March 14, 2008

Gametracker: Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 | UAB-UCF Game Notes

UAB opens its 2008 Conference USA home schedule this weekend as it hosts UCF for a three-game series beginning Saturday.

The Blazers enter the weekend with a 13-14 overall record and 0-3 Conference USA record and are hoping to bounce out a recent slump of tough losses. The Knights come into the series with an overall record of 18-13 and 1-2 mark in C-USA play.

UAB is currently in the midst of a five-game losing streak since, its first since 2006, which includes losses to No. 19 Mississippi State, No. 2 Alabama and a three-game sweep at the hands of UTEP this past weekend. The Knights went 1-2 against East Carolina last weekend. The Knights lost the first game of the series, 6-2 in a 15-inning marathon game. UCF also dropped the second game, 2-1. The Knights were 10-6 victors in the series finale. UCF went 3-1 in mid-week contests, including defeating No. 14 Baylor 3-0 on Wednesday.

The series marks the third time the two schools have played each other. UAB enters the series holding a 4-2. UCF joined Conference USA prior to the start of the 2006 season. This will be the second time the Knights have visited Birmingham.

Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. with the second to follow at approximately 3 p.m. at George Ward Park. Sunday's series finale starts at 1 p.m. Gametracker links are available by visiting www.uabsports.com.

Scouting UAB
Holly Krzan leads the Blazers' offense and is making a campaign for postseason all-conference honors. The senior shortstop is leading the Blazers in several offensive categories, including batting average (.373), runs (21), hits (28), doubles (8), home runs (3) and RBI (16). More importantly Krzan is hitting .439 in UAB victories and has an OPS of 1.269.

Andrea Rogers raised her average 30 points this past weekend and now sits at .338 for the season. The junior catcher ranks second on the team with 24 hit, while her 11 RBI is third. Her 15 runs and six doubles each rank second on the team.

The Blazers' pitchers look to rebound from a tough outing against UTEP, the league's top offensive team team. UAB has a team ERA of 3.49 while holding opponents to a .248 average. UAB is giving up 4.1 runs and 6.1 hits per game.

Jennifer Nelson (7-10) is projected to be the starting pitcher in two games this weekend. The lefty senior leads the league in strikeouts with 133 in just 112.2 innings pitched and has allowed 55 earned runs in her 21 appearances.

Junior Kayla Harris will start at least one game against UCF and could have a relief role in any game this weekend. Her six victories in 11 starts this season is close to equaling a career high in wins. She enters the weekend two victories shy of her career mark that she set last season.

UAB is led by head coach Marla Townsend, now in her tenth season with the Blazers.

Scouting UCF
The Knights are paced by one of the league's top pitching staffs. With a 1.85 ERA, the Knights rank second in the conference and are holding opponents to a .230 batting average that ranks third. The pitching staff as a whole is giving up 2.8 runs per contest.

Allison Kime (8-7) leads the staff with a 1.06 ERA and 108 strikeouts. She has given up 31 runs in 112 1/3 innings of work this season. She is joined by Ashleigh Cole, who's 2.19 ERA and 96 innings pitched ranked second on the team.

Offensively, UCF is hitting .254 and average 4.2 runs per contest. Breanne Javier leads the squad with a .376 average to go along with her team-high 18 RBI. Lindsay Dean provides the power for UCF with three homers on the season and 11 RBI.

The Knights are guided by Renee Luers-Gillispie in her seventh season as head coach at UCF.

UAB-UCF History in Depth
The Blazers and Knights have each taken a series in the first two matchups. The Blazers swept a three-game league series from the Knights in 2006. UAB outscored UCF 11-6 in the series sweep. UCF won the series last year by taking the last two games after UAB's 4-2 win in the opening game of the series.

Last Time Out for UAB
The Blazers were swept by UTEP in their Conference USA opener in El Paso, Texas. UAB never led in the three game series and scored only two runs. UAB was held hitless in the second game of the series for the first time since March 3, 2007 against Ohio State. It was the first hitless effort in league play since March 25, 2005 when UAB played Louisville. Andrea Rogers led the Blazers at the plate, going 4-for-6 in the three games. The league sweep was the first since 2006.

UAB-UCF Full Release