March 2, 2007

Final Stats

Houston vs. Utah Valley State Box Score (PDF)
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Houston vs. UCSB Box Score (PDF)
Download Free Acrobat Reader

TEMPE, Ariz. - Angel Shamblin fired a two-hit shutout, while Laura Durham belted a solo home run in the seventh inning to lift the University of Houston softball team over UC Santa Barbara 1-0 Friday afternoon in the Sun Devil Invitational at Farrington Stadium on the Arizona State campus.

The Cougars (15-6) also defeated Utah Valley State 7-6 and stretch their season-long winning streak to eight games. Five of the eight victories during the streak have been by one run.

Jessica Valis went 4-for-5 and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning against the Wolverines. The four hits for Valis was a career-high. Laurie Wagner and Haley Valis also provided a pair of RBIs, while Carla Kennimer (3-0) tossed 2.1 innings of no-hit relief.

"I was proud of how our team overcame a slow start against Utah Valley State," head coach Kyla Holas said. "We battled back and found a way to win when we weren't playing our best softball. The game against UCSB had an NCAA Regional feel to it. Angel pitched strong, and Laura got a hold of pitch to push us through."

After six scoreless innings against the Gauchos, Durham ripped a 2-2 pitch over the centerfield wall to give Houston a 1-0 advantage.

"Their pitcher got me to pop-up my first two at-bats with change-ups," Durham said. "I felt like I made good contact but was just missing so I made an adjustment and was ready for the change-up at 2-2."

Shamblin secured the 1-0 victory with a 1-2-3 seventh inning. She closed out her program-record 13th shut-out with a pair of strikeouts.

"The key to my success today was being able to throw pitches that moved," Shamblin said. "My teammates behind me also made key defensive plays with runners on-base."

Houston fell behind 3-0 to Utah Valley State before rallying with four runs in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Laurie Wagner reached on a dropped fly ball that made the score 3-1.

Haley Valis evened the score at 3-3 with a single that hit the left field fence. Two batters later, the Cougars took a 4-3 lead on a Jessica Valis RBI-single.

Wagner pushed the advantage to 6-3 in the fifth inning with a two-run homer over the centerfield wall, but Utah Valley State responded with three runs to knot the score at 6-6 in the home half of the frame.

The Cougars struck back and grabbed a 7-6 advantage in the sixth inning on a Samantha Cummings fielder's choice that scored Jessica Valis. Kennimer shut down the Wolverines with a trio of strikeout and was touched up for only a walk in 2.1 innings of relief.

Houston returns to the diamond facing off against Utah Valley State and host No. 2 Arizona State. First pitch against the Wolverines is slated for 4pm. Both games will have live stats on UHCougars.com

Cougar Notes
This afternoon was the first all-time meetings against Utah Valley State and UC Santa Barbara ... It also was the first games outside the Lone Star State this season ... Houston is now on a season-long eight-game winning streak ... Five of the eight wins during the streak have come by one run ... Houston moves to 10-4 this season and jumps to 94-27 since the start of the 2004 campaign when scoring first ... The Cougars have also won five of seven games this season when the opposition scores first ... UH also has notched an impressive 85-4 record since the start of the 2004 season when carrying a lead into the seventh inning ... Jessica Valis and Elaina Nordstrom have started in all 83 starts of their careers ... Durham also has played in all 83 games since transferring from Texas A&M ... Katie Bush has made 80 consecutive starts in centerfield ... Over the last two seasons, the Cougars have won 20 of 27 games when Jessica and Haley Valis are in the starting infield ... Angel Shamblin fired her 13th career shutout ... She passed Jenny Johnson for the No. 1 spot in program history in that category ... With eight strikeouts, Shamblin is now 72 Ks away from matching Jamie Falco for the No. 2 spot in program history ... She also is seven Ks away from reaching 100 for the season ... Jessica Valis notched a career-best four hits against Utah Valley State ... Valis has started a game by reaching base 36 of 83 chances in her career ... The Shiner native has hit safely in 16 of 20 games this season ... She is one hit away from her 100th career hit and tying Lindsay Durham for the No. 10 position in program history ... Bush has tallied a hit in eight of her last 10 games ... Against UCSB, Laura Durham hit her 12th career home run ... She passed Ali McDougall and tied Brandi Clark fro the No. 7 spot in program history ... 32 of Houston's last 46 home runs dating back to the start of the 2006 season have been solo homers ... Durham is also two RBIs away from matching her sister, Lindsay, for the No. 11 slot on the program's RBI list ... Seven of Durham's last 11 hits have gone for extra bases ... Carla Kennimer has won 11 of her last 12 decisions after taking the loss in the 2006 opener against No. 19 Florida ... Elaina Nordstrom tallied her third multi-hit game this season and 19th of her career against Utah Valley State ... Nordstrom has reached base in 74 of her 83 career games ... Christa Raley has knocked a hit in seven of her last eight games ... The LaPorte native has been hit-by-a-pitch in two of her last three outings ... Haley Valis has had two multi-hit and multi-RBI performances in her last three games ... Amanda Grote has registered a hit in three of her last five appearances, while Laurie Wagner has produced a hit in six of her last nine games.