UH softball senior first baseman Britaney Shaw hit two home runs over the weekend at the Houston Tournament. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
UH softball moved to 9-6 overall, wrapping up its 15-game homestand to begin the season by winning three of five at the Houston Tournament over the weekend.
UH opened day one of the Houston Tournament on Thursday night with a 4-1 win over Houston Christian University at the Cougar Softball Stadium.
Junior pitcher Taylor Edwards pitched a complete game, allowing one run, which was unearned, and three hits while striking out nine.
Hits by sophomore third baseman Turiya Coleman and senior first baseman Britaney Shaw got things started for the UH offense in the bottom of the first as the Cougars grabbed an early 2-0 lead.
HCU scored their only run, which was unearned, in the fourth inning off a UH error.
A ground out from Shaw led sophomore infielder Ja’Naiya Thomas to score for the Cougars, making it 3-1.
In the bottom of the sixth, redshirt sophomore LA Matthews hit a double to drive in senior second baseman Bree Cantu.
Graduate student Kenna Wilkey got the start on Thursday for UH against Illinois and threw a perfect first inning.
Thomas and Coleman backed Wilkey up with two runs at the bottom of the first to give the Cougars an early lead.
Illinois responded with a run of its own in the top of the second, but UH answered with home runs from sophomore catcher Emma Robertson and Coleman in the bottom half of the inning, extending the lead to 4-1.
The Cougars exploded in the sixth, scoring five runs on three hits to cruise to a 9-3 victory.
Wilkey earned the win, throwing a complete game giving up three runs, two earned, and striking out seven.
Illinois responded the next day, defeating UH 3-1 in the first of two games for the Cougars on Saturday.
The Fighting Illini took the lead in the second inning on a single and didn’t give it up for the rest of the game.
UH senior starting pitcher Mattison Boyd gave up two runs on four hits while recording five strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings pitched. Boyd took the loss.
Sophomore right-hander Hannah Blincoe relieved Boyd and pitched the final 3 2/3 innings of the game, giving up one run while striking out two.
The Cougars scored their lone run of the game in the final inning as senior center fielder Paige Hulsey drove in Coleman on a double to left center.
UH fell to Pitt 4-3 later that evening.
The Cougars had got out to a fast start as Coleman stole home in the first.
The Cougars added two more runs in the fourth off a two-run homer from Shaw center field. Starting pitcher.
Wilkey got the start in the circle and threw her second complete game of the weekend, but gave up four runs in the final three frames as Pitt completed the comeback.
UH closed out the weekend with a walk-off win 7-6 over Sam Houston thanks to Cantus’s RBI single in the 10th.
The Cougars’ offense was on fire early, knocking out the Sam Houston starter after just one out by putting up four runs in the first on back-to-back home runs to center field from Cantu, who blasted a 3-run shot, and Shaw, who followed with a solo homer.
Cantu added another RBI in the fifth inning to make it 6-2 UH.
Junior starting pitcher Taylor Edwards went six innings strong, only giving up one earned run.
However, Boyd struggled in relief, giving up two runs without getting any outs in the seventh inning.
UH was forced to go to Blincoe, who ended up pitching the game’s final four innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits and striking out four to earn her second win of the season.
