March 25, 2007

Final Stats

Houston at Memphis (Game 3 Box Score - PDF)
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Angel Shamblin belted a pair of three-run homers and matched a program single game record with six RBIs as the University of Houston softball team exploded for a 15-3 victory over Memphis Sunday afternoon in the rubber game of a Conference USA weekend series at the UM Softball Complex.

The Houston (25-11, 8-1 C-USA) offense ripped four home runs and broke out for a season-best 15 runs. The Cougars also compiled a season-high 14 hits. Shamblin along with Jessica Valis, Katie Bush, Christa Raley and Laura Durham all provided multi-hit outings for the Cougars.

"I was proud that our team came out and executed after the sour taste left in their mouth from yesterday," head coach Kyla Holas said. "Our offense is starting to show signs of growth. We worked hard in practice and I felt our offense has improved their approach at the plate."

"It's big for our team to win another series on the road in conference play," Bush said. "We wanted to show that we're better than how we played yesterday."

Shamblin also earned the win in the circle to push her record to 16-5 for the season. The Florida native matched her own single season program mark for wins in a season.

"I knew I should have had more wins last season and wanted to make the most of each of the opportunities that I got this season," Shamblin said. "There are still a lot of games left on the schedule, and I know that I have a lot of work still left to do."

Shamblin delivered the first of two three-run blasts at the plate with two outs in the second inning to give Houston a 3-0 lead. Laura Durham and Laurie Wagner extended the frame by drawing walks.

Elaina Nordstrom pushed the advantage to 5-0 with a two-run bomb of her own in the third inning. The homer chased Memphis starter Nicki Johnson (7-5) from the game. Johnson allowed five runs on four hits.

Houston platted five more runs in the fifth inning. Wagner provided a two-run single through the left side before Shamblin connected on another two-out, three-run roundtripper to make it 10-0.

"I made an adjustment from my at-bats yesterday and moved up in the box," Shamblin said. "I saw the pitches better. When my teammates get on-base, I need to step up as well in critical situations and drive home those runs."

Shamblin carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and retired 12 of the first 13 batters she faced. Kimmi Hayden knocked a solo home run to break up Shamblin's bid at a no-hitter and a shutout.

The Cougars turned to Carla Kennimer, who was touched up for two more runs. The southpaw surrendered a trio of walks along with a pair of hits, including a two-run single to pinch hitter Bridgette McNulty.

Kennimer regrouped and got Kara Ross to fly out to right field with the bases loaded to end the threat and keep the score at 10-3.

"Angel did an excellent job of setting the tone early, and we'll work with her this week in practice on finishing games stronger," Holas said. "Once the no-hitter and shutout was gone, we wanted to give Carla (Kennimer) some work. Carla needs to pitch with more confidence in that situation. She had a good sixth inning, but needed to do that in the inning before."

The Cougars responded by posting five more runs in the sixth inning. Bush slapped a RBI-single up the middle, while Raley provided a three-run homer. UH also capitalized on a Memphis fielding error for the final margin of 15-3.

Houston returns to the diamond with a mid-week doubleheader at Sam Houston State. First pitch is set for 4pm Wednesday against the Bearkats. Live stats will be available on UHCougars.com

"Sam Houston State is solid ball club and will be ready to play us," Holas said. "We need to stay focused and continue to work hard when we return to practice on Tuesday."

Cougar Notes
The series finale is the sixth meeting between Houston and Memphis on the softball diamond ... The Cougars have won both series against Memphis and four of the six all-time meetings ... The Cougars have won 24 of its last 25 games against current non-ranked opponents ... Houston improves to 19-6 this season in both in day games and when scoring first ... The Cougars also are 103-29 since the start of the 2004 season when scoring first ... Houston also has won all seven games it has played on Sunday this season ... The Cougars are 14-0 when scoring at least four runs this season ... Houston has won 30 of 41 games over the last two seasons when Jessica and Haley Valis are in the starting infield ... Jessica Valis and Elaina Nordstrom have started in all 98 games of their careers ... Laura Durham also has played in all 98 games of her Houston career since transferring from Texas A&M ... Katie Bush has made 95 consecutive starts in centerfield ... Jessica Valis tallied her team-leading 14th multi-hit game and 37th multi-hit effort of her career ... The Shiner native has hit safely in 28 of 35 games this season, including her last six outings ... Four of the six efforts during the streak have been of the multi-hit variety ... Houston improves to 26-11 over the last two seasons when Jessica Valis notches a multi-hit effort ... The Cougars also have notched a 42-12 mark over the last two seasons when Jessica Valis scores a run ... Valis now has 118 career hits and pulls within one hit from tying Michelle Keith (2002-05) for the No. 6 spot in program history ... Katie Bush has tallied a hit in 17 of her last 24 games and is currently on a four-game hitting streak ... The Brenham native also has produced a RBI in two of her last three outings ... The three hits by Bush match a career-high ... It was her fifth career three-hit game with her last three-hit effort coming in game two of last season's doubleheader against Memphis (May 6, 2006) ... Elaina Nordstrom pushes her hitting streak to a season-best six games and has hit safely in 11 of her last 12 outings ... Her and Jessica Valis are the only Cougars to record a hit in each of Houston's nine conference games ... The California native moves to nine hits away from reaching the 100-mark for her career ... Nordstrom also has produced a RBI in eight of her last 11 games and in game of the Memphis series ... Christa Raley has reached base in 21 of her last 24 games ... She also tied a career-best with three RBIs, a feat she reached with a three-run homer in the sixth inning of last weekend's series finale with Tulsa (March 18) ... Each of Raley's four home runs have come in the sixth inning or later of games ... Laura Durham tallied her seventh multi-hit game this season and 20th multi-hit outing of her Houston career ... It also was Durham's second consecutive multi-hit effort ... Durham matched a career-high by scoring three runs ... The last time Durham scored three runs came in game two of last season's doubleheader with Grambling State (April 25, 2006) ... It was only the third time in the last 11 games that Haley Valis didn't notch a hit ... Laurie Wagner's two-run single in the sixth inning snapped a 15-game streak without a RBI ... The Houston native has hits safely and drawn a walk in three of her last five games ...Angel Shamblin matched a program single game record with six RBIs ... The last time a Cougar recorded six RBIs was Arelis Ferreris six RBI performance in game one against Louisville (May 4, 2002) ... The Florida native also recorded her 16th win in the circle and tied her own single season mark set last season ... With five strikeouts, Shamblin is 105 Ks away from matching Jenny Johnson (2001-04) for the No. 1 spot in program history ... She also is two Ks away from equaling her own single season program mark set last season ... Shamblin has allowed two or less earned runs in 21 of her last 24 starts dating back to last season.