University of Houston Athletics
Crowne Plaza Classic Begins Friday
2/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 16, 2005
HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team is set to host the Crowne Plaza Classic at Cougar Softball Stadium, this Friday through Saturday, Feb. 18-20, in the second of four tournaments to be held by the Cougars.
The Crowne Plaza Classic will welcome five schools to the Houston main campus for the weekend invitational. Making the trek to Houston are Baylor, North Carolina, Minnesota, Texas State and Kentucky.
The weekend matchups against the Gophers and Tarheels will mark the first time the Cougars have faced either opponent. Against the other three schools, Houston has a combined record of 5-6, including a 4-1 record against Texas State.
Leading the Cougars is senior Kim Nesloney who is hitting .368 in 19 at-bats with seven hits, six runs, three RBI, two homeruns, and a team-leading six walks. In the circle, freshman Angel Shamblin logged the lone win for Houston, while another freshman, Barbie Love, leads the team in strikeouts with nine in 10.2 innings of work.
Houston (1-6) has had to face a tough schedule early in 2005. Six of the first seven opponents the Cougars have faced were ranked in the top 12 nationally. Against those teams the Cougars have come close but have been unable to steal a victory.
Baylor, the first team Houston will face in the Crowne Plaza Classic, is the seventh nationally ranked team the Cougars will play this season.
The No. 12 Bears come into the Classic riding a five-game winning streak and are 13-1 overall. Included in those wins are three victories over ranked opponents, while the team's lone lose came at the hands of No. 9 Tennessee.
The Wildcats of Kentucky have struggled early in 2005, going 1-9 in the first 10 games, but managing to knock off DePaul 2-1, and get on the winning track. Pitcher Samantha Allen leads the Wildcats with a 5.21 ERA, the combined staff isn't far behind with a 5.80 ERA. All told, the team has given up 55 runs on 82 hits, translating into nearly six runs per game.
Minnesota is coming off of its second loss of the season and stands at 4-2 in the early goings. Gopher Lyn Peyer leads the team with an ERA of 0.42. She has given up eight hits while logging 25 strikeouts, and is 1-1 in 2005. The only run she has given up resulted in a 1-0 loss to Tulsa.
North Carolina comes in as the only undefeated team in the Classic. At the beginning of the week, the 5-0 Tarheels were being led by infielder Jaclyn Holden who is hitting .583 in 12 at-bats with five doubles and seven hits, seven RBI and four runs. Two other players on the roster are hitting above .400 as well.
Since winning their first three games, the Bobcats have gone on a five-game skid bringing them to 3-5 with No. 3 Texas on the schedule this week before playing in the Classic. Texas State's pitching ace is Katie Ann Trahan, who has logged the 3-5 record on 37 hits and 17 earned runs but has also tossed 58 strikeouts.
The Crowne Plaza Classic begins at 9 a.m. Friday through Sunday, and begins with North Carolina and Minnesota in the opening game on Friday, followed by Minnesota Texas State at 11 a.m., Texas State and North Carolina at 1 p.m., Kentucky and Baylor at 3 p.m., Baylor and Houston at 5 p.m. and capping of that first day will be Houston and Kentucky at 7 p.m.
