March 5, 2008

Game Notes | Gametracker

The UAB softball team plays host Thursday to the No.2-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in its final pre-conference game of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 at George Ward Park.
The Blazers (13-10) will be facing the Crimson Tide (17-1) for just the fourth time in the nine-year history of the program. UAB and Alabama last squared off in the 2005 Crimson Classic title game, with the Blazers falling 2-1 in the contest.
Thursday's game will be the third home game of the season.

Scouting UAB
The Blazers come into Thursday's matchup having won four of their last six contests. UAB was the tournament runner-up at the Magic City Classic, winning four games and outscoring opponents 28-6.
Holly Krzan is pacing UAB at the plate, hitting at a .385 clip. The senior shortstop is leading the Blazers in several offensive categories, including runs (20), hits (25) doubles (8), home runs (3), RBIs (15), total bases (42), slugging percentage (.646) and on-base percentage (.481).
Outside of Krzan, junior Kayla Harris may be the hottest bat in the Blazers' lineup. In the last 10 games, Harris is hitting .429 which includes a homer, seven RBIs and five doubles. Her recent surge has Harris hitting .261 and slugging .420 for the season.
Jennifer Nelson (7-7) is firing away from the circle with a league-leading 122 strikeouts. She has tossed 99.0 innings this season and has an ERA of 2.76. Harris (6-3) is two victories shy of equaling last year's total. Harris has a season ERA of 2.59 to go along with her 36 Ks.

Scouting the Crimson Tide
The No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide will be the toughest test for UAB to date this season. Alabama recently fell from the No. 1 spot in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Poll this week, after losing its first game of the season to Washington last weekend.
At the plate, several Crimson Tide players are hitting above .300 with Brittany Rogers leading the way with a .559 batting average. Rogers' speed on the base paths has resulted in 23 stolen bases. Lauren Parker leads the team in homers with four in 29 at bats. Charlotte Morgan is the team's RBI leader with 21, and has a .408 batting average entering the game.
Alabama's pitching staff brings a team ERA of 1.03 with 115 innings pitched to face the Blazers. Crimson Tide pitchers are holding opponents to a .150 average at the plate and have given up 26 runs in 18 contests. Kelsi Dunn and Chrissy Owens have six victories, Charlotte Morgan has four and Allison Moore has one for the Crimson Tide.

UAB-Alabama History In Depth The two schools, separated by 60 miles, will play for the fourth time Thursday night. It marks just the second time that the schools will play a non-tournament game and first time a game will be played at George Ward Park. UAB trails the all-time series, 3-0. UAB first played Alabama in its initial season in 2000. The Blazers fell in that contest, 7-1.
The squads played each other twice in 2005 at the Crimson Classic. The Blazers lost the first matchup, 8-0. UAB battled its way through the rest of the tournament and reached the title game where they faced Alabama again. This time the Blazers held with the Crimson Tide, but eventually fell 2-1.

Last Time Out For UAB
The Blazers dropped a single-game, 7-0, to the No. 19-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs Tuesday night in Starkville, Miss.
Cameron Skates and Kayla Orr combined for the Blazers' three hits on the evening. Skates singled in the first and sixth inning while Orr singled in a pinch-hitting role in the seventh. Holly Krzan walked twice and Jennifer Nelson once.
Nelson tossed five innings in the losing effort, striking out five and issuing five free passes. Kayla Harris pitched the sixth inning. Mississippi State's leadoff hitter reached each inning and scored in all but one instance. The Bulldogs scored single runs in the first four innings and posted a three-run sixth.