The Houston softball team lost both of their games Sunday when they hosted No. 2 Oklahoma at the Cougar Softball Stadium.
Game one was off to a promising start after UH’s first two batters bunted their way on base to set up redshirt senior infielder Sarah Queen’s three-run blast over the centerfield wall to give the team a 3-0 lead after one inning.
Cougars’ junior right-hander Rachel Hertenberger cruised through the first two Oklahoma batters before OU made their response. Oklahoma hit their own two-run home run and clogged the bases with a mixture of walks and singles, retaking the lead 5-3 over the UH softball team.
OU didn’t look back after their five-run outburst. Junior outfielder Bethany Busch responded with a solo home run to get one of the runs back to make it 5-4, but it would prove to be the final run UH would score in the game.
After hitting another solo home run in the fourth inning, OU had another big inning in the fifth after they scored five runs again to make it 11-4.
The final score wound up being 12-4 after OU homered again in the sixth inning, leading into a run-rule. OU finished the game with 17 hits.
Game two
Oklahoma seized the momentum to get off to a fast start in the first inning of game two with a solo home run for the 1-0 lead.
The Cougars took advantage of Oklahoma fielding miscues when two runners scored on two OU throwing errors after a Busch single.
Hertenberger returned to the mound to be the starter for game two, holding steady for four innings, surrendering the one run on five hits with a strikeout as UH clung to a 2-1 lead.
OU took the lead for good in the top of the fifth inning with another three-run home run from Grace Lyons. UH then scratched at the deficit with a solo home run from junior catcher Kati Ray Brown in the bottom half to make it 4-3.
After Oklahoma scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning to put them up by two, the UH softball team brought the tying run to the plate before falling short.
OU ended the day with a total of 17 runs on 29 hits with four home runs in the doubleheader.
UH looks to bounce back Monday when it hosts Tarleton State at 1:30 p.m. inside Cougar Softball Stadium. The game will be streamed on UHCougars.com