Softball team will face
C-USA rival DePaul over weekend
By Geronimo Rodriguez
Daily Cougar Staff
The UH softball team will face its biggest
task of the season as it looks to defeat No. 16 Conference USA rival DePaul
in a doubleheader at
noon Friday in Chicago.
Kevin Harwerth/The Daily
Cougar
Sophomore Jenny Johnson has
been a solid pitcher for the Cougars all season. She pitched six scoreless
innings last weekend against
Charlotte and will share the pitching
duties with sophomore Jamie Falco this weekend against DePaul.
After her team's thrilling win Sunday,
UH head coach Kyla Holas said she was excited, yet aware that her team
would need to stay focused
and concentrate on the Blue Devils.
"By far, these will be the toughest games
for us this season," Holas said. "We have to make the most of each game."
After the doubleheader, the Cougars will
play DePaul again at noon Saturday in Chicago.
The Cougars (24-14, 4-5 in C-USA) just
finished a conference series in which they took two of three from Charlotte.
Freshman Jenilee Skender was 5-for-9 in
the series with a home run and three RBIs. Arelis Ferreris hit a two-run
homer to help the Cougars
win game three Sunday, 4-3.
The team will rely on sophomore pitchers
Jenny Johnson and Jamie Falco to carry most of the pitching duties.
Johnson pitched six innings of shutout
relief in game one against Charlotte on Saturday and then won game two,
allowing one run on five
hits in five innings.
Falco picked up her 10th win of the season,
striking out five. The pitching staff has recorded 254 strikeouts this
season.
The Blue Demons (14-6, 2-1 in C-USA) won
two of three against East Carolina last weekend.
Holas and her team will have to shut down
DePaul's pitching staff to stand a chance against the formidable rival.
DePaul junior Lindsay Chouinard recorded
her seventh win, throwing eight innings in a 2-1 victory. She has eight
complete games in nine
starts and carries a league-best 0.59
ERA. Sophomore Sarah Martz gained a victory in game two, improving to 4-1.
The Blue Demons lead C-USA with a team
ERA of just 1.04.
On offense, DePaul senior Shavaughne Desecki
had a hit in each game, including the game-winning double in game one of
its
doubleheader. She is batting .367 with
10 RBIs.
Blue Devil junior Gina Ramacci leads the
team with 16 RBIs.
In C-USA standings, DePaul (3-1) is in
second and Houston (4-5) is in seventh. The Cougars hope to extend their
two-game win streak, and
the Blue Devils will try to continue dominating
division play.
