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2/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Houston Softball Game Notes - Wilson/DeMarini Invitational (PDF Format)
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Feb. 8, 2007
HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team embarks on the 2007 season playing host to the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational this weekend at the Cougar Softball Stadium. This weekend marks the first of four tournaments that the Cougars will play in this season.
The Cougars have a pair of games slated against No. 11 Michigan and Mississippi in addition to a single-game against Texas-Arlington.
"It's a well-rounded tournament where we will get to face off against teams from the SEC, Big 10 and Southland Conferences," head coach Kyla Holas said. "It will be a good gage for us to see where we're at coming out of practice. The girls are really fired up to put that uniform and go at it for real."
The Cougars are 15-12 (.555) all-time on opening weekend and have a 2-4 (.333) record in season openers. Houston came away with a 3-1 (.750) mark at the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational last season, including victories over No. 22 Oregon and Kansas.
A key to Cougar success a season was scoring first. Houston tallied a 30-6 (.833) record when putting a dent on the scoreboard first last season. The Cougars also won 12 of 14 contests (.857) after scoring a run in the first inning. Over the last three seasons, Houston has compiled an 85-23 (.787) mark when scoring first.
The Cougars also have a knack for finishing strong after going 26-1 (.963) last season when taking a lead into the seventh inning. Houston has notched an impressive 75-3 (.962) mark over the last three seasons and has won 33 of its last 34 decisions, including eight-straight.
Houston enters the tournament with a combined 9-3 (.750) record against this weekend's competition. The Wilson/DeMarini Invitational marks the seventh consecutive season that Houston has started its season in the Lone Star State and second straight season at the Cougar Softball Stadium.
The Cougars have won seven of 10 all-time meetings with Texas-Arlington, including five of the last six games in the series since 2003. Houston swept a doubleheader from the Mavericks in Arlington last season behind a 3-for-5 effort and 3 RBIs from Angel Shamblin in the opening game. Shamblin put the Cougars ahead for good with a two-run single in the 11th inning. The Florida native took the circle in game two and fired a complete game, allowing just one run on two hits to go along with seven strikeouts.
Houston defeated Mississippi twice last season at the Time Warner Texas Invitational in Austin. The Cougars cruised to a 8-0 win after a six-run first inning in game one. Laura Durham and Jaci Gonzalez provided a pair of two-out two-run singles. Houston came away with a 4-3 win to advance to the tournament championship as Elaina Nordstrom smacked a two-run walk-off single in the ninth inning.
This weekend will be the first time that Houston and Michigan have squared off on the softball diamond. The Wolverines are the first of two Big 10 opponents that Houston will face this season. The Cougars take on Indiana next weekend in the Crowne Plaza Classic.
Earlier this week, Houston tallied five of nine possible first-place votes as Houston was selected by the league coaches for the second consecutive season as the preseason favorite to claim the Conference USA crown as announced by the league office.
Houston earned 76 points and beat out Tulsa, the 2006 regular season and tournament champion, which tallied two first-place votes and 68 points to grab the second place spot. Marshall followed in third place after picking up two first-place votes and 62 points.
In conjunction with the Conference USA preseason poll, Angel Shamblin along with Elaina Nordstrom and Jessica Valis garnered All-Conference USA Preseason selections.
In addition to Jessica Valis and Elaina Nordstrom, the Cougars also had three other freshmen in Katie Bush, Laurie Wagner and Christa Raley step up with breakout freshman seasons.
Bush started in all but one game in centerfield and slapped 54 hits, which was good enough for third on the team and fourth-most by a freshman in program history. She also hit .328 (20-for-61) with runners in scoring position and was third on the squad, registering nine two-out RBIs.
Wagner battled through injuries and had a 10-game stretch at the end of February and into early March where she went 0-for-24 at the plate. The Houston native turned the slump into a fruitful C-USA season, hitting .261 in league play with 11 RBIs.
Raley has fully recovered from a season-ending injury in the 2005 opener and gave a new meaning to being a utility player last season. She saw time at four different positions before settling in at first base towards the end of the season. The LaPorte native had a knack for getting on-base by any means necessary, drawing over 25 walks and was hit-by-a-pitch on nine occasions.
Laura Durham provided pop in the middle of the Houston batting lineup last season with nine home runs and was second on the squad, driving home 39 RBIs. Her 39 RBIs were eighth-most in program history over a single-season.
Under the guidance of assistant coach Beth McClendon, the Cougar pitching staff is coming off a stellar 2006 campaign. Houston set four program single-season marks, including wins (40), strikeouts (421), fewest earned runs allowed (115) and shutouts (18).
Houston hurlers were in the Top 3 of Conference USA as a staff in all five major categories, including the league's best ERA (1.86), opponent batting average (.200) and strikeouts (421). The Cougars also racked up a program-best four C-USA Pitcher of the Week accolades.
Along with Shamblin, who took home the 2006 C-USA Pitcher of the Year award, Carla Kennimer and Candi Kloecker give the Cougars solid depth in the starting rotation.
Kennimer, a hard-throwing southpaw, notched an 8-2 record that included a strong finish, winning five of her six decisions in C-USA action. Kloecker kept hitters off-balanced by mixing her speeds effectively en route to a 10-9 record and held opponents to a C-USA low .188 average.
Barbie Love and Samantha Cummings anchor the bullpen and will look to fill the void left by closer Crystal Briscoe. Love will look to regain her form that earned her 2005 C-USA All-Freshman honors, while Cummings enters the program with impressive credentials, adding another strong arm to an already deep pitching staff.
A complete tournament schedule in addition to live stats for all tournament games via Gametracker is available on UHCougars.com by clicking on the Wilson/DeMarini Tournament info link on the right side of the Houston softball page.
