University of Houston Athletics
Houston Softball Ready For Challenge From Louisville
4/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 16, 2004
HOUSTON - Fresh off a three game weep of the UAB Blazers, the University of Houston softball team will host the biggest three game series of the year as they welcome Conference USA front runner Louisville to the Cougar Softball Complex starting at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Houston holds a 7-5 C-USA record heading into the weekend and a 28-16 overall record. The Cardinals come into the serried with a 13-2 conference record and a 32-10 overall record. The two teams boast hard hitting squads and pitching staffs that rank among the leagues best.
"Any time you play the number one team in the conference it's huge, Besides the fact that this is Louisville's first time to be number one in the conference," Houston head coach Kyla Holas said. "They've always kind of been right there with us, and we feel like they are in the spot that we want to be."
Louisville ranks second offensively in Conference USA with a .306 team batting average while hitting 28 home runs on the season. The home run total is third best behind the Cougars 29 and USF's 36. As for pitching the Cardinals rank first in runs allowed with just 92 and second in earned run average at1.63.
"We're facing the best pitching staff in the conference, so we've been working really hard this week. We're going to have to score runs because they're hitting .306 as a team so they're also one of the top offense teams in the conference. We're facing a really solid team, so we're going to have to take care of business."
Despite the impressive pitching the Cardinals have, Holas said the Cougars must have a big offensive weekend. If the offense produces for Houston, it will be up to their pitchers to finish the job.
"The number one thing I am trying to stress is our offense," she said. "I feel like no matter how much we give up, if we can out score them, we can do enough to hold onto the game. We are really putting our focus this week.
"The people that need to step up is our pitching staff. If they show up and have the performances they are capable of, we can make this a ballgame. If not, this is going to be a tough weekend for us.
The Cougars have gotten the job done from the pitchers circle this year, ranking third in the conference overall with a 1.89 earned run average. Houston also ranks second in the conference in strikeouts (264) and first with nine saves.
The Cougars and Cardinals will play a double header on Saturday and finish the series Sunday afternoon with a single game starting at 1 p.m.
