University of North Texas
UAB
The Push For A C-USA Title
4/26/2019 11:00:00 AM | Softball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Conference USA softball season is entering its final two weekends, a reshuffle of the top of the West Division is a distinct possibility.
North Texas (29-16, 14-4) is tied for the West lead with Louisiana Tech (36-13, 14-4). This weekend, the Mean Green travel to Birmingham for a three-game set with last-place UAB while Louisiana Tech will be facing East Division leader Western Kentucky. It's an opportunity for North Texas to gain a little separation at the top of the division.
Not that the Mean Green are looking past the Blazers, despite their 15-27 overall record and 5-12 mark in conference.
"They're very athletic," North Texas head coach Rodney DeLong said. "It's going to be tough. Their record is deceiving. They're going to play hard. They're a good team."
The Mean Green are coming off a 6-0 loss to No. 12 Oklahoma State on Wednesday, but DeLong believes the result could be a positive moving into this weekend's series. The Mean Green dropped to 1-5 in midweek games in 2019, but in the following Saturdays, North Texas is 9-4.
"I think playing someone really good midweek is always good for us," DeLong said. "They don't allow you to make mistakes and put pressure on you the whole time. That is what makes you better moving forward. We will take the positives from that game and move forward."
The North Texas lineup is back at full strength. After a couple weeks of team batting-average leader Katie Clark being in-and-out of the lineup with a nagging hand injury, she has been a constant in recent lineups.
Clark is a welcome return to the top of the order ahead of the Harley Perella, who is having a career year batting second. Perella has never hit above .300 or driven in 30 plus runs, both marks she has surpassed in 2019. Perella ranks 12th in C-USA in batting average (.342) and driving in 36 runs.
Saturday's doubleheader against UAB is set for 3 p.m. Saturday, and Sunday's series finale will start at 1 p.m. All games will stream on CUSA.tv, and live stats are available online.
"I hope they will be motivated," DeLong said. "We play decent on the road. They will have to play their best softball. I hope they are ready to play their best softball at UAB."
