Houston starting pitcher Gigi Solis (1) looks on against HCU during an NCAA college softball game on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 in Houston, Texas.
The 17-14 UH Cougars were ready for redemption on the evening of March 18. Back at Cougar Softball stadium, they faced off against the formidable 20-9 University of Kentucky Wildcats to break the tie in their matchups, which stood at 2-2.
Though the final score seemed overwhelming in favor of the Wildcats, the Cougars put up a good fight up until the fourth inning, when Kentucky took the lead and never looked back after that.
Kentucky’s senior pitcher, Sarah Haendiges, only let up two runs the entire game, which were both made in the second inning.
The Wildcats started scoring in the top of the second inning with junior catcher Carly Sleeman knocking a ball deep out of center field, putting the first number up on the scoreboard.
Houston then responded in the bottom of the second inning when senior infielder Mandy Esman hit a sacrifice fly that allowed fellow senior outfielder Gabby Rawls to cross home plate.
Freshman infielder Leilani Garcia singled to center field and sent sophomore outfielder Ariel Redmond home for another score. This ended up being Garcia’s 10th RBI of the season.
Redmond also produced two hits against Kentucky, making this her eighth multi-hit game of the season, the 13th of her career.
Though the game was still close at this point, Haendiges began to work her pitching wizardry for the Kentucky Wildcats by shutting down the Cougars’ scoring for the rest of the game.
Wildcat freshman infielder/outfielder Alexa Riddel doubled to left center, allowing sophomore utility player Allie Blum to score while also bringing in freshman pitcher Abby Hammond for an additional score of two RBIs in the fourth inning.
With Kentucky now in the lead, 3-2, redshirt senior Ella Emmert singled to shallow right field for an RBI that brought Riddel in for another run, putting the Wildcats up two runs over the Cougars.
Kentucky then scored again in the seventh inning when senior utility/infielder Maddy Clark doubled down the left field line for an RBI of her own, which brought Emmert home for a score.
With the bases loaded, senior catcher Karissa Hamilton knocked one out of the park deep to left field for a grand slam, bringing home junior outfielder/infielder Emory Donaldson, Clark from second and junior outfielder Peyton Plotts from first base.
Tried as they might, the Cougars were outmatched after taking the lead early in the second inning of play, with the final score being 9-2 in favor of the Wildcats.
Their next matchup will be against the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, Iowa on March 20. The UH softball team is searching for answers as they are currently on a four-game losing streak after starting off the season with a six-game winning streak.
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