The Cougars are 3-1 to open up the 2020 season, and they have one game remaining in the Houston Invitational against Northwestern State on Sunday afternoon. | Katrina Martinez/The Cougar
Freshman pitcher Logan Hulon stole the weekend spotlight by throwing a no-hitter in her first college appearance in the second game on Friday night as the Cougars swept the first day of the Houston Invitational and split the two games on Saturday.
Friday
Houston defeated the Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks 4-3 and later swept the Valparaiso University Crusaders 9-0 in Friday’s contests.
In the first game, the River Hawks jumped to a 1-0 lead and held Houston without a hit going until the third inning.
The Cougars fought back in the fifth, tying the game 1-1 off back-to-back bunt singles from senior outfielder Lindsey Stewart and sophomore outfielder Abby Odneal.
Houston got its first lead of the game when Odneal hit a double to bring Junior infielder Rock Benavides home. Odneal was then brought home off a single from Junior infielder Charese Wyatt.
The River Hawks added two runs in the final inning, but it would not be enough as the Cougars defeated Massachusetts Lowell 4-3.
The second game on Friday against the Valparaiso Crusaders was a smooth ride for Houston as it won in a rout.
Hulon kept the Crusaders scoreless throughout the entire night as she pitched a historic no-hitter in her collegiate debut.
On offense, Houston wasted no time as it piled on five runs in the fourth inning alone, which was highlighted by a two-run home run from sophomore catcher Kati Ray Brown and a solo bomb from Benavides.
The night concluded with Houston easily taking the match against Valparaiso 9-0.
Saturday
On the second day of the Houston Invitational, the Cougars dropped the rematch against the River Hawks 7-4 but bounced back to take the second match against the Fordham Rams.
In Saturday’s first game, Houston got on the board when senior infielder Kelli Montgomery chipped in a single to score infielder Becca Shulte.
UMass-Lowell, however, responded with a solo home run to knot the game at one.
Houston answered the solo blast by scoring two runs off Odneal’s single that brought home senior outfielder Lindsey Stewart, and then senior infielder Sarah Queen got a hit to left field, which brought Odneal home.
The game shifted in the sixth inning as the River Hawks scored three runs to take the lead.
Stewart forced an extra-inning by bringing home sophomore outfielder Bethany Busch, but the River Hawks got the knockout punch off by scoring three runs in the additional period.
The Cougars quickly brushed off the loss, however, when they faced Fordham in Saturday’s second game.
In the fourth inning, junior infielder Aspen Howie launched a solo home run that gave Houston a 2-0 lead, and by the end of the fifth, Houston had tacked on four more runs, two of which came off a triple from Odneal, to have a 6-1 cushion, which ended up being the final score.
The Cougars will compete in the third and final day of the Houston Invitational on Sunday at 2 p.m. as they face the Northwestern State Demons.
