Highlighting Cougar Softball's 2022 Season
Armando Yanez
Poised to turn things around with a fresh schedule and roster with talent across the board, the University of Houston showed moments of brilliance and resolve in a roller coaster 2022. With the season now past the finish line, we revisit a few of the moments that made the 2022 Cougar softball season special.
Spectacular Season Opener
The Cougars could not have written a better start to the season than a dominant 13-1 season opening victory over UTSA. The bats were glaring red from the start with second baseman Becca Schulte slapping a three run moonshot to get the Cougars on the board early. Two runs later, center fielder Aspen Howie joined in on the fun and matched Schulte with a three run bomb of her own to stretch UH’s lead to 8-0 in the bottom of the second. A second Schulte homer, a couple of runs scored on opposing fielding errors and an RBI later, the Cougars wrapped up the first game of the season with a run-rule victory after an explosive offensive performance and limiting the Roadrunners to just two hits and one run all night. An opening night victory would set the tone moving forward throughout the season for the Cougars.
Walk-off dub vs UW
15 games into the season, the Cougars sat at 6-9 overall with their first ranked opponent up next in No. 7 Washington at the Boyd Gaming Classic. After two scoreless frames, an RBI double by right fielder Amanda Carden gave the Cougars a one-run lead. Minimal action in the fourth and fifth innings led to a tying run for the Huskies in the top of the sixth. Houston provided an instant response as left fielder Bethany Busch cracked her second home run of the season to regain a one run lead at 2-1. A three run homer by the Huskies in the top of the seventh flipped the lead in their favor for the first time in the game, yet the Cougars rejected defeat.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Howie knocked a solo home run over the fence to right center field to even the score at 4-all heading to extra innings. A sacrifice fly by Busch brought designated player Kylee Gibson home from third for a 5-4 walk-off victory over the Huskies.
Britney Shaw vs Boise State
A career day for first baseman Britney Shaw came in the second game of a home doubleheader against a surging Boise State squad. After giving up seven unanswered runs to lose the first game 7-4, the Cougars opened the second game by allowing a leadoff home run to go behind 1-0 early. It was not until the bottom of the fourth when Shaw introduced herself into the box score, as she hit a two run homer on a 2-2 count with two outs to take the lead at 2-1 for the Cougars. A scoring drought plagued both teams until the top of the seventh when the Broncos tied the game at 2-2 with a solo home run after eight pitches. After several walks, a protest for an obstruction call, and a base-hit later, Shaw walked up to the plate with a chance to split the double header with a walk-off win. In heroic fashion, Shaw delivered with as many style points as one can produce as she secured the victory for the Cougars with a grand slam to win 6-2 in nine innings. Shaw ended the game with two hits, two home runs and six RBIs for a career-night and a lasting memory.
9-game home win streak
The walk-off win against Boise State made for not only a highlight victory, but a momentum swing that would give the Cougars something to build on throughout the season. Houston followed up the victory with its first series of the season, a three-game non-conference sweep against Northwestern State. The Saturday doubleheader saw the Cougars win both games by a combined score of 12-5 followed by a 5-0 shutout on Sunday to sweep the weekend action. Two games decided by one run in a midweek doubleheader at home against Sam Houston saw Houston extend its home winning streak to six games heading into conference play. The Cougars opened its April schedule with its home conference opener against Memphis, where they dominated the Tigers with an 8-0 run rule win in five innings on Friday. A 10 inning thriller on Saturday ended in a walk-off 5-4 win via an RBI single by right fielder Paige Hulsey. Finally, in the third of three games on the weekend, the Cougars kept the Tiger’s bats quiet with a 6-0 Sunday shutout to propel their home win streak to nine games. Thanks to the nine-game winning streak, the Cougars jumped from 9-12 on the year to 20-16-1 overall with their best nine-game start in conference play since 2014.
?????????? ?? ??????!#GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/SrJcyQ3MUe
— Houston Softball (@UHCougarSB) March 4, 2022
.@brit_aney CALLED GAME!!!!!!!!!! #SCTop10 #D1Top10 pic.twitter.com/ujp1nBTR9t
— Houston Softball (@UHCougarSB) March 11, 2022
NEW PROGRAM RECORDS!
