University of Houston Athletics
Softball Gears Up for Crowne Plaza Classic
2/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Houston Softball Notes (Crowne Plaza Classic)
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Feb. 15, 2007
HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team has some of the nation's best on-hand this weekend, playing host to the Crowne Plaza Classic at the Cougar Softball Stadium. This weekend marks the second of four pre-conference tournaments that the Cougars will play in this season.
Houston (3-2) has games on-tap against four NCAA Tournament teams from last season in No. 5 LSU, Missouri State, Indiana and Southern Illinois in addition to Texas State and Centenary.
"This weekend is a big opportunity for our program," head coach Kyla Holas said. "We have a fantastic field coming in. All six of these programs coming in are quality. It should be an exciting weekend of softball."
After a 3-2 weekend at the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational and an upset victory over No. 11 Michigan, the Cougars are receiving eight votes in the latest edition of the USA Today/NFCA Top 25. The Wolverines matched the second-highest ranked opponent that the Cougars have defeated in program history. UH knocked off No. 7 LSU in 2003 and No. 11 Baylor during the 2005 campaign
"We're excited about the national recognition and what comes with being listed in the poll," Holas said. "Our games last weekend gave us a better gage of where we are as a team. We still have some work to do, but we're pleased with how we've started the season."
This marks the third consecutive season that Houston has received votes in the Top 25 at some point during the season. The Cougars have never been ranked in the Top 25 in program history.
Angel Shamblin was honored with Conference Pitcher of the Week accolades for the sixth time in her career Monday afternoon as announced by the league office.
The recently named Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year lived up to the hype, compiling a 3-1 record and a stifling 0.39 ERA as the Cougars opened the season last weekend at the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational. The Florida native held opponents to a .194 average and notched 22 strikeouts in 18 innings.
Houston enters the tournament with a combined 9-7 (.562) record against this weekend's competition. The Cougars hold 1-0 series advantages with Indiana and Centenary. Both of those meetings came during the 2004 season at the Crowne Plaza Classic.
Houston also holds a 6-4 all-time series advantage against Texas State, but the Bobcats took two of three meetings last season, including a 4-0 win at the Crowne Plaza Classic. The two teams met later in the season for a doubleheader at Texas State. Houston picked up a 9-8 comeback victory in game one behind a three-run double from Elaina Nordstrom in the seventh inning. Texas State rebounded to claim a 5-4 win in the second game despite a Nordstrom two-run roundtripper in the seventh inning.
LSU has won three of four meetings with Houston, but this is the first time that the Tigers will visit the Cougar Softball Stadium. It also is the first meeting in the series since the 2003 season where Houston knocked off No. 7 LSU at the Purple and Gold Challenge.
This weekend marks the first time that Houston takes on Missouri State and Southern Illinois. The Cougars have an all-time 2-1 (.667) record against MVC foes.
In the last three games of the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational, Holas has put five of her six sophomores at the top of the batting lineup. Each player brings a unique talent to the Cougar lineup.
Jessica Valis and Katie Bush are the slappers. Valis has hit safely in all five games this season and in 26 of her last 31 outings dating back to last season. The Shiner native paces the squad with seven hits and enters this weekend's action 21 hits shy of reaching 100 for her career.
Bush has recorded a hit in four of her five games on the season and has been most successful against right-handed pitching, going 5-for-11 with a team-best .455 average. She also used her strong arm from the outfield to gun down a runner at the plate in the season-opener against Texas-Arlington (Feb. 9).
Even though Elaina Nordstrom has yet to record a hit on the season, the California native has drawn six walks and is fifth on the squad with a .375 on-base percentage. Nordstrom also has reached base in 61 of her 68 career games.
Christa Raley has stepped into the cleanup spot of the lineup and provided a three-run walk-off home run against Ole Miss (Feb. 9). She has a knack for getting on-base by any means necessary and has drawn two walks in addition to getting hit-by-a-pitch twice this season.
Laurie Wagner is currently on a career-long five game hitting streak to start the season. The Houston native headlines the squad with a .500 batting average. She jump-started the Houston comeback against Ole Miss (Feb. 9) with a solo home run in the sixth inning and provided a two-out two-run double in the first inning against No. 11 Michigan (Feb. 11).
Laura Durham provided pop in the middle of the Houston batting lineup last season and has already knocked a long ball this season against No. 11 Michigan (Feb. 10)
The Pearland native has tallied 10 career roundtrippers and is one shy of matching Ali McDougall (2001-02) for the No. 8 position in program history. Durham drove home 39 RBIs last season, eighth-most in program history over a single-season.
When Houston squares off against No. 5 LSU, Holas matches up with her former college coach Yvette Girouard. Girouard's Tigers hold a 3-1 series advantage against Holas' Cougars.
"It's a big thing for me," Holas said. "I want us to go out and play the type of softball that she instilled in me. I hope we have a great weekend and show not only her but the rest of the nation that the University of Houston is a program that should be in the Top 25."
Holas was a three-time All-America pitcher at Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette), racking up a career record of 104-20 with a 0.50 ERA. She also had a career .301 batting average.
"She is the best player I ever coached. Period," Girouard told the Houston Chronicle of Holas. "That's how I describe her to this day. She was our starting pitcher, an All-American, hit No. 4 in the lineup for us, and she absolutely brought her `A' game with intensity every day to the field. I still say she's the best player I ever coached."
A complete tournament schedule in addition to live stats for all tournament games via Gametracker is available on UHCougars.com by clicking on the Crowne Plaza Classic Tournament Central link on the right side of the Houston softball page.
