Gutsy Effort Falls Short as No. 1 Washington Edges UAB Softball, 8-7

Saturday, February 8

Atlanta, Ga.

2:30 a.m. CST

UAB

2-1

Washington

3-0

UAB

Washington

Gutsy Effort Falls Short as No. 1 Washington Edges UAB Softball, 8-7

2/8/2020 6:10:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score 2020 UAB Softball Season Stats

ATLANTA – The UAB softball team erased a six run deficit to tie the game at 7-7, but No. 1 Washington walked off with an 8-7 victory over the Blazers on Saturday afternoon at Shirley Mewborn Field on the campus of Georgia Tech.

Washington (3-0) led 6-0 after the first inning and 7-1 after the second, but the Blazers (2-1) stormed back on the top ranked team in America with two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and one in the sixth to tie the game at 7-7. However, the Huskies' Sis Bates hit a walkoff single in the bottom of the seventh to give UW the victory.

Sophomore catcher Sierra Frazier was 3-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and four RBI. Macey Petrey entered midway through the game and had a two-RBI double, while KK Crocker's RBI groundout in the sixth tied the game at seven.

"I'm extremely proud of our effort today. This was a total team effort from everyone in the ball game to everyone on the bench," head coach Jimmy Kolaitis said. "We fell behind early and have shown throughout the weekend that we can continue to battle back. Sarah Cespedes came in after a rough day yesterday and gave us one heck of an outing in relief.

"Offensively, we executed our plan throughout the game with some short ball play and also had some big hits, two coming from Sierra Frazier. There is no doubt in my mind that if we continue to believe in this team and ourselves, we can play with anyone in the country and that was evident today."

Washington took control in the bottom of the first inning with six runs off Jaycee Cook who made her first career appearance in the circle for UAB. The first three runs came on a homer from Madison Huskey, and that was followed with RBI singles from Kelley Lynch and Taryn Atlee.

However, Cespedes would come in for Cook and hold the Huskies at bay, pitching four innings and only allowing one run on four hits.

Frazier got UAB on the board with her second home run of the weekend which was a solo shot to straight away center, brining the score to 6-1. In her next plate appearance, Frazier launched a two-run shot to left which scored Analyse Petree who was on first after drawing a walk. That homer made the score 7-3 in the fourth.

UAB plated three more runs in the fifth to make the score 7-6. Along with Petrey's two-RBI single, Frazier notched her fourth RBI of the day with a double to score Petrey.

Natalie Erwin opened the sixth by sliding safely into first, and eventually found her way to third base with one out. Crocker would ground out, but it allowed Erwin to tie the game at seven.

Washington though, opened the seventh with consecutive singles, and after a double play by Ashton Clem, Bates stepped to the plate with a runner on third and roped a single down the line to give Washington the 8-7 victory.

The Blazers conclude the Buzz Classic on Sunday with a double header against Furman and Ohio. First pitch against Furman is set for 9 a.m. EST.