The Cougars looked to bounce back from their disappointing showing at Memphis last weekend when they hosted Central Florida for what was supposed to be a three-game series at Cougar Softball Stadium.
They finally got a chance to do that Sunday, as the rain subsided long enough for the teams to play the final two games of the series. But it wasn’t all fun in the sun, as the Cougars took Game 1, 6-4, but lost the finale, 3-1.
UH head coach Kyla Holas said she doesn’t believe the schedule change had any effect on the team’s performance.
‘We’ve had a lot of rainouts this year. We’ve lost 10 games so far, so delays and stuff like that are things that I think don’t bother us very much,’ she said. ‘We talk all the time about controlling the things you can control, and the weather isn’t one of them.’
In the first game, UH (19-20, 8-8 C-USA) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Baillie Lott (10-8) retired the side in order in the top of the frame, and Melissa Gregson slapped a two-out single up the middle, scoring Christa Raley and Laurie Wagner.
UCF (22-24, 7-10 C-USA) countered with three runs in the top of the second, but the Cougars answered with another run in the bottom frame to tie the game at 3.
UH took the lead for good with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Angela Spittler led off with a single and scored two outs later on Jessica Valis’ triple to center field.’
The Cougars tacked on two important insurance runs in the sixth to push their lead to 6-3 before the Golden Knights fired back in the seventh. Tiffany Lane led off with a single and scored three batters later on a two-out single by Vanessa Perez to cut the Cougars’ lead to 6-4.
This brought the potential tying run to the plate with Mary Helen Tyler, but she struck out looking to end the threat and preserve the win for UH.
In Game 2, the Cougars recorded only three hits. Although UH allowed only three runs, Holas said her team’s mistakes might have ultimately cost it the game.
‘I felt like all day today we made really poor mistakes,’ she said. ‘(Giving up) hits on 1-2 counts, giving up too many walks and giving up pitches in missed directions.’
UH fell behind, 1-0, in the third inning when UCF’s Abby McClain led off with a double and scored on a Breanne Javier single. This ended a short day for Lindsey Olson (2-3), who was replaced by Lott. She retired the next two batters to escape the inning.
Lott didn’t fare as well in the next two frames, surrendering two runs on two hits while walking two and throwing two wild pitches.
Despite UH’s limited success at the plate, Holas said her team had chances to score.
‘We always talk about scoring runs one base at a time,’ she said. ‘One of the things that we pride ourselves on is being able to put the bunt down and move the runners consistently. But in the second game, I think we just got caught being too frustrated.’
The Cougars will return to the field Tuesday for a doubleheader against Scott-Street rival Texas Southern at Cougar Softball Stadium. First pitch for Game 1 is slated for 4 p.m.
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