Softball Dominates Tulsa

March 17, 2007

HOUSTON - Haley Valis turned in a 2-for-3 performance with a career-high 3 RBIs coupled with a Barbie Love compete game as the University of Houston softball team cruised to a 6-1 victory over Tulsa Saturday afternoon in game two of a doubleheader at the Cougar Softball Stadium.

"We know that our offense has left a lot of runners on-base in critical situations, and that we've been on the losing side of some close games this season," head coach Kyla Holas said. "We did an excellent job of staying focused and finishing those runners today."

Haley Valis opened the scoring in the second inning with an infield single to give Houston a 1-0 advantage. Two batters later, Amanda Grote made it 2-0 with a RBI-groundout.

The Cougars (22-10, 5-0 C-USA) tacked on two more runs in fifth inning as Grote and Jessica Valis started the frame with back-to-back singles. The runners moved into scoring position on a Katie Bush sacrifice bunt. A Jackie Lawrence wild pitch scored Grote to put the Cougars ahead 3-0. Elaina Nordstrom added a RBI-groundout for a 4-0 lead.

Haley Valis put the finishing touches by belting a two-run homer to centerfield in the sixth inning. Tulsa (16-13, 2-2 C-USA) scored an unearned run in the seventh inning, spoiling Barbie Love's bid at a complete game shutout.

"We've talked to the players about putting in extra time on offense, and Haley Valis is a prime example of that," Holas said. "She is living proof that good things come to those who work hard."

Love pushed her record to 3-2 on the season, being touched up for only three hits and an unearned run. She racked up seven strikeouts and retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced. After allowing a single in the third inning, the Manvel native regrouped to set down the next nine hitters she faced.

"Barbie was locked in from the start," Holas said. "She is such a different pitcher from Angel (Shamblin), and she does an excellent job of using her different speeds to keep hitters off-balanced."

"Things were really working for me today," Love said. "My drop ball felt good, and the offense made things a lot easier by giving me a cushion to work with. I feel that teams underestimate me after facing Angel. That makes me want to prove myself even more."

Houston closes the series Sunday afternoon with a single-game against Tulsa. First pitch is set for 1pm at the Cougar Softball Stadium.

"We need to continue to build our swagger," Holas said. "The schedule that we've played has prepared for conference play. A sweep tomorrow sends a message to the rest of the conference."

"The lesson we learned from last season is that every win counts," Love said. "Tulsa is going to come back tomorrow ready to fight. We need to match that intensity and apply the same pressure that we need did today."

Cougar Notes
Game two of this afternoon's doubleheader is the sixth meeting between Houston and Tulsa on the softball diamond ... It was the first meeting at the Cougar Softball Stadium ... The series is now all square at 3-3 ... Houston move to 16-5 in days games and are 9-1 when wearing white jerseys and white pants ... The Cougars also have won all 12 games this season when scoring four or more runs ... Houston has won 15 of its last 19 games, including its last 20 decisions against non-ranked opponents ... Jessica Valis and Elaina Nordstrom have started in all 94 games of their careers ... Laura Durham also has played in all 94 games of her Houston career since transferring from Texas A&M ... Katie Bush has made 91 consecutive starts in centerfield ... With her single in the fifth inning, Jessica Valis moved past Riane Netardus (2001-02) on the program's career hits list ... The Shiner native is now one hit away from matching Leslie Seay's (2001-02) 112 hits for the No. 7 slot ... She has hit safely in 24 of 31 games this season ... Houston improves to 41-11 over the last two seasons when Jessica Valis scores a run ... Katie Bush notched her team-leading ninth sacrifice hit in the fifth inning ... Elaina Nordstrom has hit safely in seven of her last eight games ... The California native produced her fifth multi-hit effort of the season and 21st of her career ... She now is 13 hits away from the 100-mark and has tallied RBIs in five of her last seven outings ... Laurie Wagner snapped an 11-game streak without a hit, smacking a lead-off double in the second inning ... The Houston native scored multiple runs for the second time this season ... Christa Raley has knocked a hit in five of her last seven games and has reached base in 18 of her last 20 outings ... The LaPorte native added her seventh sacrifice hit in the sixth inning ... Haley Valis has notched a hit in six of her last seven games and an RBI in four of her last six outings ... Valis also produced a career-best 3 RBIs ... She had tallied 2 RBIs four previous times with the last coming against Utah Valley State (March 2) ... Amanda Grote has hit safely in two of her last three games and scored in run in both games of today's doubleheader ... Barbie Love hasn't allowed an earned run in her last 14.1 innings of work ... The Manvel native also moved her ERA to under 1.00 on the season ... Love has compiled at least seven Ks in four of her six starts ... She is three Ks away from reaching 50 for the season.

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Team Stats

Elaina Nordstrom

Haley Valis

Jessica Valis

Laurie Wagner

Players Mentioned

Katie Bush

Laura Durham

Amanda Grote