Lady Eagles Battle In Key Three-Game Series at UAB
5/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Lady Eagles Battle In Key Three-Game Series at UAB
Danielle Hatfield has collected victories in her last three starts and has surrendered only two runs in her last 24 innings pitched. |
Dates: Saturday, May 3, at 1 p.m. (doubleheader); Sunday, May 4, at 1 p.m.
Location: George Ward Park (1,000)
Media: No Live Stats will be available
Series Record: Southern Miss leads the series, 8-3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? The regular-season finale happens this weekend for the Southern Miss softball team, and its performance in this three-game series at UAB will determine whether or not the Lady Eagles will advance to the Conference USA Tournament, May 8-10, in Houston, Texas.
Southern Miss holds a 10-11 conference record and a fifth-place ranking in the league standings. The Lady Eagles also claim a half-game lead on Saint Louis (9-11) and a full-game lead on UAB (9-12). All three teams will be battling for the final two seeds in the C-USA tourney. Saint Louis competes in a three-game series at East Carolina this weekend.
UAB and Southern Miss battled each other five times last season. The Lady Eagles swept the regular-season three-game series in Hattiesburg, but the Blazers pulled off two wins in the C-USA tournament over Southern Miss and advanced to the championship game against DePaul.
C-USA Players of the Week Heather Bell and Jessica Holaway lead the Lady Eagles this weekend. Bell earned the league?s Hitter of the Week honor after batting .667 (6-for-9) last week. She hit 5-for-7 in a three-game sweep over East Carolina, with two home runs and four RBIs.
Bell holds a team-best .274 batting average with four doubles, two triples, five home runs and 19 RBIs. In conference action, she is hitting .347 with three home runs and eight RBIs.
Holaway was named the C-USA Pitcher of the Week, after pitching 13 scoreless innings in three appearances. She collected three wins and two shutouts and finished the week striking out 12 batters and giving up only three walks.
On the year, the junior is 13-14 with a 2.01 ERA, seven shutouts, three saves, 49 walks and 112 strikeouts. She has surrendered only one run in her last 20.2 innings pitched.
Ashley Davis is batting .615 in the last four games (8-for-13) with three doubles and an RBI. Danielle Hatfield is 7-3 in the pitcher?s circle this season and has collected victories in her last three starts and only two earned runs in her last 24 innings pitched.
Sara Christophel leads UAB with a .295 batting average. She claims nine doubles, two triples, one home run and 13 RBIs.
Christophel was the Blazer who collected the home run in extra innings to knock the Lady Eagles out of the C-USA tournament last season. The solo shot sailed to left field, landing on the outfield fence and bouncing over, giving UAB the 2-1 lead and the victory. It was her only home run of the year.
Kelli Thompson and Kerri Foster have compatible pitching numbers for the Blazers. Thompson is 12-8 on the year with a 1.76 ERA, three shutouts, three split shutouts, two saves, 61 walks and 104 strikeouts. Foster is 13-12 with a 1.92 ERA, five shutouts, one split shutout, one save, 53 walks and 127 strikeouts.