Melissa Gregson and the Cougars were unable to get many runners on base, let alone score the ones who did reach, in Saturday’s losses at Tulsa. Sunday’s finale was rained out, leaving the Cougars winless on the road this season. | Kendra Berglund/The Daily Cougar
The Cougars went to Tulsa, Okla., over the weekend in search of their first road victory, but came away empty handed after dropping both games of Saturday’s doubleheader. Rain forced the cancellation of Sunday’s finale.
On Saturday, the Cougars (23-21, 8-9 Conference USA) fell 8-4 in the first game and lost the second game 7-1. In a sign of what was to come Sunday, rain was a factor in both games.
In the opener, UH designated hitter Reina Gaber collected her second career home run in the first inning, plating Katy Beth Sherman and Mary Tyler Dobson to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead.
After UH added another run in the third, the Golden Hurricane tied it at 4 in the fifth on five hits and an error. Tulsa took its first lead in the sixth on Samantha Cobb’s grand slam with two outs off UH starter Amanda Crabtree. Crabtree fell to 9-10 with the loss.
In the second game, the Cougars got on the board first when Dobson singled in Holly Anderson in the third inning for a 1-0 lead. Tulsa responded with a run in the bottom of the frame to tie the game at 1. The Golden Hurricane reeled off six runs over the next three frames while UH managed just four hits during that period. The Cougars also left five runners on base in the final four frames, including two in the top of the seventh and Bailey Watts took the loss to fall to 10-8.
The Cougars will try to bounce back against Texas State at 6 p.m. Wednesday. This will be their last non-conference matchup before hosting their final home conference series against East Carolina on Saturday.
Tennis washed out
The Cougars’ final regular-season tennis matches were cancelled Sunday due to persistent rain in the area. UH and UAB were tied at 3-3 after the singles portion of the day, but playing conditions deteriorated to the point that officials were forced to call a one-hour break in play.
After the delay, both coaches decided to call the match with rain still falling.
Head coach John Severance said that despite the lack of a decision, he was still pleased with the overall play of his team.
“It was encouraging that during the start of the doubles matches we were controlling the play and that hasn’t happened in a while,” Severance said in a release.
Swimming racks up more awards
Three Cougars were honored by the Conference USA head coaches, the league office announced Friday.
Senior diver Anastasia Pozdniakova took home Diver of the Year honors, her third such honor. Reka Kovacs earned Freshman Swimmer of the Year honors, and Julia Lonnegren was named Freshman Diver of the Year.
