Aspen Howie belted a solo home run for UH softball in Saturday’s series finale against Wichita State. | Sean Thomas/The Cougar
Houston softball went 0-3 in its American Athletic Conference series against Wichita State over the weekend at Cougar Softball Stadium.
Here’s a look at how each game panned out:
Thursday
The Cougars lost the series opener against Wichita 10-1.
The Shockers set the tone early with a three-run home run in the top of the first.
Following two scoreless innings, Wichita State widened the gap 4-0 with an RBI single.
Catcher Kati Ray Brown scored on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fourth, scoring the Cougars’ only run for the game.
The fifth was quiet on both sides but UH’s defense was unable to keep up in the top of the sixth and Witchita scored six runs.
The Cougars scored no runs in the bottom of the sixth and the game ended under the run rule.
Senior pitcher Kenna Wilkey, who got the start in the circle for UH, allowed eight earned runs in 5 and 2/3 innings pitched to take the loss.
Friday
Once again, a Wichita State home run in the top of the first got the scoring started as the Shockers took the early lead.
Down 3-0 in the bottom of the third, the Cougars responded with a run on an RBI single by sophomore infielder Amanda Carden.
UH’s defense kept Witchita at bay in the fourth and tied the game 3-3 with a two-run homer by freshman infielder Baylea Myers.
Neither team was able to break the tie until the top of the seventh when the Shockers’ bats caught fire, scoring a total of four runs to take a 7-3.
UH failed to answer in the bottom half of the inning, dropping its second game in a row to the Shockers.
Saturday
Wichita State completed its sweep of UH with a 7-6 victory in Saturday’s series finale.
UH got on the scoreboard first on an RBI single by senior center fielder Aspen Howie in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead.
The Shockers answered with a two-run home run in the second to take the lead but the Cougars responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of their own to retake the lead 3-2.
Wichita’s second home run of the day tied the game 3-3 in the third.
UH once again answered in the bottom half of the inning, taking a 5-3 lead thanks to a two-run homer to left-center field by senior outfielder Bethany Busch.
This was soon countered by an RBI in the fourth and three Shockets home runs in a row in the fifth to put Wichita State up 7-5.
The Cougars fought back with a solo home run by Howie in the bottom of the seventh but it was not enough, as UH dropped the final game of the series 7-6.
