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Sports

Cougars head west to take on No. 2 Arizona State

Houston will play Sun Devils as part of weekend tournament in Tempe

by RUTHIE RODRIGUEZ
The Daily Cougar

With the momentum of a six-game winning streak on its side, the Cougar softball team will head west this weekend to take on some tough competition at the Sun Devil Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. 

Aiming to maintain the momentum that propelled them to their season-best winning streak, the Cougars (13-6) will square off against Utah Valley State, UC-Santa Barbara, Creighton, North Florida and National Fastpitch Coaches Association No. 2 Arizona State, the tournament host. 

"This weekend is going to be really exciting," sophomore catcher Elaina Nordstrom said. "It's our first out-of-state trip and we have some good competition. I think we're going to hold our own after coming off a (6-0 performance at the Houston Hobby Invitational)."

The Cougars will start their run in the tournament with a matchup against Utah Valley State (3-5) at noon Friday at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium.

Houston will try to keep the ball rolling against UC-Santa Barbara (10-3) later that day at 4:30 p.m. The Gauchos have already recorded seven shutout victories this season. 

The Cougars will take the field against the Creighton Bluejays (8-1) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and hope to have enough stamina for Arizona State (17-1) later that night at 7:30 p.m. 

The Sun Devils will certainly pose a challenge, but it's a challenge junior Angel Shamblin is willing to take. The right-hander will get the start against Arizona State. 

"We're going with our ace and we're playing to win. If we bring our ‘A' game with some good defense, I think we'd make a ballgame of that," UH head coach Kyla Holas said. "We're hoping to take care of business this weekend and put on at least a great showing against Arizona State. We expect to take care of all the other games." 

Houston will close out the weekend in its tournament finale against North Florida (6-7) at 10 a.m. Sunday. 

If the Cougars are fortunate, they'll come out of the Sun Devil Invitational with the momentum they gained from last weekend. With a little more luck, they could leave Tempe with an upset victory.

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