University of Houston Athletics
Houston Heads Home for Baylor Rematch
4/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 11, 2011
| HOUSTON vs No. 17 BAYLOR | |
|---|---|
| Time | 3 p.m. CT/5 p.m. |
| Location | Houston, Texas |
| Stadium | Cougar Softball Stadium |
| Series Record | Houston trails, 8-11 |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Houston Notes (To Come)  Conference USA Notebook |
| Promotions | $1 Hot Dogs Student Organization Day |
| Social Media |  Facebook •  Twitter |
HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team will square off against No. 17 Baylor for the second time this season when the Cougars play host to the Bears in a doubleheader at Cougar Softball Stadium, Tuesday starting at 3 p.m.
AROUND THE BALLPARK
- $1 Hot Dog Day - Student Organization Day
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Baylor served as the host for Houston's first games away from Cougar Softball Stadium this season when the Bears held the 2011 QTI Powers Invitational, Feb. 25-27.
Then-No. 23 Houston handed Baylor its first loss of the season, when senior Amanda Crabtree threw a complete-game shutout to lead the Cougars' to a 1-0 victory.
Baylor leads the all-time series 11-8. Since losing to Houston, the Bears have gone on to build a 31-7 record and are currently ranked No. 17 in both national polls.
HOUSTON (28-12, 11-4)
OVERALL: The Cougars come into the midweek matchup on a season-best 10-game win streak following an impressive three-game sweep against UTEP last weekend. For the first time in program history, the Cougars swept a conference opponent with three-straight run rules.
The Cougars' fourth-straight C-USA series victory moved them into sole possession of third place in the standings with a two-game lead over fourth-place East Carolina (29-13, 9-6).
The Cougars also became the only team in the league to earn both the C-USA Pitcher and Hitter of the Week two times this season. Senior right-hander Amanda Crabtree and sophomore shortstop Brooke Lathan swept the weekly honors after leading their team to the sweep over the Miners.
IN THE CIRCLE: Armed with her fourth C-USA Pitcher of the Week accolade this season, Crabtree (15-6) posted a 2-0 record along with her first save in three appearances last week. Over those 12.0 innings of work, Crabtree racked up 24 strikeouts and held down a 0.00 ERA.
Crabtree leads the pitching staff with a 1.01 overall ERA and 254 strikeouts in 145.1 innings pitched. Prior to this week's NCAA stats being released, the senior ranked third in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (12.0) and sixth in the NCAA in overall strikeouts.
Fellow senior Donna Bourgeois (11-6) is enjoying a hot streak on her own, going 6-0 in her last six appearances while allowing just five walks and one earned run. She leads the staff with a 0.37 ERA in conference play.
AT THE PLATE: After earning the first C-USA Hitter of the Week honor of her career, sophomore shortstop Brooke Lathan enters Tuesday's contest as the leader of a potent offense. In her last four games, Lathan hit at a .700 clip, slugging three homeruns, a double and a triple en route to driving in 10 RBI on the week.
Lathan wasn't the only one wailing at the plate last week, the Cougars knocked out 11 homers in El Paso last weekend to extend its lead as the conference leader with 46 total homers.
Junior left fielder Melissa Gregson pounded out her team-leading 11th and 12th homers of the year against UTEP and continues to lead the team in RBIs (34), after collecting nine this weekend.
Houston uses more than just power hitting, as senior right fielder Katy Beth Sherman went 7-for-10 over the weekend. The slap-hitter crossed the plate six times for Houston during the UTEP series.
No. 17 BAYLOR (31-7, 5-3 Big 12 Conference)
OVERALL: The Bears are coming off of a split with No. 14 Oklahoma last weekend to move to 5-3 in the Big 12. Baylor opened conference play with a split against then-No. 21 Texas A&M and pulled off a split the following weekend against then-No. 11 Missouri.
IN THE CIRCLE: Baylor's 1.28 ERA as a staff ranks second in the Big 12, only No. 7/5 Texas holds a higher mark. Redshirt sophomore lefty Whitney Canion (17-5) leads the team with a 0.97 ERA with a team-leading 187 strikeouts to match. Canion took the loss against Houston in the pair's first meeting this season.
While Canion threw both games against No. 14 Oklahoma last weekend, sophomore right-hander Courtney Repka (8-1) sees the most time in the circle behind her. In her 66.0 innings of work, Repka has accumulated a 2.02 ERA with 44 strikeouts.
AT THE PLATE: The Bears are clubbing at a .299 rate, with 30 homeruns as a team. Senior shortstop Dani Leal's .394 overall batting average ranks ninth in the Big 12. She also leads the team in homeruns (11) and RBI (27).
Aside from Leal, four more Baylor starts are also hitting above .300, including redshirt freshman first baseman Holly Holl, who leads the team with seven doubles while hitting .325.
