Blazers Improve to Five-Game Streak After Second Sweep

Sunday, February 19

Mary Bowers Field

12 PM

UAB

6-4, 0

Belmont University

7-1, 0

Belmont

UAB

Blazers Improve to Five-Game Streak After Second Sweep

2/19/2023 6:11:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BIRMINGHAM – UAB Softball (7-4) tacks on another sweep at the close out the 2023 Blazer Bash with a 6-4 win over Belmont, followed by defeating crosstown rival Samford in true rivalry fashion 3-2.

"Very proud of our team for a strong finish to the weekend," said head coach AJ Daugherty. "We put ourselves in the position to win and came up with timely hits when it counted. All around a good effort by our entire roster. It's a great day to be a Blazer!"

The Blazers added two more wins to the streak, increasing the winning run to 7-4, their best start in the first eleven games since starting 8-3 in 2020.

GAME 1: UAB (6) BELMONT (4)
The Blazers began Sunday evening revisiting Belmont, who started with an undefeated record. The Bruins were first to score off a pair of runs courtesy of Ledbetter in the second. Lilly Crowe responded at the bottom of the second with an RBI to give teammate Lindsey Smith a run.

The duration of the game saw many hits but not many scores. The Blazers and Bruins went cold, leaving seven on base up through the first three innings. The top of the fifth would give Belmont an additional three runs to increase the gap from one run to three.

At the bottom of the fifth, new life would be sparked into the Blazers with a homer from Lindsey Smith to deliver a homer to left center, giving her and Sierra Frazier a chance to cross the plate. Allyson Smith then gave Alyssa Aguilar the opportunity to run and tie the score at four apiece.

The momentum swung in favor of the Green and Gold after a back to back RBIs gave UAB the lead and win of 6-4. The Blazers handed Belmont their first loss of the season.

GAME 2: UAB (3) SAMFORD (2)
UAB returned back to action after their win over Belmont with a meeting with rival Samford. The duration of the game saw not many hits and even fewer runs. The score remained at zero before Lilly Crowe advanced to third off a sacrifice bunt from Kaily Collett.

Lauren Brock sent a base hit to right center to give Crowe the first run in the bottom of the fifth. Samford responded with two runs from the Bulldogs' Yantis and Squillace. The score remained at 2-1 in favor of Samford until the bottom of the seventh inning.

Crowe sent a single to left field to reach first base, followed by a bunt from Collett to give Crowe the opportunity to advance to second. Brock followed with a single and advanced on the throw to put Crowe in scoring position.

The final play to swing the score in favor of the Blazers came from a poetic walk-off double RBI from Olivia Valbak. The play gave Brock and Crowe the go-ahead run, ending the game with a 3-2 win for the Green and Gold.

IN THE BOX

The Blazers totaled 19 hits over the course of two games on Sunday
Cespedes pitched a complete game in the win over Samford
UAB finished the weekend with three homers

UP NEXT
The Blazers return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 22, taking on Auburn. UAB returns to Mary Bowers Field Friday, the 24th hosting the Green & Gold Classic.

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