University of Houston Athletics
No. 11 Softball Set to Host Memphis This Weekend
3/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 28, 2008
HOUSTON -- The University of Houston softball team will look to extend their 6-0 start in Conference USA this weekend when they play host to the Memphis Tigers at Cougar Softball Stadium. Houston will play a double-header on March 29 starting a 1pm. The final game of the series will be at noon on March 30.
No. 11 Houston is 28-4 this season including a 6-0 mark in Conference USA. They take a 4-2 all-time record into the series against the Tigers.
Houston enters the series on a six-game conference win streak. They registered sweeps of Marshall and Southern Miss to open conference play, it was the first time Houston had swept two team to start the conference season. The six-straight wins are just one win shy of tying the program record of seven consecutive conference wins. Houston accomplished that feat last season when they started the conference season 7-0.
Junior Laurie Wagner leads the team with .410 batting average and is second in C-USA. Her .747 slugging percentage also leads the league. The team paces the league with a .317 batting average and has a league-best 12 home runs in conference games.
Freshman Jennifer Klinkert, through six conference games leads the league with a .600 batting average, a 1.333 slugging percentage and a .714 on base percentage.
Memphis enters the game with a 16-14 record and a 0-5 record in C-USA. They are led by Leila Dolfo who has a team best .353 batting average. Pitcher Janelle Valle is leading the team with a 2.72 ERA. The Tigers are also 2-7 on the road.
Fans can follow all games be logging on to www.UHCoougars.com and following the Gametracker link.
Last Time Out
Junior Christa Raley was named the co-C-USA Hitter of the Week after the Cougars went 3-0 against Southern Miss on March 21-22. Raley went 5-for-10 over the last week including a grand slam in Houston's game one win over Southern Miss. Her 1.000 slugging percentage and .545 on base percentage was second best on the team over the weekend. Raley had just one strikeout and notched five RBI in the four games.
The Cougar offense outscored Southern Miss 26-5 in three games and has outscored their conference opponents 62-10 in six league games.
Up Next
Following the Memphis series, Houston will travel to Orlando, Fla., for a series against UCF on April 5-6. They will then return home for a mid-week game against the USA Olympic Team on April 8 at Memorial Park.
