March 17, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB softball team will travel to Greenville, N.C. this weekend to face East Carolina in a Conference USA battle. The series is scheduled include a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. and a single game Sunday at noon. All the game will be played at the ECU Softball Field.

The Pirates are 19-8 on the season and have won three of their last four games. ECU is coming off doubleheader sweep of Sacred Heart Thursday, and will play its second conference series this weekend. In Conference USA action, the Pirates are 1-2 after losing the opening series on the road at Houston. Krista Jessup leads ECU at the plate with a .368 average. Along with Jessup, Erin St. Ledger is the only other Pirate hitting over .300. Keli Harrell has handled the majority of the pitching duties this season. Harrell is 10-6 with a 1.62 ERA in 18 appearances. Brooke Swann, Stephanie Hayes and Brently Bridgefor have all seen time in the circle.

The Blazers (15-7) are coming off doubleheader sweep of Jacksonville State and a weekend series against Memphis. Against JSU, UAB won game one, 6-3 and took game two, 9-2. UAB won both games last Saturday against Memphis to win the series but fell Sunday in the finale. Sophomore Holly Krzan is still leading the way with a .446 average in 22 games. Krzan leads the team with 28 RBI and a .769 slugging percentage. Including Krzan, UAB has four players hitting over .300 this season. Junior Lindsay Stanley and freshman Andrea Rogers have been playing exceptionally well lately. Stanley brings a 15-game hitting streak into this weekend's series with East Carolina and is hitting .383, while Rogers leads UAB in home runs with five and is hitting .339.

Sophomore Jennifer Nelson and freshman Kayla Harris have pitched well in the circle. Nelson has the best record at 6-1 with a 1.22 ERA. Harris enters the conference series with a 5-2 mark and a 2.84 ERA.

The Pirates lead the all-time series against the Blazers, 8-7. ECU has won seven of the last eight meetings but UAB managed to win one of the games last year. In 2005, the Blazers faced the Pirates in Birmingham on March 15-16.

Results from this weekend's action will be posted on the UAB athletic web site at www.uabsports.com.