Blazers Fade in Doubleheader Against Louisiana Tech

Saturday, March 16

Birmingham, Ala. / Mary Bowers Field

3 P.M.

UAB

9-16, 0-4

Louisiana Tech

18-7, 1-0

Louisiana Tech

UAB

Blazers Fade in Doubleheader Against Louisiana Tech

3/16/2019 11:36:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BIRMINGHAM – The UAB softball team (9-17) showed great promise in a doubleheader against Louisiana Tech (19-7) on Saturday at Mary Bowers Field, leading both games going into the top of the seventh inning, but was unable to come out with a win. The Blazers led game one going into the final frame, 4-3, before later falling, 8-4. UAB led game two heading into the last inning, 4-2, before dropping the contest, 7-4.

Game One: Louisiana Tech 8, UAB 4

Louisiana Tech got going early in game one. After a leadoff walk, a single would advance the runner enough for a following groundout to send her home, giving the Lady Techsters an early 1-0 lead. UAB would respond in the bottom half of the inning, plating a run of its own. Junior outfielder Destini England would score after singling, moving into scoring position on a walk, advancing to third on a Dylinn Stancil single and coming home on a Sarah Crawford groundout.

The Lady Techsters had more trouble producing at the plate in the top of the second as all three batters flied out. The Blazers didn't have such issues as sophomore outfielder Jenna Olszewski smacked a leadoff triple, later scoring on an Ashton Clem double. Freshman outfielder Faith Hegh would also double, driving in Clem to give UAB a 3-1 lead.

In the top of the third, Louisiana Tech would answer back with a pair of extra-base hits and an advancement on a wild pitch to add two and even things up. UAB would not clap back in the bottom half of the inning. The Lady Techsters would quiet back down and go scoreless in the top of the fourth, but the Blazers took back the lead behind sophomore infielder Rachel Owens' solo shot to left-center.

With UAB up 4-3, the bats of both sides were silent in the fifth and sixth innings as neither team could make its way home. Owens and junior infielder Natalie Erwin contributed the only Blazer hits over that stretch.

Louisiana Tech turned the tide in the seventh inning, driving in five runs in that half of the inning alone. After a pair reached base on a single and an error, Bayli Simon of Louisiana Tech cracked a three-run dinger to left-center to put the Lady Techsters back on top. After a walk and a double shortly after, a wild pitch drove in another run and another single plated the eighth run for the Lady Techsters. The Blazers would stop the bleeding at that point, but fail to come up with any offense beyond that point, losing 8-4 in the end.

Owens would lead the UAB bats in the game, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run by the end of it. Sophomore pitcher Emily Kachel would take a brunt end of the pitching duties, going 6.2 innings and allowing seven runs on five hits with three strikeouts.

Game Two: Louisiana Tech 7, UAB 4

Neither side got on the board in the first inning as Louisiana Tech was retired in order on three straight groundouts while UAB picked up a hit from Hegh, but nothing more. The Lady Techsters got rolling in the second though, plating one after reaching on an error and adding a pair doubles. Meanwhile, the Blazers went three up, three down to end the inning scoreless.

In the top of the third, Louisiana Tech did just enough to score another. A single and an error allowed the Lady Techsters to send one home. On the UAB side, an Erwin single was all that would be produced in the inning.

The fourth inning was the moment competition heated up. The Blazers shut down Louisiana Tech's bats in the top half of the inning, but got their own going in the bottom half. After a Stancil single, Olszewski cranked a two-run bomb over the left-center fence to even things up. Shortly after, junior infielder Ashton Clem blistered a double down the left-field line and later scored on a passed ball, giving UAB a 3-2 lead.

The Lady Techsters again had no answer in the top of the fifth, succumbing to three putouts in four at-bats, but the Blazers added one more from Natalie Erwin after she advanced into scoring position on a steal off of another Stancil single. Hegh also picked up a single in the inning.

Neither side could muster anything in the sixth inning as Louisiana Tech went down in order and freshman infielder Sierra Frazier picked up UAB's only hit, leading to another high-stakes seventh inning. After an early walk, The Lady Techsters pieced together four straight hits, which led to four straight runs and a 6-4 lead. Louisiana Tech would score one more on an error to take a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the inning. With momentum going the other way, UAB subsided and did no further damage, taking the 7-4 loss.

Along with Olszewski's obvious contributions on her two-run shot, Stancil was also a big factor for the Blazers at the plate in game two, going 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. In the circle, junior pitcher Claire Blount held down the fort for most of the night, only allowing two runs going into the seventh inning. Blount finished the night giving up four earned runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings pitched. In relief, sophomore Bailie Barnes wrapped things up by giving up one run on one hit in 0.2 innings of work.

The Blazers will be back in action on Sunday at 1 p.m. to wrap up the series at Mary Bowers Field.