Sports

Rain can't dampen Cougars' shining start

Senior pitcher Johnson earns second save of year, sophomore Briscoe throws complete game one-hitter

By Bridget Brown
The Daily Cougar

Friday's rain delay couldn't stop the Cougar softball team from parading all over the opponents they saw on the field at the Hilton Plaza Cougar Invitational on Saturday.

The squad officially kicked off the 2004 season by playing host to six teams -- Baylor, Northern Iowa, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Louisiana-Monroe and Sam Houston State -- at the annual invitational.

The team faced Baylor and Northern Iowa on Saturday at the Cougar softball complex.

The team's nail-biting bout with Baylor stayed tight throughout the game. The Cougars moved ahead of the Bears in the third inning after gaining two runs thanks to a sacrifice fly by junior Kristen Glowacz that caused a Baylor error and ultimately plated sophomore Jaci Gonzales.

Senior pitcher Jenny Johnson gained her second save of the year by shutting down the Bears with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Senior Jennie Falco got her second win of the year, with the game ending at 2-1.

The Cougars hit toward the stars during the game against Northern Iowa, which lasted until the early morning hours of Sunday. In the first inning, sophomore Crystal Briscoe and Gonzales used the long ball to jump on the Panthers, both licking home runs to settle the score at 3-0.

Briscoe threw a complete game one-hitter, improving her record to 1-1 for this season, and upped the Cougars'record to 5-2.

The club next travels to College Station to play a double-header against Texas A&M on Wednesday. UH then returns to the Cougar softball complex Friday to play Nebraska at the Crown Plaza Classic.


 Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu