Houston Splits Doubleheader with No. 15 Baylor

April 12, 2011

Game One Boxscore | Game Two Boxscore
Game One Boxscore (PDF) | Game Two Boxscore (PDF)

	1	2	3	4	5	F	H	E
No. 15 BAYLOR	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
HOUSTON	0	4	0	0	4	8	9	1

Pitching	IP	ER	K/BB	H
Amanda Crabtree (W, 16-6)	5.0	0	10/2	3

="">

Batting	H	AB	R	RBI	BB
Stesha Brazil	2	3	2	3	0
Haley Outon	2	3	2	1	0
Holly Anderson	1	2	0	2	1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	F	H	E
No. 15 BAYLOR	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	2	8	7	3
HOUSTON	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	4	9	2

Pitching	IP	ER	K/BB	H
Donna Bourgeois	2.2	0	2/1	2
Diedre Outon	3.1	0	2/1	3
Amanda Crabtree (L, 16-7)	2.0	2	3/4	2

="">

Batting	H	AB	R	RBI	BB
Katy Beth Sherman	2	4	1	2	0
Reina Gaber	1	4	1	1	0
Ashleigh Jones	3	4	1	0	0

HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team stretched its win streak to 11 games when the Cougars took the first game of the doubleheader, but the streak stopped there as No. 15 Baylor took game two in extra innings, Tuesday afternoon at Cougar Softball Stadium.

Houston (29-13, 11-4) saw its win streak end at a season-best 11 games, but continues to hold the season series against the nationally-ranked Bears two games to one.

Senior Amanda Crabtree (16-7) buckled down and worked herself out of threats brought on by Baylor (32-8, 5-3), who left seven on base in the first game of the day. Tossing her eighth complete-game shutout of the season, Crabtree struck out 10, walked just two and scored three hits over five innings.

In game one, Houston continued to pound the ball. Freshmen Stesha Brazil and Haley Outon hit back-to-back bombs in the bottom of the fifth to give the Cougars the eight runs needed for a run rule, as the game was called in the bottom of the fifth. Brazil finished the day 3-for-7 with three RBI, while Outon was 2-for-6 on the afternoon with an RBI.

Sophomore third baseman Holly Anderson extended her hit streak to nine games with an RBI double in the second. She would move her streak to 10 games with another RBI base knock in game two, and posted a 2-for-6, three RBI day.

In the nightcap, the Cougars again used the long ball when sophomore designated player Reina Gaber helped erase a 3-1 Baylor lead with her first homer of the season. Sherman also shined, hitting her third triple of the season while Anderson again capitalized on an RBI opportunity.

Senior Donna Bourgeois made the start in the second game of the day, but her outing was held to just 2.2 innings as three unearned runs scored under her watch. Freshman Diedre Outon kept the Baylor bats quiet for 3.1 innings, allowing just three hits while striking out two.

Crabtree was called upon in the save situation in the top of the seventh, but became the pitcher of record when a two-out passed ball tied the game to force extra innings. She took the loss after allowing three runs, two of which came from the Baylor go-ahead homerun in the top of the eighth.

GAME ONE: Houston 8, No. 15 Baylor 0 (5 innings)
Crabtree kicked off the game in routine fashion, striking out the side to send her lineup to the plate in the bottom of the first. Baylor starter Courtney Repka (8-2) worked a quick inning in the Cougars' first at bat to start what looked to be a repeat of the pitching dual that the two put on in their first meeting.

The Cougars, however, quickly changed the script as they jumped on the board with a four-spot in the bottom of the second. Redshirt junior second baseman Jennifer Klinkert and Gaber led off the inning with back-to-back singles.

An illegal pitch called against Repka scored Klinkert to give the Cougars the 1-0 advantage. With two outs against her, Outon stepped up and clubbed a double to left. Although sophomore centerfielder Ashleigh Jones struck out swinging in the following at bat, her speed allowed her to beat out the dropped third strike and extend the inning.

