double header against Kennesaw State on Wednesday night at Bailey Field 4-2 in game one and 11-3 in game two.

Kennesaw State (9-8) scored one run apiece in the first and second innings in game one to take an early 2-0 lead. In the first, a two-out double followed by a single through the left side scored the runner from second as the Owls went to the second inning with a 1-0 lead.

A double and a wild pitch put a runner on third for Kennesaw State in the second inning with one out when a grounder to short allowed the run to score. Starting pitcher Claire Blount held the Owls and limited the damage to just the two runs to keep UAB in the game.

The score stayed the same until the bottom of the fifth when Kennesaw State added its third run of the game. However, UAB responded the top of the sixth when Analyse Petree smoked her fourth home run of the year over the left field wall to close the gap down to two runs.

UAB (7-17) let an Owl runner on base in the bottom of the seventh due to an error and that runner was brought home on a two-out triple to center field to extend the Kennesaw State lead and make the score 4-1.

Blount led off the seventh inning with a single to left field and was pinch run for by Raina Cooper. Molli Garcia followed Blount with a single of her own to left and put runners on first and second. Makayla Hayes entered to run for Garcia.

Katlyn Sides hit UAB's third single in a row to load the bases with nobody out. Megan Smith came off the bench to pinch hit and reached on a fielding error driving home the Blazers' second run of the game to make the score 4-2.

However, UAB wasn't able to close the gap anymore as a strikeout, fielder's choice and a strikeout swinging ended game one of the double header.

Blount pitched a complete game tossing six innings and allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits. She struck out five and gave up just one walk. She took the loss and is now 0-9 in 2018.

In game two, both teams cruised through the first two innings with neither UAB nor Kennesaw State able to establish much momentum on offense. That ended in the bottom half of the third when the Owls strung together three straight singles to scratch across its first run of the game.

The scoring continued when Patricia Awald hit a three-run home run and the Owls took a 4-0 lead.

Starting pitcher Emily Kachel came back and struck out two of the next four batters and used a ground out to end the third.

The Green and Gold answered right back in the fourth as Petree and Sarah Crawford hit back-to-back singles to set up Garcia. With one-out in the inning, Garcia hit a three-run homer of her own and cut the lead down to 4-3. It was the senior catcher's first home run of the year.

KSU extended the lead again when it scored four runs in the fifth off of three hits and an error to take an 8-3 lead over the Blazers. They ended the game in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run shot over the right field wall to win game two 11-3.

Kachel, a Kennesaw, Ga. native, tossed 4.1 innings and gave up eight runs, five earned, on nine hits while striking out four and walking two. She suffered the loss and falls to 5-6 on the season. Smith threw one inning in relief and let three runs score on three hits and recorded one strikeout and one walk.

Up Next
UAB will be back home on Saturday, March 10 to open conference play with a double header against Marshall. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.