The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Thursday, May 13
Bowling Green, Ky.
4:30 p.m. CST
UAB
vs
Charlotte
UAB Softball Opens C-USA Championship with Charlotte Matchup
5/13/2021 8:12:00 AM | Softball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The No. 2-seed UAB softball team will start their pursuit of the first Conference USA Championship title in program history this afternoon, taking on No. 3 Charlotte in the quarterfinal of the tournament at 4:30 p.m. CST on ESPN+.
This is the 17th appearance in program history in the C-USA Championship for the Green and Gold and the first since 2018.
LAST TIME OUT
UAB (29-18, 15-5 C-USA) enters the tournament coming off a four-game series at home against Southern Miss. The Blazers took three-of-four from the Golden Eagles.
Amy Woodham shined in the circle against Southern Miss, recording a 0 ERA in 12.1 innings of work, allowing just six hits and notching her sixth and seventh straight wins.
This was UAB's fourth straight conference series win.
SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
The matchup against the Blazers will be the second game of the tournament for the 49ers. Charlotte won the final game on Wednesday, defeating Marshall 8-4.
The 49ers (31-17, 14-6 C-USA) are led at the plate by the C-USA Player of the Year, Bailey Vannoy, who is batting a team-high .392 to go with 13 home runs, 22 doubles and 36 RBIs.
In the circle, Charlotte has relied heavily on Lindsey Walljasper (15-6), who has pitched a team-high 164 innings and owns a 3.16 ERA.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
The Blazers were well-represented when C-USA announced its postseason awards on Tuesday.
UAB had four athletes named to the All-Conference First Team: Sierra Frazier, Jenna Olszewski, Jolie Readeaux and Amy Woodham, while Analyse Petree garnered All-Conference Second Team honors.
The Blazers had the most first-team selections in the league, setting a new school record. The five all-conference honors are the most for UAB since 2012.
PERFORMING AT THE PLATE
UAB has started to hit its stride at the plate, with five Blazers hitting above .300: Frazier (.387), Faith Hegh (.331), Olszewski (.320), Readeaux (.307) and Petree (.305).
Frazier also owns a 30-game on-base streak, while Hegh has reached base in 10-straight games.
BREAKING AND TYING RECORDS
This has been a season of setting records and tying program history for the Blazers and head coach Joe Guthrie:
UAB did not face Charlotte in the regular season but is 23-7 against the 49ers in program history. The last time the two teams met was May 4-5 of 2019 when the Blazers swept a three-game series against Charlotte on the road.
However, this is just the second time in program history that the two teams will meet in the postseason. It was 2000 the last time the Blazers faced the 49ers in the conference tournament, UAB's first softball season. The Green and Gold earned the 1-0 victory, with Kerri Foster earning the win in the circle.
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF?
The last UAB pitcher to earn a win in the circle at a C-USA Championship was Emily Kachel on May 11, 2018, against Louisiana Tech.
In that matchup, then-freshman Kachel threw a gem for UAB, pitching a complete game, allowing just three runs on seven hits. She walked only three batters, while registering six strikeouts.
WHAT'S NEXT
The rest of the C-USA Championship is double elimination, meaning a team has to lose two games to be bounced from the tournament.
If UAB wins against Charlotte, the team will face the winner of the North Texas-WKU game in the semifinals on Friday at 12 p.m.
If UAB were to fall, the Blazers would play an elimination game against the loser of North Texas-WKU on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
STREAMING
The matchup will be streamed through ESPN+, a subscription-based service. Click here to register a new account.
Fans can also follow along with live stats through StatBroadcast.
This is the 17th appearance in program history in the C-USA Championship for the Green and Gold and the first since 2018.
LAST TIME OUT
UAB (29-18, 15-5 C-USA) enters the tournament coming off a four-game series at home against Southern Miss. The Blazers took three-of-four from the Golden Eagles.
Amy Woodham shined in the circle against Southern Miss, recording a 0 ERA in 12.1 innings of work, allowing just six hits and notching her sixth and seventh straight wins.
This was UAB's fourth straight conference series win.
SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
The matchup against the Blazers will be the second game of the tournament for the 49ers. Charlotte won the final game on Wednesday, defeating Marshall 8-4.
The 49ers (31-17, 14-6 C-USA) are led at the plate by the C-USA Player of the Year, Bailey Vannoy, who is batting a team-high .392 to go with 13 home runs, 22 doubles and 36 RBIs.
In the circle, Charlotte has relied heavily on Lindsey Walljasper (15-6), who has pitched a team-high 164 innings and owns a 3.16 ERA.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
The Blazers were well-represented when C-USA announced its postseason awards on Tuesday.
UAB had four athletes named to the All-Conference First Team: Sierra Frazier, Jenna Olszewski, Jolie Readeaux and Amy Woodham, while Analyse Petree garnered All-Conference Second Team honors.
The Blazers had the most first-team selections in the league, setting a new school record. The five all-conference honors are the most for UAB since 2012.
PERFORMING AT THE PLATE
UAB has started to hit its stride at the plate, with five Blazers hitting above .300: Frazier (.387), Faith Hegh (.331), Olszewski (.320), Readeaux (.307) and Petree (.305).
Frazier also owns a 30-game on-base streak, while Hegh has reached base in 10-straight games.
BREAKING AND TYING RECORDS
This has been a season of setting records and tying program history for the Blazers and head coach Joe Guthrie:
- The Blazers set the record for most home game victories in a season at Mary Bowers Field, which was built in 2010 (20 wins)
- Joe Guthrie is the winningest first-year softball coach in program history (previous record: 26 wins in a season)
- UAB's 15-5 (.750) record in C-USA is the second-highest conference winning percentage in program history. The only season with a higher percentage was the 2013 team who had a 19-4 (.826) conference record and made it to the NCAA Super Regionals
- With four saves, freshman Olivia Valbak is now tied with Lauren Webster for the third-most saves in a single season in Blazer history
UAB did not face Charlotte in the regular season but is 23-7 against the 49ers in program history. The last time the two teams met was May 4-5 of 2019 when the Blazers swept a three-game series against Charlotte on the road.
However, this is just the second time in program history that the two teams will meet in the postseason. It was 2000 the last time the Blazers faced the 49ers in the conference tournament, UAB's first softball season. The Green and Gold earned the 1-0 victory, with Kerri Foster earning the win in the circle.
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF?
The last UAB pitcher to earn a win in the circle at a C-USA Championship was Emily Kachel on May 11, 2018, against Louisiana Tech.
In that matchup, then-freshman Kachel threw a gem for UAB, pitching a complete game, allowing just three runs on seven hits. She walked only three batters, while registering six strikeouts.
WHAT'S NEXT
The rest of the C-USA Championship is double elimination, meaning a team has to lose two games to be bounced from the tournament.
If UAB wins against Charlotte, the team will face the winner of the North Texas-WKU game in the semifinals on Friday at 12 p.m.
If UAB were to fall, the Blazers would play an elimination game against the loser of North Texas-WKU on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
STREAMING
The matchup will be streamed through ESPN+, a subscription-based service. Click here to register a new account.
Fans can also follow along with live stats through StatBroadcast.
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP/INF
/ Softball
RHP
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