Houston's hitters used the added opportunity to tack on three more runs. Staying hot at the plate, Sherman sent an RBI single to left. Anderson drilled a double off the centerfield wall to drive Jones and Sherman across and send the game into the third with a 4-0 Houston lead.

Baylor reacted immediately, as centerfielder Kathy Shelton and right fielder Kayce Walker tagged consecutive, two-out singles to put runners on second and third in the top of the third. Sherman tracked down a shallow fly ball to right field for the third out, ending the threat.

Baylor threatened again in the top of the fourth. A leadoff walk followed by a throwing error put a pair of runners on with no one out. A well-placed sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third with only one away. Crabtree went to work, striking out the next two Bears in order to end the inning.

Crabtree fended off a whacky infield and a speedy fielder's choice in the top of the fifth, with a fly out and her ninth and 10th strikeouts of the game, to once again work her way out of a Baylor rally. The Cougars took their 4-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth.

The Cougar offense took it from there as Brazil's three-run bomb knocked in Gaber and Klinkert, who had reached on walks. Outon's blast ended the game walk-off style in favor of Houston, 8-0.

GAME TWO: No. 15 Baylor 6, Houston 4 (8 innings)
Bourgeois worked through a 1-2-3 top of the first before turning it over to the Cougar lineup in the bottom half of the inning. An error, a walk and an infield single made for an adventurous bottom of the first, but Baylor starter Liz Paul (7-1) ended the inning without a Cougars crossing the plate.

Brazil picked up where she left off in the bottom of the second, leading off the bottom half of the inning with a sharp single to left. A throwing error allowed both Brazil and senior outfielder Angela Spittler to stay aboard with nobody out. An infield single put Jones on base to set up Sherman for the RBI opportunity. Sherman obliged, hitting a groundball to the right side to score Brazil.

With a 1-0 lead to work with, Bourgeois headed back to the circle to face a scrappy set of Baylor hitters in the top of the third. A hit batsman and a fielding error put a pair of Bears on with just one out, while a sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third.

A hard-hit single to center by Bear third baseman Megan Turk drove the first run in, bringing Baylor's leading hitter Dani Leal to the plate. Bourgeois put the shortstop on intentionally and faced designated player Whitney Canion next.

Canion did her job, connecting on a two-RBI single to knock in a pair of unearned runs against Bourgeois to put the Cougars behind, 3-1.

Canion's single ended Bourgeois' start for freshman reliever Diedre Outon, who threw into a groundout to end the inning.

While Outon worked through scoreless fourth and fifth innings, the Cougar bats remained quiet against Paul.

They broke their silence in a big way in the bottom of the sixth.

Gaber got the rally started when she bounced her first homerun of the season off of the scoreboard in right to cut the deficit, 3-2. Two outs later, Jones slapped a single up the middle. Her stay on first would be a short one, as Sherman smashed a triple to the right field fence, scoring the speedy Jones.

Anderson stretched her hit-streak to 10 games when she punched a clutch RBI single to left, bringing home Sherman and putting the Cougars ahead, 4-3.

With a save situation looming, Crabtree was called upon to throw the seventh inning. Two-straight walks led off the inning before a sac bunt moved them to second and third with only one out. A passed ball brought second baseman Meagan Wheldon home, tying the game, 4-4, to send it to the bottom of the seventh.

The Cougars were unable to get a rally going in their regulation at bat, and the nationally-ranked Bears took advantage when Weldon connected on a two-run homer to center steal the game, 6-4.

UP NEXT
Houston will stay at home, but return to Conference USA action when the Cougars play host to Tulsa at Cougar Softball Stadium in a three-game series, April 16-17. The first pitch of Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Team Stats

Ashleigh Jones

Katy Sherman

Holly Anderson

Jennifer Klinkert

Players Mentioned

Holly Anderson

Donna Bourgeois

Stesha Brazil

Amanda Crabtree

Reina Gaber

Ashleigh Jones

Jennifer Klinkert

Diedre Outon

Haley Outon

Katy Beth Sherman

Angela Spittler

Upcoming Events

Recent Results