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University of Houston
34-14, 15-2
UCF
32-20, 8-9
Softball Derails UCF
4/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 21, 2007
UCF at Houston Game 2 Box Score (PDF)
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HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team posted five runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 7-0 victory Saturday afternoon in game two of a Conference USA weekend series at the Cougar Softball Stadium.
Before the doubleheader, the program presented a check to the Komen Houston Affiliate for $7,714 dollars. The money will go towards Breast Cancer research and was raised during the program's silent auction against Texas A&M last March.
Laurie Wagner headlined the Houston (34-14, 15-2 C-USA) offense with a 2-for-3 performance and three RBIs, while Barbie Love fired a four-hit shutout with six strikeouts.
"It was critical for our team to get on the board early," head coach Kyla Holas said. "That allowed Barbie to settle in with a lead. That was a huge bounce back performance for her. She worked extremely hard over the last two days watching video. That was huge for her to get back on track."
The Cougars (34-14, 15-2 C-USA) loaded the bases in the first inning as Jessica Valis started the frame with a leadoff single. Katie Bush and Elaina Nordstrom drew back-to-back walks to set the table for Christa Raley, who was hit-by-a-pitch to give Houston a 1-0 lead.
Two batters later, a wild throw to the plate by UCF shortstop Amber Lamb on a ground ball allowed Bush and Nordstrom to score. Laurie Wagner capped the frame with a two-run single down the left field line to make it 5-0.
That would more that enough run support for Love, who improved to 6-5 after retiring 14 of her first 18 batters she faced.
Wagner added another RBI-single in the fifth inning, while Christa Raley put the finishing touches on the 7-0 win with a RBI-ground out in the sixth inning.
Kacie Feaster headlined UCF (32-20, 8-9 C-USA) going 2-for-3 with a single and a double.
Houston and UCF finish the weekend series Sunday at Noon. Kids receive free admission to the Cougar Softball Stadium by wearing their jersey.
"We have to continue to play solid defense and set the tone early on offense," Holas said.
Cougar Notes
Game two of this afternoon's doubleheader was the fifth all-time meeting between Houston and UCF on the softball diamond ... The Cougars have won all five games and have held UCF without a run in the last 27 innings of the series dating back to the fifth inning of game two during last year's series ... Houston pushes its record to 22-0 on the season when scoring four or more runs ... The Cougars have won 33 of its last 35 games against current non-ranked opponents, including 15 consecutive decisions at home ... Houston has won 40 of 55 games over the last two seasons when Jessica and Haley Valis are in the starting infield ... The Cougars are 27-7 in day games ... Houston has won 16 of 20 decisions this season when the game is decided by four or more runs ... The Cougars improve to 26-7 this season and to 110-30 since the start of the 2004 season when scoring first ... Houston also moves to 99-4 since the start of the 2004 season when carrying a lead into the seventh inning ... Jessica Valis and Elaina Nordstrom have started in all 110 games of their careers ... Laura Durham also has played in all 110 games of her Houston career since transferring from Texas A&M ... Katie Bush has made 107 consecutive starts in centerfield ... Jessica Valis is the only Cougar to hit safely in each of Houston's 17 Conference USA contests ... The Shiner native has hit safely in 16 of her last 18 games ... 10 of the 16 outings over the stretch have been multi-hit efforts ... Houston improves to 48-12 when Jessica Valis scores a run in her career ... The Cougars also are 32-11 when Valis tallies a multi-hit effort ... It was her 20th multi-hit effort of the season and 43rd of her career ... Valis now has 135 career hits and is 25 away from matching Jenilee Skender (2002-05) for the No. 4 slot ... Katie Bush has registered a hit in 11 of her last 16 outings ... The Brenham native is now one hits away from reaching 100 for her career ... Houston moves to 27-15 since the start of last season when Jessica Valis and Katie Bush tally a hit in the same game ... Elaina Nordstrom drew two walks and has reached base in 96 of 110 career games ... Nordstrom joins Jessica Valis as the only Cougars to reach base in each of Houston's 17 C-USA games ... Christa Raley has reached base in 31 of her last 36 games ... The La Porte native was hit-by-a-pitch for the 14th time this season in the first inning ... She has scored a run in 11 in her last 17 games ... Laura Durham has popped a hit in 12 of 17 Conference USA games ... Haley Valis has scored a run in each of her last five C-USA home appearances ... Laurie Wagner tallied her second multi-hit game of the season and 13th of her career ... Amanda Grote has reached base in six of her last seven C-USA games ... Barbie Love fired her fourth shutout of the season ... Three of her four shutouts have come in Conference USA action ... With six strikeouts, Love is 27 Ks away from reaching 200 for her career.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Love, Barbie (6-5)
L: GRESHAM, L. (4-3)
Batting:
2B: FEASTER, K. 1
SH: ALVAREZ, C. 1
Batting:
2B: Valis, Jessica 1
RBI: Raley, Christa 2 ; Wagner, Laurie 3
SH: Raley, Christa 1 ; Valis, Haley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Valis, Jessica 1 ; Bush, Katie 2 ; Nordstrom, Elaina 1 ; Raley, Christa 1 ; Durham, Laura 1 ; Valis, Haley 1
SB: Valis, Jessica 1 ; Durham, Laura 1
HBP: Raley, Christa 1
