Sports

Cougars take down Tigers

The Cougars hosted Texas Southern for a Scott Street showdown Tuesday, but turned it into a clinic on Cullen Boulevard.’

UH swept the doubleheader, taking game one, 9-1, and Game 2, 9-0, at Cougar Softball Stadium to improve their all-time record against the Tigers to 13-0.

The Cougars (21-20) combined relentless hitting with a dominant pitching performance from Baillie Lott to run away with both games. The two games ended after the top of the fifth because of the mercy rule, which states that any team that has completed five at-bats and trails by eight or more runs must concede the game.

UH head coach Kyla Holas felt the Cougars’ familiarity with TSU, and its level of play, allowed UH to work on its fundamentals.

‘We’re very clear of TSU and their strengths and weaknesses. We’ve played them for a lot of years,’ Holas said. ‘This was a time for us where we could be a little more aggressive and confident.”

Jessica Valis and Katie Bush led off game one with back-to-back singles. After Valis was retired on a fielder’s choice, Bush scored on a Haley Valis single, giving the Cougars a 1-0 advantage.

The Cougars broke the game open in the bottom of the second by scoring four runs on three hits. Katy Beth Sherman slapped a one-out double to left field and scored on a Jessica Valis single. Bush reached base on a fielder’s choice and, one out later, Laurie Wagner smacked a three-run homer that curved just inside of the left-field foul pole to give UH a 5-0 lead.

The Tigers (7-32) scored their only run in the top of the third when Latrece Shello reached on a one-out bunt single and scored on Jessica Valis’ second error of the inning.

UH scored four more runs in the bottom of the fourth, and Lott retired the side in order in both the fourth and fifth, forcing the game to be called.

The Cougars continued the drubbing in the second game, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

A seven-run outburst by UH in the second ended any hope of a TSU upset. Angela Spittler reached on an error and stole second. Casey Willow walked and Sherman followed with a bunt single that loaded the bases.

The Cougars batted around, upping their lead to 6-0, before Spittler had a chance to put the Tigers to bed. With the bases loaded, she laced a double to center that cleared the bases and gave UH a 9-0 lead.

In the second game, Lott (12-8) continued her dominance, allowing only two walks with no hits in five innings. This was the first no-hitter of her career and the Cougars’ first of the season.

Lott admitted the feat was nice, but said she was more concerned with working on her fundamentals.

‘We were trying to fix some things today and I thought that I worked it out well,’ she said. ‘We were working on making some adjustments, and I think those adjustments helped today.’

UH returns to conference play this weekend when it travels to Hattiesburg, Miss. for a three-game series against C-USA rival Southern Miss. The teams will play a doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, before closing out the series with a noon contest Sunday.

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