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Cards Hold Off UAB 2-1 In C-USA Softball First Round
May 11, 2000 HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Fourth-seeded Louisville used six strong innings from pitcher Tara McClure to defeat fifth-seeded UAB, 2-1 in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament Thursday afternoon at Oak Grove Optimists Park. The 35-24 Cardinals advance to meet top-seeded Southern Miss tonight at 6 p.m. McClure, who has missed most of the last month with a strained pectoral muscle, allowed three hits and one run while walking three and striking out two. According to head coach Sandy Pearsall, the victory was a complete team effort. "Tara came out nervous. She hadn't pitched in a while, and this was a big game," she said. "She put us up against the wall for a bit. However, we got a lot of help from the bottom of our lineup offensively." Shortstop Val Smith had both of the Cardinals' RBI with a fielder's choice in the third and an RBI single in the fifth. UAB (22-37) will now play UNC Charlotte tonight at 8 p.m. The Blazers' Kerri Foster took the loss despite allowing just three hits and striking out five. UAB coach Marla Townsend felt that her team did not make the most of its opportunities.
"We have the bases loaded in the first, and we've got to take advantage of that," she said. "The defense is there. We just have to hit, and we will."
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