It was clear that senior pitcher Angel Shamblin was not going to end her career at UH without a fight.
After giving up ten hits in Friday’s NCAA Super-regional game against Louisiana Lafayette, she and the Cougars battled from a two-point deficit and had a six-run inning in game two to defeat the Ragin Cajuns and force another game at Cougar Softball Stadium.
"The team really responded (to Friday’s loss) and came out today and said, ‘We weren’t going to be done.’ We weren’t ready yet," UH head coach Kyla Holas said.
However, the Cougars (54-10) did not have the same success offensively in game three and lost 4-0 to ULL (51-13), who will advance to the NCAA Softball College World Series.
"Any time you’re a competitor and you lose at this point in the season, realizing how close you were…it’s not enjoyable," Holas said. "If you’re an athlete, you’re the one who’s saying, ‘It’s not good enough.’"
Holas said that Shamblin (36-4), who allowed no unearned runs in 13 innings, did her part to give the Cougars a chance.
"It’s really hard to win a ball game if you don’t score a run. I think that was a lot of our offense that needed to step up," she said. "That was part of our plan, that we needed to put runs on the board, and we didn’t execute."
Shamblin said that concentrated on throwing each pitch as it came and didn’t let anything else distract her focus.
"I was going with the mentality of "one pitch" today. I felt like for the most part I stuck with that plan to give our team a shot to win."
Despite Holas saying that the Cougars’ lack of pitching depth was a "huge" factor in the games, Shamlin said she didn’t let it affect her.
"I didn’t feel like (I was getting fatigued). I felt like I was getting stronger," she said. "They were just getting the bat on the ball well, and I mean, this was the third time in a row they’ve seen me."
Of the Ragin Cajuns’ four runs, three came from homeruns. Senior second baseman Vanessa Soto homered to left field in the bottom of the first to give ULL a 2-0 lead.
After holding the Ragin Cajuns scoreless for the next three innings, Shamblin gave up a two-run homerun to senior outfielder Holly Tankersley, who brought home Soto to extend ULL’s lead to three in the fifth.
The Ragin Cajun’s last run came in the bottom of the sixth, when Shamblin walked sophomore third baseman Melissa Verde with the bases loaded to score sophomore outfielder Vallie Gaspard to put the score at 4-0.
Even if the Cougars were down, however, Holas said that she never doubted who she wanted in the game.
"If we were losing, we were losing with her on the mound," Holas said. "I just don’t think you can replace a kid like that. Very few people come through your program that can so what she’s done, and she’s been amazing."
Shamblin said that she grateful for the four years she has spent as a Cougar.
"It’s a great team, and I enjoyed every moment of it. The girls worked hard and fought every inning and every game this year. It was great to be a part of it," Shamblin said.
