May 6, 2002

Third-seeded UAB (36-20, 14-10 Conference USA) will face sixth-seeded East Carolina (38-24, 10-13 C-USA) in first round play of the Conference USA Softball Tournament Thursday at 10:30 a.m. (ET) in Tampa. Fla. The Blazers posted a school record 36 wins this season to finish third in the conference with a 14-10 league mark and a 36-20 overall record. East Carolina finished sixth with a 10-13 C-USA record and a 38-24 record overall.

UAB had its best season to date in 2002, posting five different winning streaks during the year, with the best being a 10-game stretch from March 8 - March 26. The team will be making its third consecutive appearance at the C-USA Tournament. The Blazers own a 2-4 overall mark in C-USA Tournament play.

UAB and East Carolina will be meeting for the fourth time this season when the teams square off Thursday. The Blazers took two games out of a three-game series at East Carolina March 26-27. Each game was a narrow contest, as UAB won game one 1-0, lost game two 3-1 and took game three 3-1.

The winner of the 10:30 a.m. (ET) contest will move on to face second-seeded Southern Miss (26-33, 15-8 C-USA) at 3:30 p.m. (ET) Thursday.

The championship will be a double-elimination tournament, with the champion receiving the league?s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The championship game on May 11 will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network. Don Russell will announce the play-by-play with Kaci Clark, a former WPSL MVP and All-State performer, providing the commentary. The game will be telecasted live on the following stations: Charter Communications (St. Louis), WFTE (Louisville), NESN and Comcast Charter Southeast. Fox Sports Net Chicago (May 12 at 5 p.m. (CST)) and Fox Sports Net South (May 13 at 11 a.m. (CST)) will broadcast the championship game as a tape delay.