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Friday, May 3
Houston
6 p.m.
University of Houston
vs
ECU
Houston Celebrates Seniors in Regular Season Finale
5/2/2019 5:04:00 PM | Softball
Cougars host ECU for final regular season games
HOUSTON – The University of Houston Softball team closes out American Athletic Conference play and the 2019 regular season with a three-game series against ECU starting Friday.
The series will serve as "Senior Weekend" at Cougar Softball Stadium with the program recognizing three of their six seniors prior to Saturday and Sunday's games. Rachel Hill, Maya Thomas and Savannah Heebner will be honored on Saturday, while Sarah Barker, Brooke Vannoy and Presley Bell will follow on Sunday.
Houston heads into the weekend seeking to carry its momentum from the past two games, where the Cougar offense has been on an absolute tear. Having totaled 26 runs and 35 hits in their last two outings, the Cougars have produced some of the most prolific offensive numbers in recent memory.
The Cougars also enter this weekend looking to make a splash in the record books, as Houston's 37 all-time wins against ECU sit only behind the 38 victories Houston has against Southern Miss for most wins over a single opponent. Houston has won seven of its past eight contests against the Pirates, including its last three at Cougar Softball Stadium.
In the 18-year history between the two squads, there have been four run-ruled games, in which the past three have come in Houston's favor. The last run-ruling came in 2018 when the Cougars defeated the Pirates, 11-0, in six innings.
vs. ECU
Last Time Out
The Cougars saw an offensive outburst on Tuesday night, as a season-high 17 runs lead to a 17-1 midweek victory over Sam Houston State. Houston's 17 runs are the most the Cougars have scored in a game since 2016 against UT Arlington when the team plated 18 runs.
Houston's 17 hits against SHSU also marked back-to-back games that Houston reached the 17-hit plateau. The team recorded a season-high 18 hits against UCF (4/28). Along with their 17 runs, the Cougars utilized their offensive firepower all night long, tallying a season-high nine extra-base hits, coming off of seven doubles and two home runs.
The seven doubles from Houston tied a program-record set in 2008. As a result of the offensive outpouring, 19 members on Houston's roster saw action in the contest.
Hit 'Em Fast, Hit 'Em Hard
Not only has the Houston offense come out firing this season, but the Cougars have pounded their opponents in the opening innings. Heading into this weekend, the Cougars are outscoring their opposition 79-27 in the first two innings.
The opening frame for Houston has proven to be a valuable one for the team, as the Cougars are 14-1 on the year when they score in the first inning. Overall, Houston is 25-3 when scoring first.
Milestone Tracker
Senior pitcher Savannah Heebner continues to etch her name in the record books, as her 62 career wins rank second all-time behind only Angel Shamblin (2005-08), who holds the program record with 94 career victories.
With her start behind the dish against USF (March 31), senior catcher Brooke Vannoy reached the 200 mark for games she's appeared in for her career. She became the second player this season to have appeared in 200 games in a career, joining teammate Maya Thomas.
Thomas has also seen her name climb in the record books, as she is on the verge of setting the program record for career batting average. With her current mark at .377, Thomas is just three points away from owning the highest career batting average in program history.
With Houston's 3-0 victory over UCF (April 26), head coach Kristin Vesely earned the 100th career of her coaching career, becoming the fastest coaching program history to reach that 100-win milestone.
My Oh My, She's on Fire!
After earning three All-Conference accolades in her first three seasons, senior outfielder Maya Thomas is making a case for herself to earn the fourth All-Conference award of her career this season. Since the start of conference play on March 22, Thomas has been on an absolute tear, bolstering a .475 batting average in 22 games.
In her past 10 outings, Thomas has put up a blistering .690 mark, recording five multiple-hit performances in the process. That same stretch has also seen Thomas set a career high four hits against Memphis (April 20), which she tied at UCF (April 28). During conference play, Thomas has been nearly unstoppable, leading the league with her .500 mark against conference foes.
Maximum Air
After bolstering a .583 batting average against Texas State (April 23) and UCF (April 26-28), which included three multi-hit performances, junior infielder Arielle James was named The American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the second time of her career.
To start off last week, James guided the Cougars to a 4-3, comeback win over the Bobcats, where she doubled home the game-tying and go-ahead runs with two outs in the top of the seventh. She then followed that performance posting a career-high five assists in the field, which guided Houston to the series-opening win over UCF.
In the rubber match against the Knights, James not only recorded the first triple of her career, but she also tied her career high with three hits in the contest, having scored a pair of runs in the process as well.
THE AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
The University of Houston is hosting the 2019 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, taking place from May 9-11 at Cougar Softball Softball Stadium. Fans who wish to purchase tickets to the event can do so now for a low as $5 by clicking here.
STAY CONNECTED
Follow Houston Softball on Twitter and Instagram at UHCougarSB, and "Like" UHCougarSB on Facebook.
JOIN DIAMOND CLUB
Fans can help support the Houston Softball program by joining the Diamond Club. To find out more information about the Diamond Club, visit UHCougars.com or call Cougar Pride at (713) 743-GoUH. For more information, Click Here.
