Softball splits doubleheader
against Texas-San Antonio
By Geronimo Rodriguez
Daily Cougar Staff
The UH softball team began well enough
in its Wednesday doubleheader to earn some bragging rights as far as Texas
softball is concerned,
but the Cougars failed to sweep Texas
rival Texas-San Antonio.
Lorrie Novosad/The Daily
Cougar
Senior left fielder Riane
Netardus went 2-4 in UH's first game against Texas-San Antonio. Netardus
leads the team in batting average with
.346.
Even in the loss, however, there were
a few highlights for Cougar head coach Kyla Holas' team.
The Cougars (26-19) split the doubleheader
with UTSA (24-24). The Cougars won the opener 5-0 but lost the final game
5-4 .
In the loss, the Roadrunners jumped ahead
with three runs on one hit in the first inning.
Cougar sophomore Jenny Johnson walked UTSA
freshman first baseman Krystal Gibson. One batter later, Johnson walked
senior catcher
Michelle McElyca.
This set the stage for senior left fielder
Jen Haltom, who hit a three-run home run for the Roadrunners.
Johnson was pulled after pitching just
two-thirds of an inning.
The score was 3-0 when sophomore Jamie
Falco stepped on the mound and got freshman right fielder Krystal Buras
to fly out.
In the third, UTSA added another run when
sophomore shortstop Christy Brownlee homered and made it 4-0.
By the end of the fourth, the Cougar offense
had scattered just three hits off Roadrunner junior pitcher Paige Whitley.
But in the fifth, the Cougars took advantage
of three errors on UTSA and scored four unearned runs to tie the game.
It began when freshman first baseman Michelle
Keith reached on an error by Roadrunner junior third baseman Enjoli Casiano.
After junior
designated hitter Keri Kubala was walked,
sophomore third baseman Melissa Lynch reached on an error by freshman second
baseman
Melissa Moseley.
Sophomore Arelis Ferreris — who came in
to pinch-hit — singled and scored Keith and Kubala. Then Lynch scored on
a groundout by
freshman center fielder Kim Nesloney.
Junior second baseman Amber King was credited for knocking in the tying
run when she reached on an
error that scored sophomore left fielder
Candis Turnbo.
The score remained 4-4 until the eighth,
when the Cougars committed two errors and allowed one Roadrunner to cross
the plate, making it
5-4.
Falco pitched seven and one-third innings
and allowed one unearned run on four hits, moving her record to 12-7.
UTSA's Whitley allowed four runs, none
of which were earned, and struck out seven. With the win, Whitley improved
to 11-13.
In the 5-0 win, Falco earned a one-hit
shutout and struck out three.
UTSA senior Angela Graham gave up five
runs on nine hits. With the loss, Graham moved to 13-11.
UH catcher Ferreris and freshman shortstop
Kristen Glowacz both hit home runs.
Senior left fielder Riane Netardus went
2-4 to improve her club-leading batting average to .346.
The Cougars will next play Texas Southern
today at the Cougar Softball Complex. The two games will make up a doubleheader,
which was
canceled earlier in the year.
