Houston out field Ariel Redmond (2) slides for second base in an NCAA softball game against the Houston Christian Huskies, Thursday, February 5th, 2025, in Houston Texas. | Matthew Guzman/The Cougar
The Cougars hit the road to face the Cougars in Provo, Utah, but fell short 3-0 on April 11. Although Houston went home with a loss, they didn’t go down without a fight.
Game one
Houston was down 7- 3 at the top of the sixth. In the same inning they found their motivation by scoring three runs started by sophomore infielder Madox Mitchael’s drive down center field, giving sophomore catcher Isabel Cintron the space she needed to score from second. Junior infielder Makenna Mitchell would send a ball out to right field that allowed junior infielder Bethany Aguilar to take the opportunity to score from third and Mitchael scored the last run of the inning three plays after.
Houston stood there ground in the top of the seventh with a homerun from Cintron soon followed by a double from senior infielder Kylei Griffin resulting in three runs. Unfortunately, their efforts were for naught as the game ended 13-10.
Game two
Houston was down again but not out and attempted to rise above an 8-1 score. Top of the third, Mitchell scored from third after sophomore outfielder Ariel Redmond reached first from a fielder’s choice to second. Griffin’s single to shortstop allowed sophomore pitcher/infielder Maddie Hartley to score.
Redmond made the last run of the top half from second. The Cougars’ last score of the game came from Griffin’s homerun with freshman utility Kaitlynn Torres scoring from third in the top of the fifth inning. Although the Cougars fought, they faced a loss with the game ending 10-6.
Game three
Tough and tested, Houston was facing a score of 7-2 by the top of the fourth. Hartley’s homerun to center field with two bases loaded set the score 7-5 and was soon topped off 7-6 by a run from Gardner. Top of the sixth, the first tie of the series spawned from senior infielder Mandy Esman’s single down left field and freshman outfielder Shelby Taylor’s resulting run.
The game looked to be in the Cougars’ favor, but the top of the sixth ended with two more runs. Redmond scored on a wild pitch and Esman scored soon after. However, BYU responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth and the game soon ended with BYU winning 10-9.
Even with Houston’s struggles in conference, they showed their ferocious spirit and ability to come back when they needed it most. The Cougars will have their next Big 12 series at home at Cougar Softball Stadium against Arizona State from April 18-19.
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