The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Saturday, March 2
Athens, Ga.
Noon
UAB
8-9
6
vs
8
Virginia Tech
15-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Virginia Tech
2
1
1
0
4
0
0
8
11
2
UAB
0
0
0
0
4
0
2
6
10
1
UAB Suffers a Pair of Losses on Day One of the Bulldog Classic
3/2/2019 8:53:00 PM | Softball
ATHENS, Ga. - The UAB softball team suffered a pair of losses to Virginia Tech and No. 8 Georgia in day one of the Bulldog Classic.
The Blazers fell just short 8-6 in a late offensive surge against the Hokies (15-2) in game one, then stood toe-to-toe with the eighth-ranked Bulldogs (17-2) before ultimately falling 5-1.
"We played two tough games today, and we competed well" Head Coach Jimmy Kolaitis said. "The girls fought hard from behind in both games, and we did some really good things. We have to play cleaner softball moving forward. We are in position to make plays. We just need to make them."
Game One: Virginia Tech 8, UAB 6
Despite a couple of late inning, two-out rallies, UAB dropped game one by a final of 8-6 to Virginia Tech.
The Hokies, coming off an extra-inning victory over No. 8 Georgia last night, started out hot, plating two in the first inning with a two-run homer off freshman starting pitcher Sarah Cespedes. Virginia tech added another run in each the second and third innings.
Cespedes returned to face one batter in the third inning before being relieved by sophomore Bailie Barnes after Virginia Tech notched a fifth hit on the starter.
Barnes picked up two strikeouts in her first inning of work. However, the Hokies were able to plate another run on a UAB error by the freshman right fielder, Faith Hegh.
In the top of the fifth, Virginia Tech homered twice off of Barnes, the first a two-run shot followed immediately by a solo shot that forced UAB to make another pitching change.
Junior Emily Kachel came in to finish the inning, but the Hokies were able to add an eighth run (8-0) before going down off a combination of a base hit, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch.
The Blazer offense remained silent heading into the bottom of the fifth, but
with the pressure on the bats came alive. Faith Hegh brought in UAB's first run with a double that scored Destini England who was aboard off a single plus one as she advanced to second on the throw home that registered an out at the plate for the Hokies the play before (8-1).
Junior shortstop Natalie Erwin pushed in the next two runs making the score 8-3 as she doubled off the fence in left field to score Hegh and Sarah Crawford, who was aboard after drawing a walk.
With two outs and Erwin on second, junior Claire Blount entered the game to pinch hit for Dylinn Stancil. In her solo at bat, Blount picked up an RBI single to bring in UAB's fourth and final run of the inning (8-4).
Moving into the sixth inning, Sarah Cespedes re-entered to pitch and finish the game she started and was able to hold the Hokies at eight through the sixth and seventh innings.
With one last chance to comeback in the bottom of the seventh, the Blazers started another two out rally to plate two final runs off a double from Dylinn Stancil that scored Hegh, aboard off a single, and Erwin, aboard off an error. The Green and Gold was unable to push the score further and fell 8-6 as second baseman Ashton Clem lined out to center on a hard hit ball for the final out.
UAB finished game one with ten hits. Hegh lead the way going 3-for-4 at the plate, followed by seven Blazers who each added one tally to the hit column (Olszewski, Crawford, Erwin, Stancil, Blount, Clem, and England).
Game Two: No. 8 Georgia 5, UAB 1
UAB fell short 5-1 in game two against the eighth-ranked Bulldogs in a defensive battle that saw nine shutout frames by both teams combined.
Georgia, coming right off a massive 8-0 win over Virginia Tech in five innings, quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the first against starting pitcher Claire Blount. The Bulldogs were able to plate two on a combination of three walks, two fielder's choice plays, and a UAB error to lead 2-0.
The Green and Gold responded quickly as Natalie Erwin led off the top of the second with a rocketed solo home run to cut the Bulldog lead in half (2-1).
Blount returned in the pitcher's position for one final inning in the bottom of the second. The junior finished with two innings of work, allowing two runs, one hit, and four base on balls.
Sarah Cespedes entered the game to pitch in the bottom half of the third. The freshman threw two shut out frames in third and fourth notching three strikeouts, but ran into trouble in the fifth inning when the Bulldogs picked up a pair of hits and another run forced UAB to make another change pitching substitution (3-1).
Bailie Barnes got the call from the bullpen once again in game two as she came in to relieve Cespedes in the fifth inning with runners on second and third and two outs. Barnes was able to get UAB out of the inning, but not before Georgia could capitalize on an infield hit that brought in two more runs and pushed the advantage to four (5-1).
Neither team was able to affect the scoreboard in the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, the Blazers sent three to the plate, but were unable to pull cut into the four-run deficit, ending the game with a final of Georgia 5, UAB 1.
The Blazers will be back in action tomorrow to take on Virginia Tech at 8:00 a.m. CST and Georgia directly following.
The Blazers fell just short 8-6 in a late offensive surge against the Hokies (15-2) in game one, then stood toe-to-toe with the eighth-ranked Bulldogs (17-2) before ultimately falling 5-1.
"We played two tough games today, and we competed well" Head Coach Jimmy Kolaitis said. "The girls fought hard from behind in both games, and we did some really good things. We have to play cleaner softball moving forward. We are in position to make plays. We just need to make them."
