University of Houston Athletics
Softball Welcomes McNeese State for a Mid-Week Doubleheader
2/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Feb. 14, 2006
HOUSTON - After opening the season with a 3-1 mark at the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational, the University of Houston softball team will face defending Southland Conference champions McNeese State Wednesday in a doubleheader at the Cougar Softball Stadium.
The Cougars lost its season opener to No. 19 Florida but have reeled off three consecutive wins, including back-to-back shutout victories over Kansas and No. 22 Oregon.
"This is where we wanted to be after the first weekend," head coach Kyla Holas said. "We lost a little focus late in the game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but that gives us a little more focus instead of cockiness heading into this week's games."
Houston has won four of five all-time meetings, including three consecutive matchups against McNeese State. The lone defeat was the first game of a doubleheader at the Cougar Softball Stadium in 2002.
The Cougars swept its most recent double dip against the Cowgirls in Lake Charles, La. In game one after a scoreless seven innings, Houston exploded for four runs in the eighth capitalizing on three McNeese State. Jenny Johnson fired a three-hit shutout securing a 4-0 win.
In game two, Houston used a sixth-inning grand slam from Jenilee Skender to break a 1-1 tie and held on for a 5-3 victory. Carla Kennimer picked up the victory in the circle, while Crystal Briscoe retired the final five batters without allowing a hit en route to her second career save.
The story of 2006 to this point has been the emergence of seven new faces who made their Cougar debut last weekend at the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational. Five of those seven new faces were freshman.
Laurie Wagner hit safely in all three games she played in last weekend, including two multi-hit games. Wagner went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored against No. 22 Oregon (Feb. 12). She followed that up with a 2-for-4 four performance driving in her first career run later that same day against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi (Feb. 12).
Jessica Valis has been a spark at the top of the Cougar lineup. The freshman shorstop hit .400 last weekend with three two-hit games and reeked havoc on the base paths going 3-for-4 in the stolen base department. Four of her six hits at the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational were infield singles.
Katie Bush followed Valis at the top of the Cougar batting order. The Brenham, Texas native gave Houston a 1-0 lead against No. 22 Oregon with a RBI single that scored Wagner.
Elaina Nordstrom provided a big bat in the middle of the Houston batting order hitting safely in all four games at the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational. She hit .357 for the weekend as four of her five hits came with two outs.
Haley Valis made her Houston debut against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 12). She drew a walk in four plate appearances and was solid on defense, recording three putouts at second base.
First pitch against the Cowgirls is set for 4pm with game two to follow 20 minutes after the completion of game one. Both games will have livestats via Gametracker on UHCougars.com
