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University of Houston Athletics
Softball Gears Up for Marriott Hobby Invitational
2/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 16, 2006
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HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team carries a five-game winning streak into the Marriott Houston Hobby Invitational this weekend at the Cougar Softball Stadium.
The Cougars will open the tournament squaring off against No. 15 Baylor and Sam Houston State Friday. The Bearkats are also receiving votes in the recent NFCA poll. UH also has matchups slated against Samford, Northwestern State Saturday and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to conclude the tournament Sunday.
The Cougars are slated to take the field Friday and Saturday at 5pm with a second game to follow 20 minutes later. Sunday's game has an approximate first pitch of 1pm.
"It's going to be another big weekend for us," head coach Kyla Holas said. "The first day of the tournament is going to test us right out of the gate. We have to make sure that we're ready."
Houston has a combined 17-12 record against this weekend's competition at the Marriott Houston Hobby Invitational.
The Cougars have faced off against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 11 times with Houston having a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series. Houston has already defeated the Islanders once this season.
Houston has won eight of nine all-time meetings against Sam Houston State. The Cougars won all three contests against the Bearkats last season, including a doubleheader in Huntsville. Two of the three games were decided by a single run. Angel Shamblin picked up her first career win as a Cougar in the Houston Hilton Plaza Tournament against Sam Houston State.
The Cougars enter the weekend 2-4 against Baylor. UH knocked off then-No. 11 Baylor, 4-3 in the Crowne Plaza Classic a season ago. Michelle Keith went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs against the Bears. The two teams will hook up in Waco for a doubleheader on Mar. 8 at Getterman Stadium.
This weekend will be the first time since 2002 that Houston has faced Northwestern State. The two teams split their meetings at the Louisiana-Lafayette Invitational. It will also mark the first time that Houston and Samford have squared off on the softball diamond.
Reigning C-USA Co-Pitcher of the Week, Angel Shamblin broke the school-record with 15 strikeouts in the opening game of a doubleheader against McNeese State last time out.
"I was just going out there and keeping them off the plate," Shamblin said. "I wanted to have the same mentality that I had when we played Oregon last weekend."
"I thought she did a wonderful job of leading out there in the circle," Holas said. "I was really pleased that she hung in there when the bounces weren't going our way and allowed us to come back around to get the runs for her."
The previous strikeout mark was set by Jenny Johnson with 13 Ks in 2002, also against McNeese State.
Shamblin also became the fourth hurler in Cougar history to surpass 100 career strikeouts joining Jaime Falco, Crystal Briscoe, and Johnson.
On offense, six freshman have already made their mark in the opening week of the season for the Cougar softball program. Each player brings unique talents to the Houston lineup and has been a main part of why the Cougars have started the season at 5-1. Two of the prime contributors are featured below.
Jessica Valis has been a spark at the top of the Cougar lineup. The freshman shorstop paces the squad with a .500 batting average. She has produced at least 2-hits in four of her last five games, including a career-best three-hit performance in game one against McNeese State (Feb. 15). Valis has also reeked havoc on the base paths going 4-for-5 in the stolen base department. Eight of Valis' 10 hits this season have been infield singles.
Elaina Nordstrom is the first California native to play softball at UH and has provided a big bat in the middle of the Houston batting order. She is the only Cougar to hit safely in all seven games this season. Nordstrom is hitting .350 on the season as four of her seven hits have come with two outs.
Action begins Friday at the Cougar Softball Stadium at 9am. Fans can purchase individual day passes for $5 and tournament passes for $10 at the game. UH students get in free by showing their Cougar 1 Cards.
A complete tournament schedule in addition to live stats via Gametracker for all games this weekend is available on UHCougars.com by clicking on the Marriott Houston Hobby Invitational page down the right side of the main softball page.
