UAB Softball Drops 2 Against USF

[BULLO12]

Softball Falls Short Against No. 19 USF In Doubleheader, 4-0 and 3-0

Blazers outhit the Bulls, 8-4, in the opener; Suffered second no-hitter of the season in game two

April 17, 2004

TAMPA, Fla. --- The UAB softball team held the 19th-ranked USF Bulls' high-powered offense to seven runs in two games on Saturday, but couldn't put together any runs of their own as the Blazers lost 4-0 and 3-0 here at the USF Softball Field.

"We were able to get some hits in the first game, but they were scattered around and didn't come at the right times," said UAB head coach Marla Townsend. "We had a good chance to score in the first inning with the bases loaded and one out, but we fell short. In that situation, we need to score at least one run and get the game started off with some momentum."

With the pair of losses, UAB (16-28, 3-14 Conference USA) dropped its ninth and 10th-consecutive games of the season and fell to a 6-10 all-time record against the Bulls. USF (46-8, 14-3), the second-place team in the conference heading into Saturday's competition, extended its winning streak to three straight games and improved to 20-1 in its last 21 contests.

 

In the opening game, USF jumped out to an early 3-0 first-inning lead and was able to hold on for a 4-0 victory. The Blazers outhit USF, 8-4, but were held scoreless for only the sixth time of the 2004 campaign.

USF's first-inning rally occurred as the Bulls loaded the bases and shortstop Christie Chapman delivered a key three-RBI double to right-center field. On the play, Chapman lined a shot to the wall in right field and scored Kattrina Dowd, Shelly Riker and Tiffany Stewart.

The Blazers also loaded the bases in the first inning, but were unable to capitalize on their opportunity. UAB's Chelsea McCall singled up the middle, Beth Mullins drilled a shot through the left side of the infield and Holly Krzan reached on a single deep in the hole to the shortstop.

Krzan, the Blazers' starting centerfielder, continued her solid play against C-USA opponents on Saturday as she went 2-for-3 in the first game. With the performance, UAB's highly-touted freshman from West Richland, Wash., improved her team-leading batting average versus conference foes to .348.

USF's starting pitcher, Leigh Ann Ellis, was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam as she buckled down and recorded two of her six strikeouts on the day to end the Blazers' rally. With the win, the Bulls' Ellis improved her overall record on the season to 31-4.

"We left a lot of people on base today," Townsend said. "Whether we reach base by a hit, a walk or an error, we need to be able to get our runners in scoring position and knock them in. I'm pretty glad that we were able to outhit them in the first game, but we have nothing to show for it."

The Bulls extended their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning as freshman Danielle Urbanik hit the first home run of her collegiate career. With one out and nobody on base, USF's designated player connected on an offering from Tara Higashino and lofted a shot over the left field wall to extend the Bulls' lead.

In the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, the teams played five-and-a-half frames of scoreless softball before USF picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 2-0 lead.

"We were able to keep the second game low-scoring," said Townsend. "It was anybody's ballgame after four innings, but we weren't able to get many people on base and they (USF) came through with the clutch hits when they needed them. We have to come up with the same type of hits if we're going to be able to win some games."

The Bulls' Samantha Ray and Kattrina Dowd led off the bottom of the fifth inning with back-to-back singles and later scored on a Holly Groves single down the left-field line. Groves, who played her freshman season at UAB, earned her C-USA leading 71st RBI of the season on Saturday.

USF tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to increase its lead to 3-0.

The Bulls' Krista Holle started off the inning with a single to center field and advanced to third base on a pair of sacrifice bunts by Rena Rodriguez and Ray. With one out and the bases loaded, USF's Urbanik pinch hit for Shelly Riker and blooped a single to left field to score Holle from third base.

Urbanik, a native of Riverview, Fla., turned in a stellar performance on Saturday as the Bulls' frosh pitched the first no-hitter of her collegiate career and USF's first no-hitter of the 2004 season. With the outing, Urbanik improved to 12-3 on the season and held UAB hitless for the second time this year. On March 28, the Blazers were no-hit by Louisville's Aja Shermann.

The UAB softball team will close out its three-game series against the 19th-ranked USF Bulls on Sunday at noon (CDT) here in Tampa, Fla.

Game 1: #19 USF (45-8, 13-3) def. UAB (16-27, 3-13), 4-0

UAB 000 000 0 - 0 8 1

#19 USF 300 100 x - 4 5 0

Top Hitters: UAB, Beth Mullins 2-3, Holly Krzan 2-3, Chelsea McCall 1-3, Kris Lara 1-3, Dusti Roberts 1-3; USF, Christie Chapman 1-3, 3 RBI, Shelly Riker 2-3 R, Danielle Urbanik 1-3 HR, RBI, R.

WP: Leigh Ann Ellis (31-4), LP: Tara Higashino (8-15).

Game 2: #19 USF (46-8, 14-3) def. UAB (16-28, 3-14), 3-0

UAB 000 000 0 - 0 0 0

#19 USF 000 021 x - 3 8 1

Top Hitters: USF, Holly Groves 2-4, 2 RBI, Krista Holle 2-2 R, Kattrina Dowd 1-3 R, Samantha Ray 1-1 R.

WP: Danielle Urbanik (12-3), LP: Brittany Hodge (2-4).

[Velcro]

our girls are 47-8 with 12 games to go... if they win out.. they would have 59 wins!

:o

[Velcro]

We could potentially enter the NCAA tourney with 70+ wins, including the conference tourney, if all goes well. (i'm assuming its double elimination).

That's more wins than the devil rays get in a year and they play 162 games  ;D

[bulls96go]

go bulls!

[smazza]

bullo- are you covering UAB for all sports?

[BULLO12]

bullo- are you covering UAB for all sports?

No I saw this on their site and wanted to share with fellow Bulls and Bull wannabes (the gnats of FTU)

[bulls96go]

hope we don't falter if ellis is out for "fighting"

she punched her out, you go girl!