UH softball snapped a six-game losing streak with a series victory over ECU, winning three of the four games over the weekend at Cougar Softball Stadium. | Courtesy of UH athletics
Houston softball snapped a six-game losing streak with a series victory over East Carolina, winning three of the four games over the weekend at Cougar Softball Stadium.
The Cougars opened up the weekend with a 6-4 win over the Pirates on Friday, then split the doubleheader on Saturday with a 5-2 victory and 11-5 loss, closing out the series with a 6-1 win.
The weekend marks the Cougars’ first conference series win this season and snapped a six-game losing streak.
Here’s a closer look at each game:
Friday
UH got things going quickly, with senior left fielder Lindsey Stewart-Vaughn crossing the plate in the first inning on a passed ball.
An inning later, junior catcher Kati Ray Brown drove in junior right fielder Bethany Busch to double the Cougars’ lead.
The Pirates responded with four runs in the fifth inning to a two-run lead.
Stewart-Vaughn evened things up in the bottom half of the inning, launching a two-run home run to right center to knot the game at four.
Senior center fielder Aspen Howie was the hero for the Cougars, blasting a two-run shot to left in the bottom of the sixth to put UH back on top.
Sophomore pitcher Logan Hulon came in relief and fended off ECU, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.
Saturday
In the first matchup of the day, it took a while for both teams to get on the board.
ECU struck first with two runs in the fifth inning.
The Cougars matched this in the bottom half thanks to a sacrifice fly from senior third baseman Sarah Queen and an RBI single by sophomore first baseman Britanny Shaw.
In the sixth inning, Stewart-Vaughn stayed hot at the plate, hitting a three-run home run to seal the 5-2 win.
UH jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the day’s second game, but errors and pitching struggles plagued the Cougars in the end as ECU scored 11 runs from the third inning to cruise to an 11-5 victory.
Sunday
UH started off the series finale hot, piling on four runs in the second inning as Stewart-Vaughn doubled to score two Cougars, while senior shortstop Rock Benavides followed up with a single up the middle to drive in Stewart.
Queen notched a two-run home run to add onto UH’s lead, while the Pirates struggled to get on the board.
ECU crossed the plate in the fifth inning, but that would be the only time as the Cougars won 6-1 in the final game of the series.
Junior Rachel Hertenberger pitched a complete game, allowing only one run while striking out six to pick up the win.
