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University of Houston
24-11, 7-1
Memphis
18-10, 2-3
Errors Plague Softball in Game Two Loss at Memphis
3/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 24, 2007
Houston at Memphis (Game 2 Box Score - PDF)
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Kara Ross knocked a two-out, walk-off RBI-single to left centerfield as Memphis claimed a 2-1 victory over the University of Houston softball team Saturday afternoon in game two of a Conference USA doubleheader at the UM Softball Complex.
Leila Dolfo set the table for the Tigers (18-10, 2-3 C-USA) with a one-out double to the right centerfield gap that chased UH starter Barbie Love (4-3) from the game.
The Cougars (24-11, 7-1 C-USA) turned to Angel Shamblin, who got Leandra Hines to fly out to left field. After Lindsay Kelso drew a walk, Ross took a 2-1 offering for the winning hit.
"We went down with our best," head coach Kyla Holas said. "As our ace, Angel is going to be called to be a stopper late in games. It's not that we didn't have confidence in Barbie's abilities, Angel had just done a better job against the heart of their lineup.
"I tried to hit a screw ball low and away," Shamblin said. "The ball didn't break unfortunately."
Memphis got a quality start from Nicki Johnson, who sprayed eight runs and was allowed only one run to move to 7-5 on the season.
The Tigers jumped out to a 1-0 advantage on Tori Gross two-out RBI-single in the second inning that just got past the reach of a fully extended UH second baseman Haley Valis' arms. The earned run was the first allowed by Love in conference play, a streak of 16.0 consecutive innings.
Houston had a chance to tie the game in the fifth inning as the Cougars strung three hits together. Amanda Grote reached on a bunt single and moved to second base on a Jessica Valis single down the left field line. Katie Bush knocked a single to right centerfield, but Grote was thrown out at the plate by UM centerfielder Lindsey Pridgen.
With runners on second and third base, Elaina Nordstrom came up with a clutch two-out single to knot the score at 1-1, but Pridgen responded with another bullet to the plate to gun down Bush.
Houston had another opportunity to score the go-ahead run in the seventh inning. Grote ripped a single to the right centerfield gap and moved to third base on a Pridgen fielding error. Jessica Valis grounded to third baseman Melissa Nance, who pump faked a throw to first base and caught Grote leaning off the bag.
"We have to do a better job of trusting our offense in those situations," Holas said. "We need to run smarter not harder. There is no reason for our team to run ourselves out of big innings."
Bush and Nordstrom drew back-to-back walks to load the bases, but Haley Valis fouled out to end the threat.
The series concludes with a rubber game Sunday afternoon at 1pm. Live stats will be available on UHCougars.com
"We have to refocus and take care of business to close this series," Holas said. "We need to confidant and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.
"We need to do a better job and limit our mistakes," Shamblin said. "Memphis is going to come out with a lot of intensity. Our goal is to match that energy."
Cougar Notes
Game two of this afternoon's doubleheader is the fifth meeting between Houston and Memphis on the softball diamond ... Houston still holds a 3-2 series advantage ... The Cougars drop to 18-6 in day games ... The loss snapped Houston's 23-game winning streak against current non-ranked opponents ... Both losses this season against current non-ranked opponents have come on a walk-off hit ... The Cougars fall to 9-7 in one-run games and to 11-11 when scoring three runs or less ... Jessica Valis and Elaina Nordstrom have started in all 97 games of their careers ... Laura Durham also has played in all 97 games of her Houston career since transferring from Texas A&M ... Katie Bush has made 94 consecutive starts in centerfield ... Jessica Valis produced her team-leading 13th multi-hit game and 36th of her career ... The Shiner native has hit safely in 27 of 34 games this season, including her last five outings ... Houston falls to 25-11 over the last two seasons when Valis notches a multi-hit effort ... The Cougars drop to 41-12 over the last two seasons when Jessica Valis scores a run ... Valis also pulls within three hits from tying Michelle Keith (2002-05) for the No. 6 spot in program history ... Katie Bush has tallied a hit in 16 of her last 23 games ... Elaina Nordstrom has hit safely in eight of her last 11 outings ... The California native moves to 10 hits away from reaching the 100-mark for her career ... Nordstrom also has produced a RBI in seven of her last 10 games ... Laura Durham tallied her sixth multi-hit game this season and 19th multi-hit outing of her Houston career ... The Pearland native ripped her fifth double of the season in the fourth inning ... That ties her with Nordstrom for the squad lead ... It was only the second time in the last 10 games that Haley Valis didn't notch a hit ... It also was the just third time in the last 23 games that Christa Raley failed to reach base ... Raley did lay down her eighth sacrifice hit of the season in the second inning ... Laurie Wagner had her three-game on-base streak snapped ... With seven strikeouts, Barbie Love became the second Houston pitcher to surpass the 50-strikeout mark on the season ... Love allowed her first earned run in conference play, a streak that stretched over 16.0 innings.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: JOHNSON, Nicki (7-5)
L: Love, Barbie (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Durham, Laura 1
RBI: Nordstrom, Elaina 1
SH: Raley, Christa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Valis, Jessica 1
HBP: Durham, Laura 1
PO: Durham, Laura 1
Batting:
2B: DOLFO, Leila 1
RBI: ROSS, Kara 1 ; GROSS, Tori 1
SH: KELSO, Lindsay 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DOLFO, Leila 1 ; SCHNEIDER, Sara 1
HBP: GOOCH, Brittany 1
