Junior catcher Haley Outon made history by hitting two grand slams, as the Cougars routed UTEP in a three-game series sweep during the second game of a doubleheader Friday in El Paso.
Outon hit grand slams in back-to-back innings, making her the fifth player in NCAA history to hit two grand slams in a single game, leading the Cougars to a 10-7 victory.
Outon was responsible for 11 of the Cougar’s 37 runs this weekend, as UH improved to second place in Conference-USA. Outon has hit a team high of 12 home runs, as well as 43 RBI, and is one of the best hitters in the conference, but she had to work through a slump earlier this season.
“I think a lot of it is the mental game, and my coaches and everyone else still believing in me even when I was in a slump,” Outon said.
Junior pitcher Diedre Outon pitched 6.1 innings with six strikeouts, earning the win for the Cougars. Junior pitcher Bailey Watts came in and struck out a batter to get the save for the Cougars.
Outon and senior Holly Anderson and freshman Katie St. Pierre formed a “Murderers’ Row” in the batting order.
In the first game of Friday’s doubleheader, Watts (15-4) got the win in the first game. After five innings, she struck out two, as the Cougars beat UTEP 17-2. The Cougars’ offense surged in the first inning, scoring 12 runs.
Anderson had five RBI in the game, with the majority coming from a 3-run home run in the bottom of the fourth.
In the third game of the series, the Cougars took care of UTEP in the sixth inning, beating them 10-1.
Anderson hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third, Kendra Cullum smacked a solo shot in the fifth inning and Kayla Holland hit a three-run homerun in the bottom of the sixth.
Freshman Julia Shurm had a complete game with one strike and earned her second win of the season.
Cullum was hit five times this weekend, extending her NCAA-leading total and school record to 25 times this season.
UH takes on Lousiana-Lafayette in a double-header on Wednesday.
