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Sports

Cougars host Crowne Plaza Classic, squad goes 2-3

By Loudres Castillo
The Daily Cougar

The Cougars hosted the Crowne Plaza Classic over the weekend, during which they upset No. 11 Baylor 4-3, wiped out Kentucky 10-0 and fell to Minnesota 4-1, North Carolina 2-1 and Texas Tech 1-0, giving Houston a 3-9 record overall. 

The Cougars faced Baylor on Friday, and UH freshman pitcher Angel Shamblin recorded five strikeouts, eight hits and three runs. The Bears took the lead 1-0 in the top of the first inning, but the Cougars fought back in the second inning as Shamblin singled up the middle. 

Junior outfielder Brandi Clark's bunt allowed her to move to first and Shamblin to second safely. A passed ball advanced freshman pinch runner Courtney Spittler to third and Clark to second. Senior infielder Michelle Keith's single brought home both Splitter and Clark for the 2-1 lead. With junior outfielder Brooke Johnson on first, senior outfielder Kim Nesloney singled, sending Johnson to second, followed by an error from Baylor that brought her home, placing a 3-1 Cougar lead on the board. In the fourth inning, Keith was able to steal home to increase the Cougars' lead to 4-3, while Johnson advanced to third on a wild pitch.

"They were ranked No. 11 in the country, so we wanted to come out aggressive and play smart, and we were able to," UH assistant coach Nicole Dickson said. 

Against Kentucky, the Cougars began strong with a 2-0 lead to begin the third inning. With freshman infielder Dru Daniels on first, senior infielder Kristen Glowacz hit a two-run bomb to put Houston up 4-0. Jeanie Davis, Jaci Gonzalez, Clark, Spittler and Lindsay Vanover also scored to take the dominating lead of 9-0. In the fourth inning, both Davis and Keith singled, while Johnson hit to left field. Keith advances to second and Davis to home on a wild pitch, giving the Cougars the final 10-0 score. 

"We came out aggressively for the first game against Baylor, and we kept the aggressiveness in the second game against Kentucky," Shamblin said. 

On Saturday, the Cougars faced both Minnesota and North Carolina for the first time in program history.

Against the Gophers, the Cougars started out strong with Nesloney's home run in the first inning. The Cougars' 1-0 lead was answered by Minnesota catcher Megan Higginbotham's home run in the fourth inning to tie the game. 

In the bottom of the fifth, an error by the Cougars allowed Melissa Murnane to score, followed by a two-run homer by left fielder Lindsey Erickson to end the game 4-1. 

Against North Carolina, both the Cougars and the Tarheels remained scoreless until a single hit brought Whitney Gelin home, allowing North Carolina the 1-0 advantage. Glowacz immediately responded with a home run over the left field fence to tie the game 1-1. North Carolina's Julia Bove managed to score on a sacrifice fly to right field that ended the game 2-1.

On the final day of the Crowne Plaza Classic, the Cougars' expected win slipped away against Texas State. The Bobcats took the lead after five scoreless innings with the help of center fielder Amy Hromadka's home run. Giving the Cougars trouble was Texas State's pitcher Katie Ann Trahan, who threw nine strikeouts and allowed no runs, one hit and two walks. Cougar pitcher Crystal Briscoe gave up only one run on six hits with five strikeouts. The Cougars ended the Bobcat's no-hitter campaign when Jamie Adams recorded her first hit of the season. This was followed by a strikeout by Vanover, and a fly out to right field by Johnson. 

The Cougars host the Marriott Hobby Airport Invitational, their third consecutive tournament, during which the team will face Buffalo at 4 p.m. Friday at the Cougar Softball Field, followed by Northern Illinois at 6 p.m. Saturday's action will see Houston taking on Northern Illinois again at 3 p.m. with a 5 p.m. contest against Central Connecticut. Houston will then take on Manhattan at noon Sunday.

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