A fourth stolen base on the day sets a new school record for @HulseyPaige!#GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/hcoq4ZiOp1
— Houston Softball (@UHCougarSB) April 3, 2022
.@hannahtodd__ becomes the first pitcher in program history to win all three games of a series!??????#GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/Xh8NpyVwnx
— Houston Softball (@UHCougarSB) April 3, 2022
Hannah & Hulsey’s Historic Weekend
The 6-0 shutout victory over Memphis to complete the series sweep held more significance than just another game in the win column. Right-handed pitcher Hannah Todd and right fielder Paige Hulsey set two program records in the process of this presiding performance. Todd became the first pitcher in Cougar softball history to record three wins in a series while Hulsey stole four bases in one game with two coming in the bottom of the third inning. While school records are meant to be broken as time goes on, these two stellar performances highlighted what already was a brilliant display of softball for the Cougars against AAC rivals to extend the team’s home winning streak to nine games.
The un-knighting of #18 UCF
The Cougars’ last home conference series against The American leaders and No. 18 ranked UCF spelled a battle between two of the top teams in The American. The Knights pulled out wins in the first two games with one last showdown brewing at Cougar Softball Stadium. Howie opened the scoring with a solo shot in the top of the first to give UH the early 1-0 advantage. After holding UCF to scoreless in two innings, the Knights broke through with seven unanswered runs in the third and fourth innings to take a six-run lead. In the bottom of the fourth, a Knights’ throwing error allowed Schulte to reach home from second base before a two RBI single by shortstop Rock Benavides cut the deficit to 7-4. A wild pitch and another throwing error by UCF made way for Howie to score before Schulte knocked a two-run moonshot to tie the game at 7-apiece. A UCF solo home run gave the visitors the lead again, but the Cougars beat adversity and regained a 9-8 lead after two runners scored on a Schulte sacrifice fly followed by a third throwing error on the Knights’ defense. With two outs, the Knights belted a pitch deep to right center field where Hulsey made the snag at the wall to seal the Cougars’ second ranked victory of the season and avoid the series sweep. The six-run deficit Houston overcame marked the largest comeback win since 2018.
Monkey off the back
With the 2022 regular season in the rear view mirror, the Cougars entered The American Tournament as the No. 4 seed set for a quarterfinal matchup against 5th seeded Tulsa. In its four previous postseason tournament matchups against Tulsa dating back to Conference-USA, the Cougars were 0-4 including a soul crushing 1-0 defeat in The American Championship game in 2017. Tulsa’s tourney matchup ownership trend continued in the early innings with the Golden Hurricane jumping out to a two-run lead. The Cougars stormed back in the fourth and fifth innings with a Howie homer and a Benavides RBI double to square the game at 2-all. A Schulte triple and Shaw two-run homer supplied a three-run sixth to give the Cougars their first lead in the matchup in tournament games since 2015. The win marked the Cougars’ first win over the Hurricane in The American Championship and first conference tournament win since 2013.
All-American Conference Honors
The 2022 Cougars produced stellar performances throughout the conference season, as four players earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference Softball All-Conference Second Team. Catcher Kati Ray Brown, right fielder Paige Hulsey, second baseman Becca Schulte and right-handed pitcher Kenna Wilkey all received second team honors for their respective season-long performances.
Don't run on Kati Ray Brown
Brown held it down behind the plate for the Cougars in 2022, as the senior posted the best OPS (.967) and slugging percentage (.588) on the team while also blasting the fifth-most home runs across the conference (5). Brown also finished tied for 15th in hits (15), tied for 16th in RBIs (11), and tenth in total bases amongst conference players.
Paige “Fours” Hulsey
Hulsey had a magnificent junior season in the outfield for the Cougars as she posted the team’s highest batting average (.350) and tied for the third-most hits (14) in conference play this season. After getting on base, her base running skills shined bright on The American stage as she finished tied for third most stolen bases (7) in conference play while also producing a program record four stolen bases in one game against league rivals Memphis on Apr. 3.
Becca “Mom Bombs” Schulte
Schulte was one of several eligible sources of offense for the Cougars this season. Her 14 RBIs in conference play ranked fifth-most across The American while finishing tied for third-most double plays in conference play (5). Schulte started all 18 conference games this season and finished the year tied for 10th in home runs (3), seventh in assists (29), 17th in putouts (34) and ninth in stolen bases (4). Schulte also helped the Cougars turn 27 total double plays in 2022, the second-most all-time in program history.
The Competitor: Kenna Wilkey
Wilkey’s 2022 comeback season inside the circle helped pace the Cougars. In nine starts against conference opponents, Wilkey tossed four complete games (2-1-1) with two shutouts victories in a series at East Carolina. In conference play, Wilkey pitched to a 3.65 ERA in 10 games while allowing the third-fewest walks among qualified pitchers (14) and struck out the fourth-most batters in The American (42).
FIVE SENIORS INTO THE SUNSET
