After suffering two losses against Louisiana-Lafayette in a mid-week doubleheader, the Cougars hit the road to face off against Conference-USA rival UAB for a three-game series in Birmingham, Ala., starting with a doubleheader today.
Head coach Kyla Holas knows it is imperative for her team to take advantage of this opportunity to make some headway in the C-USA standings.
“Right now, with our record and the spot we are sitting in, conference is the one thing you have to take care of if you want a chance for the postseason,” Holas said.
UH (18-16, 5-4 C-USA) swept UAB in a three-game series last season at Cougar Softball Stadium. Returning 13 letterwinners, the Blazers (17-9, 3-3) will not be easy opponents for the Cougars this time, according to Holas. The Blazers are hot at the plate with four batters averaging over .350, but UH’s Brooke Lathan, Melissa Gregson, and Ashleigh Jones are a talented offensive trio who lead the Cougars statistically.
“One of their hitters, the catcher, is having a really great season, and she is putting up some big numbers in conference,” Holas said. “And they have a freshman pitcher that is doing a lot of things for them and winning a lot of ball games.
“This is going to be a much better UAB softball team than we are used to seeing. They are playing in a brand new stadium this year, so they have some home-field advantage. We are really going to have to make sure that we put our best foot forward.”
After the Cougars lost the pair of games Tuesday, Holas said that the team needed to work on its mentality before going on the road.
The Cougars are without go-to pitcher Amanda Crabtree; Holas is uncertain what doctors will say this week about her status going into this weekend.
“She is a big key to our success right now,” said Holas, “not only just in her pitching, but also in her mentality.”
Today’s first game at UAB Softball Stadium will start at 4 p.m. and the nightcap is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday’s finale will kickoff at 11 a.m.
