After splitting Saturday’s Conference USA doubleheader against the first-place East Carolina Pirates, the Cougars went on to take Sunday’s finale 4-2.
In Saturday’s opener, the Cougars (26-22, 10-10) fell 1-0 before bouncing back to take the nightcap 4-3. Sunday’s contest was also the last regular-season home game for the Cougars.
Head coach Kyla Holas said this weekend’s success came down to situational hitting.
“We finally hit with a runner at second — that was our key situation that has been plaguing us all year,” she said. “It was one of those things that when we were able to score with a runner at second, we would start winning some games.”
Freshman pitcher Bailey Watts (12-9) took the mound on Sunday and fanned six batters while allowing five hits on the day. She started off the first inning by walking two batters and allowing a run.
The Cougars answered in the bottom of the first by scoring two runs off the bats of Melissa Gregson and Reina Gaber. The duo teamed up again in the bottom of the third to produce another run, extending the lead to 3-1 after Gaber doubled in Gregson.
The Pirates (31-16, 10-5) closed the lead to 3-2 in the top of the fifth. Gaber answered back in the bottom frame by singling up the middle, scoring Holly Anderson. The Cougars made the 4-2 advantage stand up the rest of the way.
The Cougars return to C-USA action this weekend with a road series against Marshall.
