Houston Splits 2nd Day of Invitational

Saturday, February 12

Houston, Texas

3 p.m.

University of Houston

2-0

UTSA

0-4

UTSA

Houston

2/12/2022 8:51:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Cougars top UTSA again, fall in one-hitter against Texas Tech

By: Armando Yanez

HOUSTON − The University of Houston softball team split its two games on Saturday against UTSA and Texas Tech. The Cougars topped UTSA for the second-straight game with a 9-5 win, but fell 1-0 to future Big 12 rival Texas Tech.

Game 1
In her Houston debut, right-handed starter Hannah Todd tossed 3.1 innings with four strikeouts. Todd would make way for right-handed pitchers Megan Lee and Kenna Wilkey. Lee earned the victory after tossing 2.2 innings out of the bullpen. Lee only allowed one hit but left with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, making way for Wilkey. Wilkey earned the save by pitching a scoreless seventh inning with the bases loaded.

The Roadrunners (0-4) opened the scoring when third baseman Camryn Robillard came home on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning to lead 1-0.

UH (2-1) responded immediately in the bottom of the third with four runs thanks to right fielder Paige Hulsey, third baseman Ja'Naiya Thomas and second baseman Becca Schulte to take the lead at 4-1.

UTSA came back and wasted no time as it regained the lead with four runs of its own in the top of the fourth inning to go up 5-4.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Cougars evened the game at 5-5 as Hulsey scored after center fielder Aspen Howie was walked on a full count with the bases loaded.

After a scoreless fifth inning, pinch hitter LA Matthews doubled to left center field as left fielder Bethany Busch scored to give the Cougars a 6-5 lead with two outs.

On the next at bat, Schulte singled down the left field line to bring Matthews home and extend UH's lead to 7-5.

On a wild sequence including an error by UTSA shortstop Taylor Medina, designated player Paige Lott and Schulte scored unearned runs to boost the score to 9-5.

Wilkey shut the door in the seventh to give the Cougars their second-straight win over the Roadrunners in 2022.

Game 2
Right-handed pitcher Saleen Flores made her debut, tossing 5.2 innings but ended up getting tagged for the loss in the 1-run game.

For the second-straight game, Wilkey stepped in with the bases loaded to get the Cougars out of a jam, alleviating pressure in the sixth inning to keep Texas Tech to just one run. Wilkey stayed in the game, finishing the game with 1.1 hitless innings in relief striking out one batter.

Texas Tech (3-0) right-handed pitcher Kendall Fritz threw a no-hitter through six innings before Howie singled out to left field in the top of the seventh with no outs. Howie would end up at third base after a Schutle sacrifice bunt was thrown into foul territory by the Red Raiders. With runners on the corners, the Cougars lined into a double play, releasing the pressure for Texas Tech in the inning.

Despite the first hit of the game, Fritz stayed on the mound and finished the game with only one hit allowed throughout the win.

The game saw a 20 minute delay due to a neighborhood-wide power outage in the fifth inning.

UP NEXT
The softball team will finish the last day of the Houston Invitational with another double-header against Dayton and Texas Tech at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13 at Cougar Softball Stadium.

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 −