Softball Goes 3-1 At Spring Klein College Classic
10/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Oct. 16, 2007
SPRING KLEIN, Texas - The University of Houston softball team completed a 3-1 weekend at the Spring Klein College Classic last weekend where they posted wins over Texas, 11-2, Louisiana-Lafayette, 3-1 and UTSA, 6-0.
"I was pleased with the overall outcome of the weekend," head coach Kyla Holas said. "I didn't expect our first loss to come from Stephen F, Austin but we needed to learn that we have to play ourselves, not the opponent and sometimes you have to learn that lesson the hard way."
In the opening game against Stephen F. Austin, the team recorded a 13-5 loss in Houston's only five-inning game of the weekend, but players still stood out. Freshman Jennifer Klinkert hit a homerun in her first collegiate at-bat with Samantha Cummings adding one to the homerun count.
The highlight of the weekend was an 11-2 win over Texas on Saturday where freshman Baillie Lott dominated the Longhorns while pitching her first collegiate game. Lott scattered two runs off four hits and had four strikeouts. Junior Katie Bush went three for four at the plate with Elaina Nordstrom adding 2 homeruns and Laurie Wagner and Klinkert each tallying one homerun.
"We learned a lot about our team," Holas said, "and had some big surprises from freshmen Baillie and Jennifer."
Houston went on to knock off Louisiana-Lafayette 3-1 in the first game on Sunday as 2007 Conference USA Player of the Year Jessica Valis led off with a triple, Klinkert went two for three and Courtney Spittler added a double base hit. Winning pitcher Barbie Love allowed only one run off five hits to go along with three strikouts.
The Cougars rounded out their weekend with a 6-0 victory over UTSA. 2007 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year Angel Shamblin pitched a strong game allowing only two hits and a shutout while totaling 11 strikeouts. Nordstrom and Klinkert each marked another homerun while Bush went two for four and Christa Raley and Shamblin each hit a double.
"We'll try some different things defensively this weekend," Holas said, "to make sure all areas are covered. We'll also head back to individuals with a clear picture of what we need to accomplish before season starts in January."
Houston returns to the diamond on Saturday, October 20 for the final fall showdown where they square off against Lamar at 11:00 am, Victoria at 3:00 pm and San Jacinto at 7:00 pm.
Weekend rundown: 26 innings, scored 25 runs, left 25 runners on base, gave up 16 runs, hit 8 homeruns, went 3-1 overall.
