April 10, 2005

Box Score

HOUSTON - Allowing just one hit in five innings, the Houston softball team complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Saint Louis Billikens on Sunday afternoon at Cougar Softball Field in a 13-0 drubbing of the Conference USA foe.

Freshman Barbie Love recorded the one-hitter win for Houston as she threw four hitless innings, before a high chopper allowed the only Billiken to reach base in the fifth. However, in relief junior Crystal Briscoe set the next two SLU batters down to secure the victory for the Cougars.

With the win, Houston matches its longest winning streak of the season at five straight victories, and improves to 23-20 on the season and 6-6 in C-USA play. It was also the second three-game sweep by Houston over a league opponent this season.

At the plate the Cougar bats were punishing. Senior Kristen Glowacz went 2-for-2 with three runs and an RBI, senior Jeanie Davis was 3-for-3 with three RBI, junior Lindsay Vanover was 2-for-2 with two runs, and freshman Angel Shamblin scored two runs on one hit with four RBI as she produced the game's lone home run with a three-run jack.

In all, Houston out hit the Billikens 12-1 on the way to the team's second highest run total this season. The Cougars highest run total was a 15-1 victory over TSU.

The scoring borage began in the first inning when with two outs, Davis doubled to right center, bringing home Shamblin and Glowacz, whom reached on a walk and a single, respectively.

In the second inning, Vanover singled, junior Jaci Gonzalez walked, senior Kim Nesloney walked, then with the bases loaded and one out, freshman Dru Daniels belted a deep double to left field that brought home all three base runners.

Glowacz, the next batter, hit a deep single that brought home Daniels, and allowed the senior to reach second on the throw. A wild pitch moved Glowacz to third and a Davis single brought her home for a comfortable 7-0 lead after two innings.

The Cougars continued to pile on the runs in the third, with a Nesloney RBI-double, a Daniels RBI-single, Shamblin's three-run bomb, and a Davis RBI-single, to give Houston a six-run inning and an overwhelming 13-0 lead.

Love, who had struck out five batters, walked two and forced the rest to pop or ground out, gave up the only hit of the game after retiring the first SLU batter of the fifth inning. The lone hit came on a high chopper that bounced over Love's head, just out of her reach, to break up the no-hitter campaign.

Houston, however, easily held on for the win and next head to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face Southern Miss (19-22, 5-7) on Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17, with a twin bill on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.