University of Houston
Southern Miss
Cougar Bats Explode to Take Both Games Against Southern Miss
3/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 26, 2011
Game One Boxscore | Game Two BoxscoreGame One Boxscore (PDF) | Game Two Boxscore (PDF)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | F | H | E | |
| HOUSTON | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| USM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Pitching | IP | ER | K/BB | H |
| Amanda Crabtree (W, 12-6) | 7.0 | 0 | 13/3 | 0 |
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| Batting | H | AB | R | RBI | BB | ||||
| Melissa Gregson | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Brooke Lathan | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Holly Anderson | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | F | H | E | |
| HOUSTON | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 4 |
| USM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Pitching | IP | ER | K/BB | H |
| Donna Bourgeois (W, 6-6) | 4.1 | 0 | 4/0 | 3 |
| Amanda Crabtree | 1.2 | 0 | 5/0 | 0 |
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| Batting | H | AB | R | RBI | BB |
| Melissa Gregson | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Brooke Lathan | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Reina Gaber | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Senior Amanda Crabtree (12-6) threw her third no-hitter of the season against the Golden Eagles (10-19, 0-5) in the series opener, striking out 13 and walking three. She would be called upon for short relief in game two, where she struck out all five batters she faced.
"In conference, anytime you can do that is a big feat," head coach Kyla Holas. "There are no surprises in conference, (they have all played against her) and anyone can come in on any day and win. I'm very glad to see that she can come in and continue to do this, especially this late in the season."
Fellow senior Donna Bourgeois (6-6) notched the win in game two, throwing a brilliant start that saw just three hits, four strikeouts, no walks and no earned runs in 4.1 innings of work. Both of USM's runs in the fourth inning were unearned.
At the plate, the Cougars (20-12, 4-4) were led by a monster day from junior Melissa Gregson. Playing in left field in game one and making her first start of the season behind the plate in game two, Gregson rolled with the flow. She blasted three homeruns in the doubleheader as part of a 5-for-8, five RBI performance.
In the nightcap, Gregson posted career-high numbers in runs scored (4) and RBI (4), while tying her runs scored record (3).
"She's been working really hard and putting in the extra time, not only for her but for her teammates," Holas said. "She was rewarded today for her selflessness and her hard work."
Gregson wasn't the only one slugging, sophomore shortstop Brooke Lathan went 3-5 with three RBI on Saturday, including a double in each game. Fellow sophomore Reina Gaber also had a multi-hit game two with a pair of runs scored.
"Today was them showing what a good week of practice can do for you this late in the season," Holas said. "They worked on putting the ball in play and executing what we asked them to do. They are doing things now that they can carry with them for the rest of the season as well as tomorrow."
GAME ONE: Houston 5, USM 0
Crabtree held an opponent hitless for the third of the season in the en route to her 12th win of the season. She struck out 13 in the process, including seven-straight during the first three innings. The right-hander faced just three over the minimum, each attributed to walks.
The Kingwood, Texas native got help from a fired up offense that pelted eight hits and capitalized on three USM errors to put up five runs. Gregson went yard for the sixth time this season while sophomores Holly Anderson and Lathan each drilled doubles.
Gregson put the Cougars on the board first. Her line drive toward left field cleared the wall without needing the help of the 15 mph wind gusts blowing out and put the Cougars ahead in the top of the second, 1-0.
Crabtree showed her support by striking out the side in the bottom half of the inning and doing so again in the home half of the third en route to striking out seven-consecutive Golden Eagles.
The Cougars got it going again in the top of the fourth when Lathan drilled a double to left center to leadoff the inning. Redshirt junior Jennifer Klinkert connected on a line drive single back at USM starter Beth Dietrich (5-9), who knocked the ball down but not before Lathan moved to third. Freshman first baseman Stesha Brazil manufactured an RBI, sending a groundball to second base to tack another run onto Houston's lead, 2-0.
After sitting down the first 10 Golden Eagle hitters in a row, Crabtree threw back-to-back walks to Taylor Brown and Michelle Takeda. The senior pitcher buckled down to toss her eighth strikeout against USM homerun threat Jill Mathis. A groundout ended the threat, sending the game into the fifth.
Anderson missed her fourth homer of the season by less than a foot with her one-out double off the top of the left field wall in the top of the fifth. Senior right fielder Katy Beth Sherman joined her on the bases, singling to center. Sophomore designated player Reina Gaber sent a hard shot to third that resulted in her reaching on an error, bringing home Anderson.
An errant pickoff attempt gave Sherman room to score, and Lathan's sac fly to center marked the only RBI of the Cougars' big inning as they took the commanding 5-0 lead.
Kelly Smith took over for Dietrich in the top of the seventh, and although she surrendered back-to-back walks, the Cougars headed into the bottom of the seventh holding onto the five-run lead.
Doing what she does, Crabtree struck out the side in the Golden Eagles' final at bat to earn her 12th victory of the season.
GAME TWO: Houston 10, USM 2 (6 innings)
The Cougars wasted no time putting runs on the board in the nightcap as Houston sent its entire lineup to the plate in first and second innings to jump ahead 6-0 after the Cougars' first two at bats.
Sherman opened up the first inning, beating out an error to reach base. Gaber continued to do her job as the designated player when she cranked a double to right center, driving in Sherman for the first run of the game.
Making her first start behind the plate this season, Gregson got on base using a fielder's choice and came home on Gaber's RBI double. Senior right fielder Angela Spittler battled and drew a walk with the bases loaded to score Klinkert for the 3-0 first-inning lead.
The Cougars were right back at it in the second inning, putting up a four spot using four hits and another USM error. Sherman kicked off the scoring rally with a line drive single off the glove of starting pitcher Gabby Luciani (2-3). An error on Gaber's grounder scored Sherman and gave her front row seats to Gregson's second homerun of the day.
Klinkert smashed a triple to the right field fence and put the Cougars' up 7-0 when Spittler beat out an infield single for the RBI to finish out the second-inning scoring rally.
Gregson accounted for yet another Cougar run in the top of the fourth, crushing a double to jumpstart the inning. Lathan tagged a two-bagger of her own, driving home Gregson for the 8-0 lead.
In the meantime, Bourgeois kept the Cougar defense out of the field as much as possible. The senior allowed just three hits through the first four innings without surrendering a single walk. In fact, the two runs she allowed in the bottom of the fourth were results of back-to-back Golden Eagles reaching on errors.
Hitting at a red-hot pace, Gregson struck again in the top of the sixth. After moving to left field in the previous inning, she stepped up and blasted her third homerun of the day to left field. The bomb marked her eighth of the season, making her the new team leader.
After earning the win, Bourgeois' outing ended in the bottom of the fifth. Crabtree stepped in and collected five more strikeouts and sealed the 10-2 run rule.
Houston and Southern Miss will wrap up the series on Sunday at USM Softball Complex. First pitch is schedule for 11 a.m.
