The Cougar softball team is no longer undefeated after taking two losses to No. 2 Texas A’M in a doubleheader Wednesday.
"We’ve been better than the opponents we’ve been facing, and it didn’t catch up to us until this point," head coach Kyla Holas said. "If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best."
In game one, the Aggies put the first points on the board in the second inning when Aggie senior third baseman Jamie Hinshaw scored on a double from Aggie sophomore shortstop Macie Morrow in the third.
UH senior pitcher Angel Shamblin held the mound for all seven innings, striking out three and allowing four hits and one run in her first loss of the season.
The closest the Cougars got to scoring came in the sixth. Senior outfielder Laurie Wagner doubled to right in an attempt to bring Sherman in from second, but she was thrown out at home.
Junior infielder Haley Valis opened the seventh with a single to right field, but the Cougars did not score in the seventh and ended the game 0-2.
"Our No. 1 problem today was definitely pitching and defense," Holas said. "We gave them opportunities defensively to extend the game."
The Cougars came out fast in Game 2 when infielder Jennifer Klinkert hit a two-run homerun to bring in Nordstrom in the first inning, but the Aggies rallied in the third with an RBI single and a two-run homerun to give the Aggies the lead at 2-3.
Both teams scored two runs in the fourth. With Houston down 4-5, Nordstrom hit a two-run homer in the fifth, and Haley Valis homered in the sixth to give the Cougars the 7-5 lead, but that was the last time Houston scored.
After freshman pitcher Baillie Lott walked the first runner in the bottom of the sixth, senior Barbie Love took over the mound. With a runner on second, Aggie Natalie Villareal struck out swinging but reached first on a wild pitch. A throwing error from freshman outfielder Casey Willow allowed Aggie pinch runner Bailey Schroeder to head home to tie the game.
After UH was shut out in the seventh, Love walked one batter with the bases loaded to end the game 8-7.
"I feel the scores didn’t reflect how poorly we played," Holas said. "That’s a big motivating factor to know that we’ve got a lot more left in us and should we put a better performance out there then that could make the difference."
The Cougars are set to play Texas on March 5 at Cougar Softball Stadium.
