Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Sports

UH to take winning streak to El Paso

Cougar pitching will try to cool off Miners' offense

by LEE CLARK
The Daily Cougar

The Cougars will take the momentum of their six-game winning streak into this weekend's three-game series with Texas-El Paso at Helen of Troy Field.

UH will open the series with a doubleheader at 5 p.m. Friday. The finale will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday.

So far, the Cougars (30-11, 11-1 C-USA) have dominated the opposition in conference play. UH has swept three of its first four conference series and is looking to pick up another sweep this weekend.

UTEP, however, has been strong at home. The Miners (24-13, 3-6 C-USA) have won 15 of 18 contests at Helen of Troy Field, including two wins against National Fastpitch Coaches Association No. 7-ranked Arizona State in a doubleheader March 21.

Whereas UTEP (24-13, 3-6 in C-USA) boasts the best offense in the conference (.324 team batting average), UH prides itself on having the best pitching staff in the league (1.26 team ERA).

Either UTEP's offense or UH's pitching will have to give this weekend, but UH head coach Kyla Holas believes her pitchers have proven time and again they are up to any challenge.

"We are not going to change our game plan against UTEP," Holas said. "We feel like pitching is one of the stronger sides of our game, so we're just going to go out there and challenge (the UTEP hitters) like we do everybody else we face." 

Junior pitcher Barbie Love (5-3, 0.95 ERA) has come on strong in the second half of the season to provide a nice complement to staff ace junior Angel Shamblin (19-5, 1.07 ERA).

"Barbie consistently keeps the ball down and hits her spots," Holas said. "She has a different type of changeup than Angel, so it really makes them a good 1-2 combination."

Not to be outdone by the pitching staff, the Cougars' offense has come alive during conference play. UH is averaging five runs a game and is batting more than .300 against C-USA opponents. 

Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu