Houston Takes Two From Marshall to Open Series
4/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 2, 2011
Game One Boxscore | Game Two Boxscore
HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team came from behind to win the opening game of the Conference USA series against Marshall, 3-2, and shutout the Thundering Herd in the nightcap, 4-0, at Cougar Softball Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Houston (23-12, 7-4) rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings before a walk-off homerun for redshirt junior Jennifer Klinkert sealed the 3-2 victory. In game two, the Cougars used timely hits and capitalized on Marshall's miscues to post four runs of offensive support in a 4-0 win.
"It is good to see (us find ways to win)," head coach Kyla Holas said. "Especially this late in the season, you're not always going to be on. Plus, conference teams know us inside and out. They know us and they've seen the scouting reports. So for us to come back and win today took a lot of guts and I'm glad to see our girls have some today."
Senior Donna Bourgeois (9-6) earned the win in both games after tossing 4.1 innings of scoreless relief in game one and returning to the circle to throw a complete game shutout in the second game of the doubleheader. She struck out 12 and didn't surrender a single run in her combined 11.1 innings of work on Saturday.
At the plate, the Cougars were led by redshirt junior Jennifer Klinkert who posted a hit and an RBI in each game, including the walk-off homerun that gave Houston the extra-inning victory in the series opener.
Sophomore third baseman Holly Anderson and senior Angela Spittler each posted hits in both games.
GAME ONE: Houston 3, Marshall 2 (8)
After Spittler tagged a solo bomb to left to send the game to extras in the bottom of the seventh, Klinkert was the hero in the bottom of the eighth. Rallying on two outs, the second baseman stepped up and sent Marshall starter Natalee Pulver's (6-9) delivery to left field for her sixth homerun of the season.
Bourgeois earned the victory in relief. She stepped in for senior starter Amanda Crabtree in the fourth and threw 4.1 scoreless innings, walking one while striking out six.
Crabtree flew through the first and second innings, racking up a pair of strikeouts in each to move into the bottom of the second knotted at 0-0. Crabtree finished her start with seven strikeouts, two walks, three hits and two unearned runs.
A pair of Herd miscues allowed sophomore shortstop Brooke Lathan to score after leading off the bottom of the second with a walk as the Cougars took an early 1-0 lead.
Crabtree dealt a leadoff walk to first baseman Melanie Stoehr followed by an intentional pass to shortstop Alianna Telles in Marshall's half of the third. The senior buckled down to strike out the next three to hold onto the slim lead.
Anderson slammed a double off the right-center field wall to lead off the bottom of the third. Although junior left fielder Melissa Gregson laid down a textbook sac bunt to move her to third, a pop-up and long fly ball accounted for the next two outs to keep the Cougars from extending their lead.
As expected, Marshall's speed impacted the game and helped the Herd take a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth. Third baseman Jazmine Valle was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Morgan Cottrell stood in to pinch run for her and stole second with one out. Second baseman Bri Anna Hope reached on an error, moving Cottrell to third. Hope swiped second to put runners on second and third before a passed ball brought Cottrell home, tying the game, 1-1.
Designated player Alysia Hively beat out an infield single and was lifted for pinch runner Brittney Ybarra. Freshman catcher Haley Outon fired a shot to third attempting to pick off Hope, starting a rundown in the process. Although Hope dove back to third safely, Outon laid the tag on Ybarra who was trying to steal third. Stoehr stayed in and hit an RBI single down the right field line, giving Marshall the 2-1 advantage. An infield single by Ashley Gue ended Crabtree's start, and Bourgeois ended the inning with a groundout.
Bourgeois struck out the side in Marshall's next at bat, giving her offense the opportunity to get the run back.
Spittler was the first to respond. Called upon to pinch hit to leadoff the seventh, Spittler connected on her first homerun of the season. Her solo shot to left sent the game into extras locked, 2-2.
Bourgeois worked through 1-2-3 eighth inning to set up Klinkert's walk-off heroics in the Cougars' final at bat.
GAME TWO: Houston 4, Marshall 0
For the second time of the day, the Cougars jumped on the board first, using a hit and a Marshall error to plate two runs in their first at bat.
Senior left fielder Katy Beth Sherman led off the game by taking one off the helmet to reach first. Anderson joined her on the bases due to a Marshall error before sophomore designated player Reina Gaber's sac bunt moved them to second and third.
Gregson came to the plate and broke open a wild play that resulted in a 2-0 Cougar lead. After tagging an infield single to second to score Sherman, Gregson got caught between first and second to give Anderson enough time to take off for home. She slid under the tag safely while Gregson landed on second.
With a 2-0 lead to work with before she stepped into the circle, Bourgeois picked up where she left off at the end of game one. Through the first five innings, the senior allowed just two hits while striking out four to keep the Thundering Herd off the board.
The Cougars added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when Gaber drew a one-out walk and tagged for second on a long fly ball from Gregson. Junior Mary Tyler Dobson was called in to pinch run for Gaber. Her stay on second was a short one, however, as Klinkert's RBI single brought her home and put Houston ahead, 3-0.
Spittler and sophomore centerfielder Ashleigh Jones teamed up in the bottom of the sixth to tack on another run. Spittler led off the inning with a single to center that was booted to let her take second. A wild pitch moved her to third and Jones' line drive to right chased starter Andi Williamson (5-7) from the game and gave the Cougars the 4-0 advantage that would hold up for the remainder of the game.
UP NEXT
The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m. The Cougars will host Daddy/Daughter Day at Cougar Softball Stadium as dads and their little ones can purchase one adult ticket and one youth ticket for only $10.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bourgeois, Donna (9-6)
L: WILLIAMSON, Andi (5-7)
Batting:
SH: HUGHES, Jessica 1
Base Running:
SB: COTTRELL, Morgan 1 ; GAMBY, Rebecca 1 ; THOMPSON, Taylor 1 ; LOESING, Melissa 1
HBP: VALLE, Jazmine 1

Batting:
RBI: Gregson, Melissa 1 ; Klinkert, Jennifer 1 ; Jones, Ashleigh 1
SH: Gaber, Reina 1 ; Jones, Ashleigh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sherman, Katy 1 ; Anderson, Holly 1 ; Dobson, Mary 1 ; Spittler, Angela 1
CS: Brazil, Stesha 1
HBP: Sherman, Katy 1