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Sports

UH looks to bounce back

Cougars will try to relieve frustration of ULL sweep 
when they take on UCF

By LEE CLARK
The Daily Cougar

The Cougars will look to redeem themselves this weekend against Central Florida after getting swept by the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns on Wednesday.

UH opens its Conference USA series against the Golden Knights with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cougar Softball Stadium. The series finale will be played at noon Sunday.

UH (32-14, 13-2 C-USA) had a bye week before the ULL doubleheader and entered the matchup flat in all phases. In two games, Cougar hitters managed only three hits, and the pitchers gave up 19 runs.

UH head coach Kyla Holas admitted her team got out of rhythm because of inactivity prior to the series with ULL, which began the week ranked No. 21 in the recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll. 

"Taking a week off and not working hard came back to get us against a quality Top 25 opponent," Holas said. "The only way you get out of that is go back on the field and earn what you've done so far."

What the Cougars have done so far is get off to a great start in C-USA play. 

UH has won every conference series its played so far.

UCF (32-18, 8-7 C-USA) will not be easy competition, though. The Golden Knights, who own the third-best league record, are batting .278 as a team and have a dominant pitcher in right-hander Allison Kime (19-7, 0.67 ERA).

"You have two very similar teams that rely on solid pitching and situational hitting," Holas said. "UCF was plagued by injuries last season, but they're back in the mix of things and that's where they should be."

Holas knows her Cougars have to play with a sense of urgency in the final stretch of the season if they want a chance to qualify for the NCAA Regionals next month.

"Every series that we have from here on out is do or die," Holas said. 

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