The UH softball team beat TSU in dominating fashion on Saturday afternoon, not letting it score a single-run at Cougar Softball Stadium. | File photo
Freshman starting pitcher Hailey Hudson made her college debut Saturday after she tossed a no-hitter to shutout Texas Southern University, giving the Houston softball team an 8-0 win in a run-rule.
Hudson is the 20th player in program history to throw a no-hitter, and her achievement marks the second time in as many years that a UH softball player threw a no-hitter in a debut with last season’s accomplishment coming from sophomore pitcher Logan Hulon.
Hudson surrendered only one walk and struck out four while needing only 61 pitches to get through her five-inning complete-game performance.
UH’s offense was working early and often Saturday scoring in the first three innings, starting with senior infielder Sarah Queen launching a two-strike pitch over the left-field wall to give her team the early 2-0 lead.
In the second inning, senior infielder Rock Benavides got her own opportunity to circle the bases when she hooked a line-drive around the left-field foul pole for a solo home run, giving the UH softball team a 3-0 advantage over TSU.
Aggressive baserunning proved to be just as crucial as the clutch hitting when sophomore outfield Katy Repa stole both second and third base. Benavides reached base, promptly stole second base, allowing Repa to score from third on the throwdown for a 4-0 lead.
After going scoreless in the fourth, the offense erupted for four runs off of four hits and two TSU errors, pushing the lead to eight before Hudson closed the game out.
The UH softball team is now 2-1 to start the season and will pick up where they left off when they host Oklahoma in a doubleheader scheduled for Feb. 20, with the first game starting at 11:30 a.m. The game will be on ESPN+.
