Softball Wins Defensive Battle to Shutout UNT

Friday, March 31

Denton, TX

6 PM

UAB

18-16, 0

University of North Texas

19-15, 0

UAB

North Texas

Softball Wins Defensive Battle to Shutout UNT

3/31/2023 9:24:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DENTON – UAB Softball concluded the first day of the UNT Series with a pitcher's duel down to the final inning of the competition. The Blazers closed out with a 1-0 win over the Mean Green to secure the first win of the three-game series.

"Big win for us," said head coach AJ Daugherty. "Kirby gave us another really good outing against a good offensive team. Our defense played well behind her and we are proud to come out on top."

The Blazers improved to 18-16 overall and 6-4 in C-USA Play to place them third in conference standings.

UAB (1) UNT (0)
The game immediately started as a duel in the circle, with Leigha Kirby starting as pitcher for the Green and Gold and Ashley Peters for UNT. The Blazers began with an early strikeout but made up for it with a single from Bella Wiggins to get a Blazer on base. Nothing would come of it as the Blazers left her stranded, unable to capitalize.

A defensive showing was prevalent, as the Blazers halted the skid from Kirby after back-to-back walks by completing a double play from Lilly Crowe to Lauren Brock and landing in the glove of Alyssa Aguilar. The Green and Gold and Mean Green continued to go for blows for the next few innings, unable to get a hit or run on either side.

In the bottom of the fifth, after a foul ball out to Crowe and a groundout to Lindsey Smith, a double from UNT's Nicholson breathed life into the offense to put a runner on base. They were unable to score as Hannah Miles went for a diving grab to close the fifth.

The offensive drought would end for the Blazers after a single to first base from Lauren Brock saw an opportunity for UAB to capitalize. Wiggins approached the plate and delivered a hit that was mishandled by UNT to advance her to second, giving Brock the sole scoring run of the night. The Blazers returned the energy to the defense, holding North Texas scoreless in the bottom of the sixth.

UNT made some defensive adjustments as UAB looked to score again but were unsuccessful and caught in a three-up-three-down inning. The Mean Green looked to score with a bunt single and a single to left field to threaten a run to tie and win. UNT's Gamble would be the final out of the game with an unassisted groundout to Aguilar to secure the shutout win for game one.

IN THE BOX

Kirby gained her second win of the season, putting her at 2-6 with an ERA of 2.11
The Blazers' defense did the heavy lifting, with Lilly Crowe and Alyssa Aguilar totaling 14 of the 21 putouts
Of the three hits in the game, two came from the first two batters in the lineup, Lauren Brock and Bella Wiggins

UP NEXT
The Blazers and Mean Green return to action on Saturday, April 1 for a restructured series schedule against UNT due to inclement weather.

UAB and North Texas face off in a doubleheader starting at 2PM and 4:30PM on ESPN+ and ESPN3 respectively.

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