Two wins down, one to go for the UH softball team.
The Cougars are in the driver’s seat after defeating Washington 2-0 in the second round of the Houston Regional on Saturday afternoon at Cougar Softball Stadium.
The top-seeded Cougars (52-9), who are seeded eighth nationally, will face second-seeded Washington in the championship round at noon Sunday, needing only one more win to advance to the first NCAA super regional in program history. Should UH lose, the two teams will play a winner-take-all game to decide the regional champion 35 minutes after the first contest.
Washington, which beat third-seeded Texas 5-3 in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon, needs to win twice to advance to a super regional.
The Cougars were in this situation last season after winning its first two games as a No. 2 seed at the College Station Regional. That team, however, was eliminated after falling to regional host Texas A’M twice in the championship round.
"Hopefully, lightning doesn’t strike twice, and we can do our job, be focused and get it done tomorrow," UH head coach Kyla Holas said.
The Cougars had a tough time getting to Huskies starter Aleah Macon (17-16) in Saturday’s game, but hit the jackpot with two runs in the top of the fourth inning.
Katie Bush led off the inning with an infield single, moved to second on Elaina Nordstrom’s sacrifice bunt and advanced to third when Jennifer Klinkert reached on a fielding error by Washington shortstop Morgan Stuart.
With runners on the corners and no outs, Laurie Wagner poked a single to center field to score Bush. Amanda Grote single to left-center to load the bases for Haley Valis, who drew a bases-loaded walk that scored Klinkert for the game’s final run.
"(Macon’s) a tough pitcher; she throws pretty hard," Wagner said. "I was just looking for my pitch, and I got it, so I just drove it up the middle."
The 2-0 lead was all Cougars senior righthander Angel Shamblin needed to settle into a groove.
One day after tossing a five-inning perfect game against Delaware State, Shamblin (34-3) tossed a one-hitter with five strikeouts. She retired the last nine batters she faced en route to recording her 18th shutout of the season.
"I actually felt really well," Shamblin said. "I was hitting spots well and making pitches break, and making them choose the pitches I wanted them to hit."
The Cougars haven’t forgotten about the setback they suffered in last year’s postseason, but they think that this year’s team has the confidence needed to win.
"Last year, we played scared," Wagner said. "This year, we’re going out fighting."
