April 4, 2008

Gametracker: Game One | Game Two | Game Three

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB softball team continues its season-long homestand this weekend as it plays host to Tulsa for a three-game series at George Ward Park.

The teams begin the Conference USA series at 1 p.m. Saturday with a doubleheader and will finish up the weekend starting at 1 p.m. Sunday. Live stats are available for each game thru www.UABsports.com

The Blazers enter the series with an 18-24 overall record after losing two games to Chattanooga and one to Mississippi Valley during the week. Tulsa, who has won 13 of their last 18 games, has a 20-15 overall record.

The Blazers are 5-7 in the conference after dropping two of three games to Southern Miss last weekend. Tulsa on the other hand defeated East Carolina twice in their last series to give them a 7-5 league record.

Tulsa comes into the weekend holding a slight edge in all-time series with the Blazers. The Golden Hurricane won both games of last year's series to give them a 5-4 lead.

UAB fell 3-2 in the first game of a doubleheader last year, after giving up three runs to Tulsa's in its last two at bats. Tulsa won the second game, 8-0. The series finale was canceled due to rain.

The Golden Hurricane currently have a four-game winning streak against the Blazers. UAB won four of the first five games against Tulsa, including a 2-1 series victory in 2006.

Laura Callaway continues to swing a hot bat for UAB, having hit .375 in her last ten contests. Her 12 hits lead the team during that period and have helped her raise her season average to .250, a near 70-point increase.

Leigh Walker is other Blazers continuing to improve over the 10 games, hitting .323 with one homer, three RBI and four runs scored.

Andrea Rogers and Holly Krzan have been the leading force for the UAB offense, hitting .313 and .303 respectively. Both of them rank high among the team leaders in several offensive categories.

Kayla Harris leads the pitching staff coming into the three-game series. Harris had a two-hit start Thursday night against Mississippi Valley. She gave up one hit in the Blazers'3 3-0 victory over Southern Miss.

The Blazers' pitching staff will have to deal with a Tulsa team that has .278 on the year. Leading the attack is Lauren Lindsay who has hit eight homers and 28 RBI on the season. She is assisted by preseason all-conference selection Sara Dyer, who has contributed three homers, 19 RBI, and 17 runs.

Tulsa's pitching staff is headed Jackie Lawrence and Jordan Kinnard.

Kinnard has pitched 64 1-3 innings this year and has a team-low 1.96 ERA to go along with a 6-3 record. Lawrence has throw the most innings this year (104 1-3) and has a 9-7 record with a 2.35 o the season.