– UHCougars.com –
The series will serve as "Senior Weekend" at Cougar Softball Stadium with the program recognizing three of their six seniors prior to Saturday and Sunday's games. Rachel Hill, Maya Thomas and Savannah Heebner will be honored on Saturday, while Sarah Barker, Brooke Vannoy and Presley Bell will follow on Sunday.
Houston heads into the weekend seeking to carry its momentum from the past two games, where the Cougar offense has been on an absolute tear. Having totaled 26 runs and 35 hits in their last two outings, the Cougars have produced some of the most prolific offensive numbers in recent memory.
The Cougars also enter this weekend looking to make a splash in the record books, as Houston's 37 all-time wins against ECU sit only behind the 38 victories Houston has against Southern Miss for most wins over a single opponent. Houston has won seven of its past eight contests against the Pirates, including its last three at Cougar Softball Stadium.
In the 18-year history between the two squads, there have been four run-ruled games, in which the past three have come in Houston's favor. The last run-ruling came in 2018 when the Cougars defeated the Pirates, 11-0, in six innings.
vs. ECU
- 6 p.m. on Friday, May 3 | Houston vs. ECU | Live Stats | Watch
- 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 4 | Houston vs. ECU | Live Stats | Watch
- Noon on Sunday, May 5 | Houston vs. ECU | Live Stats | Watch
Last Time Out
The Cougars saw an offensive outburst on Tuesday night, as a season-high 17 runs lead to a 17-1 midweek victory over Sam Houston State. Houston's 17 runs are the most the Cougars have scored in a game since 2016 against UT Arlington when the team plated 18 runs.
Houston's 17 hits against SHSU also marked back-to-back games that Houston reached the 17-hit plateau. The team recorded a season-high 18 hits against UCF (4/28). Along with their 17 runs, the Cougars utilized their offensive firepower all night long, tallying a season-high nine extra-base hits, coming off of seven doubles and two home runs.
The seven doubles from Houston tied a program-record set in 2008. As a result of the offensive outpouring, 19 members on Houston's roster saw action in the contest.
Hit 'Em Fast, Hit 'Em Hard
Not only has the Houston offense come out firing this season, but the Cougars have pounded their opponents in the opening innings. Heading into this weekend, the Cougars are outscoring their opposition 79-27 in the first two innings.
The opening frame for Houston has proven to be a valuable one for the team, as the Cougars are 14-1 on the year when they score in the first inning. Overall, Houston is 25-3 when scoring first.
Milestone Tracker
Senior pitcher Savannah Heebner continues to etch her name in the record books, as her 62 career wins rank second all-time behind only Angel Shamblin (2005-08), who holds the program record with 94 career victories.
With her start behind the dish against USF (March 31), senior catcher Brooke Vannoy reached the 200 mark for games she's appeared in for her career. She became the second player this season to have appeared in 200 games in a career, joining teammate Maya Thomas.
Thomas has also seen her name climb in the record books, as she is on the verge of setting the program record for career batting average. With her current mark at .377, Thomas is just three points away from owning the highest career batting average in program history.
With Houston's 3-0 victory over UCF (April 26), head coach Kristin Vesely earned the 100th career of her coaching career, becoming the fastest coaching program history to reach that 100-win milestone.
My Oh My, She's on Fire!
After earning three All-Conference accolades in her first three seasons, senior outfielder Maya Thomas is making a case for herself to earn the fourth All-Conference award of her career this season. Since the start of conference play on March 22, Thomas has been on an absolute tear, bolstering a .475 batting average in 22 games.
In her past 10 outings, Thomas has put up a blistering .690 mark, recording five multiple-hit performances in the process. That same stretch has also seen Thomas set a career high four hits against Memphis (April 20), which she tied at UCF (April 28). During conference play, Thomas has been nearly unstoppable, leading the league with her .500 mark against conference foes.
Maximum Air
After bolstering a .583 batting average against Texas State (April 23) and UCF (April 26-28), which included three multi-hit performances, junior infielder Arielle James was named The American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the second time of her career.
To start off last week, James guided the Cougars to a 4-3, comeback win over the Bobcats, where she doubled home the game-tying and go-ahead runs with two outs in the top of the seventh. She then followed that performance posting a career-high five assists in the field, which guided Houston to the series-opening win over UCF.
In the rubber match against the Knights, James not only recorded the first triple of her career, but she also tied her career high with three hits in the contest, having scored a pair of runs in the process as well.
The University of Houston is hosting the 2019 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, taking place from May 9-11 at Cougar Softball Softball Stadium. Fans who wish to purchase tickets to the event can do so now for a low as $5 by clicking here.
Follow Houston Softball on Twitter and Instagram at UHCougarSB, and "Like" UHCougarSB on Facebook.
Fans can help support the Houston Softball program by joining the Diamond Club. To find out more information about the Diamond Club, visit UHCougars.com or call Cougar Pride at (713) 743-GoUH. For more information, Click Here.
– UHCougars.com –
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP/1B
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/INF
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