Softball Battles #20/#23 Wichita State for First in The American

HOUSTON – The University of Houston softball team heads to Kansas for a weekend series at #20/#23 Wichita State that will pit the top two teams in the American Athletic Conference against each other.

The series kicks off on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a Saturday matchup at 2 p.m. The teams close the weekend on Sunday at noon. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

#20/#23 Wichita State
Teams				Houston at #20/#23 Wichita State
Dates				April 14 at 6 p.m. April 15 at 2 p.m. April 16 at noon
Location				Wilkins Stadium \| Wichita, Kansas
Live Stream				ESPN+ \| Friday \| Saturday \| Sunday
Live Stats				U HStats.com
Game Notes				Houston
Social Media				@uhcougarsb \| @uhccougarsb \| Cougar Softball \| #GoCoogs

HEAD COACH KRISTIN VESELYOverall record: 184-152-1 (7th season)
At Houston: same

SERIES VS. WICHITA STATEOverall record: 11-4, Wichita State
Under Vesely: 10-4, Wichita State
Streak: Wichita State, 7

THE RUNDOWN

Houston is 4-11 all-time against Wichita State. Under Vesely, the Cougars are 4-10 against the Shockers.
Houston was swept in last year's series at home.
Two of Houston's wins came in Wichita.
The Cougars are looking to snap a seven-game Shockers winning streak in the series.

FIRST PITCH

Turiya Coleman enters the weekend with multiple stats among the best in the NCAA. Nationally, she ranks 20th in batting average (.440), 19th in hits (51), 33rd in on base percentage (.518) and 38th in total bases (84). Kenna Wilkey also ranks near the top at 21st in innings pitched (132.0), 35th in strikeouts (131), both of which also lead the conference, and 33rd in victories (13).
Wilkey and Coleman picked up American Athletic Conference honor roll nods after a successful week. Wilkey finished 3-0 on the week with a complete game and a combined shutout, tossing 20.2 innings with a 2.71 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Coleman went 7-for-15 at the plate with five runs, two home runs and five RBI.
Bree Cantu leads the AAC in batting average in conference games, hitting .611 near the league slate's midway point. She also leads the conference in on-base percentage (.682). In conference games, LA Matthews holds the lead in sac hits (4) and is tied with three others, including Katy Repa, for the lead in sacrifice flies (2). Among pitchers, Wilkey paces the league in strikeouts (40) and wins (5).
Houston ranked #94 in RPI entering the weekend matchup. RPI is released by the NCAA every weekday morning. The Cougars rank fourth in The American in RPI, behind Wichita State, UCF and South Florida, all three being 2021 NCAA tournament teams.
Houston sits at second in The American after three weeks of conference play and is one of two teams with only one loss, joining leader Wichita State (8-1). Every team plays the other six conference opponents with one bye weekend. Houston has played Memphis, East Carolina and had its bye weekend so far. The Cougars still face Wichita State, UCF, Tulsa and South Florida.
Among active Division I players, Wilkey has the 18th most appearances (135), 28th most wins (55), the 26th most innings pitched (583.2) and the 33rd most strikeouts (517).
The Cougars boast one of the tougher nonconference schedules in the country. Houston's nonconference slate was ranked as the 28th toughest, only behind UCF (25th) in the conference.
The Cougars are playing their last season in The American prior to joining the Big 12 Conference next season.
Wilkey picked up a pair of preseason honors, being named the preseason American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year by both D1Softball and Extra Innings Softball.

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