University of Houston Athletics
No. 25 Houston to Open Conference Play Against UAB
3/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 11, 2011
| UAB at No. 25 Houston | |
|---|---|
| Time | 1 p.m./3 p.m. (Saturday) 12 p.m. (Sunday) |
| Location | Houston, Texas |
| Stadium | Cougar Softball Stadium |
| Series Record | Houston leads 25-6 |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Houston Notes  Conference USA Notebook |
| Promotions | Saturday - T-shirts to first 50 fans/Pearland Girls Softball Association Day Sunday - Camper Reunion Day/West Houston Girls Softball Association Day |
| Social Media |  Facebook •  Twitter |
HOUSTON - The 25th-ranked University of Houston softball team will kickoff the 2011 Conference USA season at home against the UAB Blazers at Cougar Softball Stadium, March 12-13.
The nationally ranked Cougars (16-6) will play host to the team that finished one spot ahead of them to conclude the 2010 season and one spot below them in the 2011 preseason coaches' poll. Houston finished fifth in the league to UAB's fourth place in 2010, but UH was picked to win the conference in 2011 over UAB and East Carolina, who tied for second.
Ranked No. 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and the top receiving-votes team on the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll, Houston will begin its 11th C-USA season on Saturday as the only top-25 team in the league, with UAB, Tulsa and Memphis each receiving votes.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
The Blazers (13-7) took all three games from the Cougars in the regular season series in Birmingham, Ala., last season. Houston adjusted to shut them out with a 3-0 victory in the opening round of the 2010 C-USA Tournament.
Houston holds an all-time series record of 25-6 against UAB.
The Cougars received 70 points in the C-USA preseason poll, while both UAB and ECU received 63 points in one of the closest preseason polls in conference history.
No. 25/RV HOUSTON (16-6)
OVERALL: The Cougars are coming off of a tough 4-1 loss at No. 13/12 Texas on Thursday before the quick turnaround into their first conference series. Saturday will mark the Cougars' first home game since Feb. 20 when they defeated then-No. 16 LSU in a thrilling 1-0 extra-inning game.
Houston's 16-6 (.727) non-conference start marks the second best start in program history. The Cougars posted a 22-3 (.880) non-conference start to the 2008 season, ranking as the best Houston softball history.
IN THE CIRCLE: Senior Amanda Crabtree (10-2) took the loss for just the second time this season at Texas on Thursday night. After holding the Longhorns' hitless until the fourth inning, the right-hander allowed four runs, two earned, and struck out seven in the defeat.
Both of her losses have now come via one-big inning for the opposing team. The other came from a Long Beach State three-run home run in the first inning, where Crabtree held the 49ers scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Crabtree entered the week leading the league in opposing batting average (.088). In 79 innings in the circle, Crabtree holds a 0.97 ERA and has racked up 129 strikeouts, good for second in the league behind defending C-USA Pitcher of the Year Toni Paisley (ECU). Paisley has 141 to her credit, but has done so with nearly 26 more innings of work.
Senior Donna Bourgeois (4-4) poses the other half of the Cougars' one-two punch. She is also holding opponents to a sub .200 average with a 1.88 ERA. Freshman Diedre Outon (2-0) may also see time in the circle. The rookie has yet to surrender an earned run in her collegiate career.
AT THE PLATE: In the Cougars' last outing, sophomore third baseman Holly Anderson blasted Longhorn All-American starter Blaire Luna's (11-2) second pitch of the game over the right field wall to give the Cougars the lead just seconds into the game. Her second bomb of the year marked the first game-leadoff home run that Luna has surrendered in her career.
Houston holds the top spot in the conference in both power and patience. The team's 22 home runs sits seven bombs away from the second spot (Marshall, 15). Additionally, Houston's hitters have drawn 80 walks as a team to pace C-USA. Sophomore shortstop Brooke Lathan (SS) and Anderson have much to do with that. Heading into the week, Lathan (6) ties Southern Miss' Jill Mathis for the league's best, while Anderson's on-base percentage (.429) rates sixth in the league due to her 12 walks on the season. That ties freshman catcher Haley Outon as the team's leader.
Redshirt junior second baseman Jennifer Klinkert, junior left fielder Melissa Gregson and senior designated player Baillie Lott have each slugged four homeruns apiece, tying them for fourth-best among the league's hitters.
UAB (13-7)
OVERALL: The Blazers went 3-1 at the Buzz Classic in Woodstock, Ga., last weekend, falling in their final game of the tournament to Georgia Tech, 8-0, to snap an eight-game win streak. UAB is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, the same poll that Houston is ranked in.
IN THE CIRCLE: UAB is led by sophomore right-hander Lauren Webster's (5-2) 0.88 ERA in 31.2 innings of work, but it was senior Alisha Smith who paced the Blazer pitchers over the weekend. Smith (3-1) was named to the Buzz Classic All-Tournament team after posting a 2-0 record and a flawless 0.00 ERA. In her two starts, she surrendered just five hits, no earned runs and struck out 14.
The Blazer pitching staff ranks third in Conference USA with a 1.49 team ERA. UAB has recorded nine shutouts and held opponents to a .180 batting average.
AT THE PLATE: C-USA All-Preseason selection Kayla Orr leads the Blazer offense, batting .328 with 20 hits, including six extra-base hits and 14 RBI. The junior shortstop is the only Blazer with more than one homerun (2) on the season. Senior center fielder Caley Walden has scored a team-high13 runs and is a perfect 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts.
