In its final Conference USA series of the 2011 campaign, the Marshall softball team will make the trek to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB. Games on Saturday begin at 2 p.m. while the final regular season contest of the year will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Marshall improved to 19-29-1 overall and 5-14-1 in league play after the Thundering Herd claimed its second series in conference action last weekend against UTEP. The squad clinched the doubleheader on Saturday, 5-1, 1-0, enabling MU to qualify for the C-USA tournament next week.
Ashley Gue had a team-best .556 batting average last week highlighted by a 2-for-3 performance in game two of the UTEP series where she registered the game-winning RBI on a double. Andi Williamson tallied her seventh win of the season as she recorded a staff-low 0.70 ERA against UTEP. She shut out the Miners 1-0 on Saturday and fanned a career-high 10 batters in the performance.
Heading into the weekend Alysia Hively is tops with a .308 clip and a .603 slugging percentage. Rebecca Gamby’s grand slam on Sunday pushed her to a team-high 38 hits, 12 home runs and 31 RBI.
Herd vs. Blazers
Marshall hangs on in the series at a close 9-8 despite dropping two-of-three in 2010 on the friendly confines of the Dot. Since joining Conference USA, UAB has won three of the five matchups.
UAB
Sitting at third in Conference USA, the Blazers have a 34-16 record and 14-6 in C-USA. UAB prepares for its final week of play as it hosts a solo game matchup on Thursday against Jacksonville State before facing the Herd over the weekend.
Leading the way at the dish is Caley Walden who has a best .337 batting average and 56 hits which ranks second in the league. On the rubber Marshall will face the second toughest pitching staff in a 1.57 ERA that is led by Leigh Streetman’s 1.35 ERA and 11-7 record.
Conference USA Championship
Hosted by East Carolina, the tournament will start on Thursday, May 12 at 11 a.m. and conclude on Saturday with a championship game slated for 1 p.m., and will also be televised on CBS College Sports Network.
Seedings will be announced following the conclusion of this weekend’s games. Tournament information and tickets to the event can be found here.