Game One: Virginia Tech 8, UAB 6
Despite a couple of late inning, two-out rallies, UAB dropped game one by a final of 8-6 to Virginia Tech.
The Hokies, coming off an extra-inning victory over No. 8 Georgia last night, started out hot, plating two in the first inning with a two-run homer off freshman starting pitcher Sarah Cespedes. Virginia tech added another run in each the second and third innings.
Cespedes returned to face one batter in the third inning before being relieved by sophomore Bailie Barnes after Virginia Tech notched a fifth hit on the starter.
Barnes picked up two strikeouts in her first inning of work. However, the Hokies were able to plate another run on a UAB error by the freshman right fielder, Faith Hegh.
In the top of the fifth, Virginia Tech homered twice off of Barnes, the first a two-run shot followed immediately by a solo shot that forced UAB to make another pitching change.
Junior Emily Kachel came in to finish the inning, but the Hokies were able to add an eighth run (8-0) before going down off a combination of a base hit, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch.
The Blazer offense remained silent heading into the bottom of the fifth, but
with the pressure on the bats came alive. Faith Hegh brought in UAB's first run with a double that scored Destini England who was aboard off a single plus one as she advanced to second on the throw home that registered an out at the plate for the Hokies the play before (8-1).
Junior shortstop Natalie Erwin pushed in the next two runs making the score 8-3 as she doubled off the fence in left field to score Hegh and Sarah Crawford, who was aboard after drawing a walk.
With two outs and Erwin on second, junior Claire Blount entered the game to pinch hit for Dylinn Stancil. In her solo at bat, Blount picked up an RBI single to bring in UAB's fourth and final run of the inning (8-4).
Moving into the sixth inning, Sarah Cespedes re-entered to pitch and finish the game she started and was able to hold the Hokies at eight through the sixth and seventh innings.
With one last chance to comeback in the bottom of the seventh, the Blazers started another two out rally to plate two final runs off a double from Dylinn Stancil that scored Hegh, aboard off a single, and Erwin, aboard off an error. The Green and Gold was unable to push the score further and fell 8-6 as second baseman Ashton Clem lined out to center on a hard hit ball for the final out.
UAB finished game one with ten hits. Hegh lead the way going 3-for-4 at the plate, followed by seven Blazers who each added one tally to the hit column (Olszewski, Crawford, Erwin, Stancil, Blount, Clem, and England).
Game Two: No. 8 Georgia 5, UAB 1
UAB fell short 5-1 in game two against the eighth-ranked Bulldogs in a defensive battle that saw nine shutout frames by both teams combined.
Georgia, coming right off a massive 8-0 win over Virginia Tech in five innings, quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the first against starting pitcher Claire Blount. The Bulldogs were able to plate two on a combination of three walks, two fielder's choice plays, and a UAB error to lead 2-0.
The Green and Gold responded quickly as Natalie Erwin led off the top of the second with a rocketed solo home run to cut the Bulldog lead in half (2-1).
Blount returned in the pitcher's position for one final inning in the bottom of the second. The junior finished with two innings of work, allowing two runs, one hit, and four base on balls.
Sarah Cespedes entered the game to pitch in the bottom half of the third. The freshman threw two shut out frames in third and fourth notching three strikeouts, but ran into trouble in the fifth inning when the Bulldogs picked up a pair of hits and another run forced UAB to make another change pitching substitution (3-1).
Bailie Barnes got the call from the bullpen once again in game two as she came in to relieve Cespedes in the fifth inning with runners on second and third and two outs. Barnes was able to get UAB out of the inning, but not before Georgia could capitalize on an infield hit that brought in two more runs and pushed the advantage to four (5-1).
Neither team was able to affect the scoreboard in the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, the Blazers sent three to the plate, but were unable to pull cut into the four-run deficit, ending the game with a final of Georgia 5, UAB 1.
The Blazers will be back in action tomorrow to take on Virginia Tech at 8:00 a.m. CST and Georgia directly following.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: C. Eberle (8-1)
L: Cespedes, Sarah (3-2)
Batting:
2B: D. Trull 1
HR: M. Slaw 1 ; C. Nolan 2
RBI: A. Velazquez 1 ; M. Slaw 2 ; C. Nolan 3 ; S. Walton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: D. Trull 3 ; M. Slaw 1 ; C. Nolan 2 ; E. Strouth 1 ; K. Bennett 1
HBP: D. Trull 1 ; J. Bailey 1
Batting:
2B: Hegh, Faith 1 ; Erwin, Natalie 1 ; Stancil, Dylinn 1
RBI: Hegh, Faith 1 ; Erwin, Natalie 2 ; Stancil, Dylinn 2 ; Blount, Claire 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hegh, Faith 2 ; Crawford, Sarah 1 ; Erwin, Natalie 2 ; England, Destini 1
SB: Stancil, Dylinn 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballUAB Football Postgame Press Conference | Army
Sunday, October 05
Coffee with Coach | 2025 Week 6
Tuesday, September 30
Coffee with Coach | 2025 Week 8
Monday, September 29
Coffee with Coach | 2025 Week 7
Monday, September 29
