Blazers Fall to Bulldogs, Golden Eagles

Saturday, February 7

Hattiesburg, Miss.

9 A.M.

UAB

1-2

Louisiana Tech

2-0

UAB

Louisiana Tech

Blazers Fall to Bulldogs, Golden Eagles

2/7/2026 9:40:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Blazer Softball lost both of its Black and Gold challenge games on Saturday, first falling 7-4 to Louisiana Tech, before Southern Miss defeated the Blazers, 14-7. Blazer opponents took advantage of a pair of big innings to get ahead early and maintain their leads, forcing UAB to fight from behind the majority of the day.

Abbi Perkins and Charlee Bennett led the Blazers offensively with three hits each, both continuing their hit streaks. Madeline Flammia stayed hot with a pair of RBI, joining Bennett and Perkins for the team lead with two. Despite the losses, UAB did not strikeout throughout the day.

Blazer pitching had a day to forget with a team 11.25 ERA, allowing 20 hits and giving out 15 free passes.

The box scores saw a lot of faces for UAB, with two Blazers making their collegiate debuts, and seven making their season debuts.

Notables

Hannah Cole and Olivia Tindell each made their collegiate debuts
Cole, Tindell, Caroline McLendon, Kaily Collett, Antonia Henderson, Bria Allen, and Brantlee Wortham all made their season debuts.
Abbi Perkins has recorded a hit in all four games as a Blazer, recording her first multi-hit game against Southern Miss.
Charlee Bennett is on a three-game hit streak. She notched her first career multi-hit game versus Southern Miss.
Caitlin Russell tied her career high in strikeouts with five against Louisiana Tech.

GAME ONE
The Play by Play

UAB opened the scoring with an Ashlyn Shirah grounder to score Hannah Miles, who walked to get aboard (1-0).
The Blazers tacked onto their lead as Hope Tucker walked to lead off and reached third on a pair of wild pitches. Charlee Bennett singled for her first career RBI (0-2).
McLendon pulled herself out of a second-inning jam, getting a strikeout and flyout after Louisiana Tech loaded the bases with just one out.
A mental mistake by the UAB defense allowed the Bulldogs to load the bases with one for the second straight inning. A sacrifice fly, single, and a double drove in four runs, flipping the game in favor of Louisiana Tech (2-4).
Hannah Dorsett was called out on a steal attempt in the fifth inning, wiping out her bunt single and marking the third straight three-up-three-down inning for the Blazers.
Louisiana Tech loaded the bases in the fifth, allowing a Bulldog to score on a Russell wild pitch (2-5).
UAB fought back in the sixth with three straight singles to lead off the inning. Perkins logged the last of the singles to score Shirah. Flammia flew out to center to score Hope Tucker (4-5).
Louisiana Tech added two more in the sixth with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single (4-7).
The Blazers went down 1-2-3 in the seventh inning.

Stat Lines

The Blazers tallied five hits, with four of them coming from each of the top four Blazers in the lineup.
Shirah, Perkins, and Bennett each went 1-for-3 with an RBI
Miles was the only Blazer to reach twice, walking and singling.

In the Circle

McLendon got the start against the Bulldogs, going 3.0 innings and allowing four runs in the third inning, all earned. The Bulldogs logged five hits off McLendon, also walking three times. McLendon struck out three of the 18 Bulldogs she faced.
Russell relieved McLendon in the fourth inning. Louisiana Tech scored once in the fifth inning and twice in the sixth inning while Russell was in the circle. All three runs against were earned. Russell struck out five Bulldogs in three innings, tying her career high punchouts. Russell walked two batters and hit one.

GAME TWO
The Play by Play

Southern Miss's offense exploded early, taking advantage of UAB mistakes while finding gaps in the Blazer defense. The Golden Eagles opened the scoring on a sacrifice fly, then added runs on an error and a bases-loaded walk. Southern Miss finished the inning with a base-clearing three-run double (0-6).
UAB responded with a Bennett single up the middle to score Collett. The Blazers loaded the bases with two outs, but could not convert on the opportunity (1-6).
The Golden Eagles led off the second inning with a triple off the top of the wall, then walked three times in a row to score the lead-off runner. A two-run single drove in a pair of Golden Eagles to put the home team up eight (1-9).
Once again, the Blazers put together a strong response, but only mustered one run in the third. Shirah led off the inning with a walk and a stolen base. Perkins and Flammia each singled, scoring Shirah. With runners on first and third, a ground ball to first doubled up the Blazers, ending the inning (2-9).
A hit by pitch, walk, and single loaded the bases for Southern Miss with just one out. The Golden Eagles drew a walk to score a run for the third time in the game. A single and a sacrifice fly added two more runs for Southern Miss (2-12).
The Blazers got their breakthrough inning in the fourth. Bennett singled to lead off, followed by a Jaycee Holt walk. Dorsett singled through the middle to score Bennett. Tindell pinch hit for Shirah, making her collegiate debut in the process. Tindell pushed a fly ball just deep enough to center field, scoring Holt for a sacrifice fly (4-12).
Perkins continued the inning, doubling down the third base line. Flammia walked to lead the bases. Collett singled to right for her first hit of the season, driving in two runs. Allen took advantage of her pinch hit at bat, scoring Flammia on a single up the middle (7-12).
The Blazers could not hold Southern Miss scoreless in the bottom half of the inning as a pair of errors and a wild pitch brought a Golden Eagle all the way around the bases to score (7-13).
The fifth inning was a break from the chaos throughout the game as both teams went three-up-three-down.
UAB only managed a walk in the top of the sixth, but Southern Miss tacked on one more run in the inning, loading the bases with three singles before a sacrifice fly drove in a run (7-14).
Wortham walked to lead off the top of the seventh, but three consecutive fielder's choices did not allow the runner to advance past first.

Stat Lines

Bennett singled twice, her third straight game with a hit and her first career multi-hit game. Bennett drove in a run on an RBI single up the middle.
Perkins has recorded a hit in all four of her games as a Blazer, but notched her first multi-hit game for UAB against Southern Miss. Perkins doubled to help lead the Blazers' five-run fourth inning.
Collett had two RBI in her first game of the season. She reached base twice with a single and a walk.
Flammia reached base safely three times, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.

In the Circle

Cole made her collegiate debut in game two after missing the 2025 season with an injury. Cole's moment was stifled by Southern Miss as the Golden Eagles scored six runs during 0.2 innings Cole was in the circle. Just one of the runs against Cole was earned as five Southern Miss runs were scored after a UAB error that would have ended the inning. Cole allowed three hits and walked two batters.
Tait Davidson relieved Cole in the first inning. Davidson would pitch the entire second inning before being pulled with one out in the third inning. Davidson allowed five runs, all earned, on three hits, four walks, and a hit batter.
Carlie Wilkins took over for Davidson in the third inning. Two Golden Eagles got hits off Wilkins, scoring runners inherited from Davidson, plus one more run charged to Wilkins.
Russell finished the game for the Blazers, making her second appearance of the day. Russell allowed three hits across three innings, allowing two runs, just one earned. Russell struck out two Blazers, the most of any of the Blazer pitchers against Southern Miss.

UP NEXT

UAB returns to the Southern Miss Softball Complex for the final game of the Black and Gold Challenge. The Blazers are set for a rematch against Lipscomb at 2 p.m. on Sunday.