The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Softball Hosts Tennessee Tech In Midweek Doubleheader
4/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 20, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB softball team will take a break from its rigorous Conference USA schedule this week as the Blazers are scheduled to square off against a pair of non-conference opponents at George Ward Park. On Wednesday, UAB (16-29, 3-15 C-USA) hosts the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m., before returning to play on Thursday in a single game versus the Samford Bulldogs at 6 p.m.
"This is going to be a good break for us from C-USA play, but it's not going to be easy," said UAB head coach Marla Townsend. "Both Tennessee Tech and Samford have very competitive teams and they are going to be ready to play. At this point in the season, we just need to iron out some things in our play and the best way to do that is by playing the games."
UAB heads into Wednesday's doubleheader against Tennessee Tech (30-21) looking to snap its 11-game losing streak.
During the past four weeks, the Blazers have faced four of the top-five teams in the C-USA standings and have registered a 1-11 record. On March 27, UAB defeated first-place Louisville, 2-1, but since then the Blazers have fallen prey to 11-consecutive losses and a trio of series sweeps at the hands of Southern Miss, Houston and USF.
Louisville (35-10, 16-2) is currently in the driver's seat in the conference standings, followed by 19th-ranked USF (47-8, 15-3), Southern Miss (24-21, 11-4) and DePaul (19-19-1, 10-5). Houston (28-19, 7-8), which was perched atop the league standings three weeks ago, is currently the fifth-place team in the conference.
The Blazers hold the eighth-place position in the C-USA standings and have two series' remaining against conference opponents. In the first weekend of May, UAB will welcome the Saint Louis Billikens to George Ward Park for a three-game set, before the Blazers close out their regular-season schedule in Chicago, Ill., against DePaul on May 8-9.
Wednesday's doubleheader against Tennessee Tech will be the Blazers' first non-conference matchup in over four weeks.
UAB's previous non-conference game was a March 22 pairing against Middle Tennessee. In the meeting, UAB and Middle Tennessee split the two-game series held in Birmingham. Since then, the Blazers have played 12-consecutive games versus conference opponents.
Tennessee Tech heads into the competition with a bit of momentum as the Golden Eagles have won five of their previous eight games. Tennessee Tech owns a 10-6 mark against Ohio Valley Conference opponents this season as the Golden Eagles recorded a split in its two-game series versus Tennessee State over the weekend. Tennessee Tech lost Saturday's contest, 1-0, but rebounded to take the series finale, 6-1, on Sunday.
The Golden Eagles' strength this season has been their pitching staff. They possess a stellar 1.21 earned run average as a team and have three pitchers with sub-1.25 ERA's. Tennessee Tech's senior right-hander, Lori Bayless, has been the ace of the Golden Eagle staff and currently holds a 13-5 overall record on the season and an impressive 1.03 ERA.
"Tennessee Tech does have a good pitching staff and the stats don't lie," Townsend said. "They have a number of pitchers that can put in quality innings for them, but we're not really worried about their pitching. We are more worried about the things that we are doing right now and we just need to relax and do the things that we do best."
Tennessee Tech and UAB have not played each other since Feb. 17, 2002. The meeting, which took place at the South Carolina Invitational Tournament held in Columbia, S.C., was the only time that the teams have squared off. UAB rallied for a 3-1 victory in the contest.
"It's a pretty young rivalry between us and Tennessee Tech, but we would like to make this a yearly thing," said Townsend. "They're not that far away and they are a really competitive, well-coached team. We actually recruit a lot of the same players that they do and we look forward to playing against them tomorrow."
The UAB softball team will attempt to remain undefeated against Tennessee Tech on Wednesday as the Blazers host the Golden Eagles in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m., at George Ward Park Field No. 6.
