University of Houston Athletics
Houston Set for Southern Miss Matchup
5/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 11, 2011
| HOUSTON vs. SOUTHERN MISS - C-USA TOURNAMENT | |
|---|---|
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. |
| Stadium | ECU Softball Stadium |
| Series Record | Houston leads, 29-13 |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Houston Notes  Conference USA Notebook |
| Promotions | Conference USA Tournament Central |
| Social Media |  Facebook •  Twitter |
HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team returns to East Carolina to begin its 10th Conference USA Tournament, May 12-14. Holding the top seed, the Cougars will meet No. 8 Southern Miss on Thursday at 7 p.m. EDT, in Greenville, N.C.
After sweeping the series at ECU just two weeks ago, Houston (39-15, 19-5) heads back to ECU Softball Stadium as the Co-C-USA regular season champion. Tying Tulsa's 19-5 conference record, Houston earned the No. 1 seed due to owning the tiebreaker against the Golden Hurricane. It also marks the first time in the league's history to finish the regular season with co-champions.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Houston traveled to Hattiesburg, Miss., in the final weekend of March and took all three games from Southern Miss, winning by scores of 5-0, 10-2 (6) and 11-0. Senior pitcher Amanda Crabtree and junior left fielder Melissa Gregson shined in the series, as the pair swept the conference's Pitcher and Hitter of the Week awards following the three-game meeting.
Crabtree threw a no-hitter on the road in the series opener. In 11.1 scoreless innings over that weekend, Crabtree never gave up a hit and walked just three. She also tallied 25 strikeouts while registering a 0.00 ERA. Gregson finished the weekend hitting at a .556 clip with five RBI, three homeruns and a double for a slugging percentage of 1.667 on the series.
The Cougars hold the all-time series lead against USM, 29-13.
HOUSTON (39-15, 19-5)
OVERALL: The Cougars rebounded from an 0-3 start to the conference season by going 19-2 to win the third C-USA regular season title in program history. In the latest RPI predictions (May 4), Houston stands at the No. 21 spot after building a resume that includes a three-week stint as a top-25 team and have been receiving votes over the previous four weeks.
Playing under pressure, Houston went 9-1 in the final 10 games of the season, sweeping ECU and UCF to clinch its share of the conference crown. Now holding the top spot in the tournament, Houston will look to sweep the regular season and tournament C-USA championship for the second time in school history (2007).
IN THE CIRCLE: According to head coach Kyla Holas, her team did something that very few teams in the NCAA are able to do at this point in the season: win with three pitchers. In the final weekend of the season, the Cougars received complete game, shut out victories from each of the three members of the pitching staff.
Crabtree (18-7) made her return to the circle after a brief injury break without missing a beat. The team's ERA leader (0.92) struck out 12 and walked none in the second game of the UCF series. Her 12 strikeouts put her just 11 shy of becoming Houston's all-time single-season strikeout leader. Her over ERA is second in the league only to Tulsa's Aimee Creger (0.83), and her conference-only mark (0.61) is second to teammate Donna Bourgeois (0.50).
Her momentary leave did little to affect her NCAA presence either, as she continues to lead the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (12.1) and hits allowed per seven (2.67).
Fellow senior Donna Bourgeois (15-6) stands in as another option that can get it done for the Cougars. The right-hander has posted an 11-0 record in her last 11 decisions while leading the league in conference-only ERA (0.50). In her first and only season at Houston, the senior transfer has yet to surrender a homerun to a C-USA hitter.
Freshman righty Diedre Outon (6-2) is a welcomed third wheel. Asked to throw the decisive final game of the UCF series, Outon responded with her second complete game shutout of her career. She struck out five and gave out no free passes to the Knights to bring her season ERA to 1.51. Outon's 1.19 ERA is sixth-best in the conference.
AT THE PLATE:Sophomore third baseman Holly Anderson rose to the challenge for the Cougars last weekend, hitting at a .571 clip against UCF, including her sixth and seventh homers of the season. The sophomore notched a hit and an RBI in each game over the weekend to earn her first Hitter of the Week accolade of her career.
Junior left fielder Melissa Gregson will start the tournament after posting a career year with her bat. Gregson leads the conference in homeruns (16) and RBI (43). In conference-play only, Gregson's status is even more substantial. She leads the league in batting average (.418), homeruns (10), slugging percentage (.940) and RBI (26).
As a team, Houston is leading C-USA in homeruns (63), runs scored (265), RBI (233), slugging percentage (.463) and on-base percentage (.364). A crew of disciplined hitters, the Cougars are have drawn 172 walks (2nd) and have the fewest total strikeouts in the league (225).
SOUTHERN MISS (17-37, 4-20)
OVERALL: The Golden Eagles hit a rough road during the final stretch of the regular season, going 1-9 prior to the C-USA Tournament. UCF and Memphis took back-to-back series sweeps against USM in the last pair of league matchups.
IN THE CIRCLE: With a team ERA of 4.01, the Golden Eagles' pitching staff has two starters posting an ERA over 4.00 and two under that mark. Sophomore right-hander Beth Dietrich (10-18) leads the team in wins (10), ERA (3.23) and strikeouts (89).
AT THE PLATE: Southern Miss is hitting .235 as a team with 32 combined homeruns. Freshman Brittany Lilly stands in as the only Golden Eagle in the lineup with a batting average above .300 as she enters the tournament posting a .327 mark.
Senior Jill Mathis leads the team with 10 homeruns and 29 RBI.
UP NEXT
The Conference USA Softball Championship is a single-elimination tournament format. With a win, the Cougars would advance to face the winner of the No. 4 Memphis vs. No. 5 East Carolina on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
