UH softball senior pitcher Saleen Flores struggled in her three appearances at the Houston Classic, giving up 11 earned runs in seven innings pitched. | Sean Thomas/The Cougar
UH softball struggled over the weekend at the Houston Classic, going 0-5 after dropping two games to both Oklahoma and Texas State and falling in its only matchup against McNeese.
Here is a closer look at each game:
Friday
The Houston softball team began its stretch of games in the Houston Classic with an 8-0 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma.
It was a rough start for the Cougars, as Oklahoma opened its scoring in the first inning with a two-run home run to take an early 2-0 lead. Oklahoma scored two more runs in the first inning to cap off a big top of the first.
Neither team scored in the second inning, but the Sooners got back on the board in the third scoring two runs on a single up the middle. Oklahoma scored one more run in the third, increasing its lead to 7-0.
The Sooners scored one more run in the matchup, this one in the fifth inning, handing the Cougars an 8-0 loss on Friday.
In the second matchup of Friday’s doubleheader, the Cougars lost 8-3 to McNeese.
The Cougars got on the board first as freshman infielder Ja’Naiya Thomas scored on a hit by redshirt freshman infielder LA Matthews.
In the second inning, McNeese evened the score 1-1 on a home run to left-center. In the same inning, McNeese scored on a double to take a 2-1 lead before UH responded in the bottom of the inning with a home run by freshman infielder Kylee Gibson. The Cougars led 3-2 at the end of the second inning.
McNeese evened the score once again in the third to make the score 3-3. Neither team scored a run in the fourth.
In the fifth inning, McNeese began to take control, scoring twice to take a 5-3 lead. In the following inning, McNeese scored a total of three more runs to seal the win.
Saturday
The Cougars once again opened up the second day of the Houston Classic taking on Oklahoma. This time, the game was more lopsided than the first matchup as the Sooners cruised past the Cougars 13-0.
The Sooners went out to the early lead at Cougar Stadium on a three-run home run in the first inning.
Another three-run home run in the second inning made it 6-0, but Oklahoma wasn’t done scoring yet. Another homer followed by a sacrifice fly gave the Sooners an 8-0 lead.
In the third inning, a solo home run increased the Oklahoma lead once again.
The Sooners scored two more runs in the fourth inning to make the score 11-0. Oklahoma scored two times in the following inning and left the Cougars with a 13-0 loss to begin their Saturday doubleheader.
In the second matchup of UH softball’s Saturday doubleheader, the Cougars fell to Texas State 8-2.
Senior catcher Kati Ray Brown scored the first run of the game, putting the Cougars on the board first in the second inning.
Texas State evened the score in the fourth on an RBI single. Texas State capitalized on its opportunities after that, scoring thanks to a fielding error to make it 2-1 for the Bobcats. To cap off its fourth inning scoring, Texas State notched a grand slam to enter the fifth with a 6-1 lead over the Cougars.
Brown scored for a second time in the sixth to make the Cougar deficit 6-2, but in the following inning, Texas State would mute all hopes of a UH comeback by scoring two more runs on a single to make the final tally 8-2 against the Cougars.
Sunday
The UH softball team finished its Houston Classic run on Sunday, dropping its final matchup with Texas State 8-2.
Texas State got on the board quickly, scoring a run in the first inning.
In the third inning, Texas State scored another run to put the Bobcats up 2-0.
The Cougars responded in the third, on an RBI single by Matthews.
Senior outfielder Bethany Busch hit a single to the right side in the fourth inning to score graduate infielder Becca Schulte and tie the game at 2-2.
Texas State found its groove again in the fifth, scoring two runs helped by several wild pitches. UH went scoreless in the fifth.
In the sixth inning, Texas State scored a run to bring its lead to 5-2 before scoring a three-run home run. Texas State ended the sixth inning leading 8-2.
