April 5, 2006

Final Stats

Houston at Texas State Game 2 Box Score (PDF)
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SAN MARCOS - A four-run fourth inning propelled Texas State past the University of Houston softball team 5-4 in game two one of a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday afternoon at Bobcat Field.

"Even thought we earned a split today, I was encouraged that we saw a team today on offense that we haven't seen since the beginning of the season," head coach Kyla Holas said.

Alex Newton broke a 1-1 with a two-run homer to left field in the fourth inning pushing the Bobcats ahead 3-1.

Texas State (25-13) loaded the bases with a trio of singles and stretched its advantage to 4-1 on a sacrifice fly by Amy Krueger. The Bobcats concluded the frame by capitalizing on a Jessica Valis' fielding error making it 5-1.

Houston (26-17) sliced the deficit down to 5-2 in the fifth inning when Haley Valis clocked a solo home run to left-centerfield.

The Cougars continued to rally as Jessica Valis drew a walk and Katie Bush reached on a bunt single. The bases were loaded when Christa Raley was hit-by-a-pitch however Laura Durham fouled out to the second baseman ending the threat.

Houston continued to inch closer in the seventh inning as Elaina Nordstrom dialed long distance crushing a two-run shot to centerfield drawing the Cougars within 5-4. The RBIs for Nordstrom gave her 37 for the season breaking a program single-season record for a freshman. The previous mark was held by Kristin Glowacz who registered 35 RBIs during the 2002 season.

Houston's rally ran out of steam as Raley and Durham were retired on fly balls keeping the score at 5-4.

The two teams opened the scoring by trading solo home runs in the second inning. Christa Raley went deep for the Cougars, while Katie Ann Trahan responded with a long ball for Texas State keeping the game all square at 1-1.

Houston returns to the Bayou City hooking up with Arkansas-Pine Bluff for a Sunday non-conference twinbill.

"This series is a good springboard for us to get ready to make a final push in conference play," Holas said. "It will be an excellent opportunity for us to fine tune a couple of things."

First pitch against the UAPB is slated for 11am at the Cougar Softball Stadium. UH students get into all the action for free by showing their Cougar 1 Card at the gate.

Game Notes
Houston falls to 6-5 all-time against Texas State ... The Bobcats have won four of the last five games in the series ... The Cougars drop to 6-7 in one-run contests ... It was the second consecutive game that the Cougars have hit multiple home runs ... Houston is 2-2 when hitting multiple home runs ... Head coach Kyla Holas has used a different batting order in 38 of 43 games this season ... Holas has used a different batting order in 18 of her last 19 games ... Jamie Adams made only her second appearance in the No. 7 slot and was followed by Haley Valis for the first time in the No. 8 hole ... Valis notched her second home run of the season in the fifth inning ... The Shiner, Texas native put together her first multi-hit game of her career ... Christa Raley cranked her fifth homer of the season ... Raley went yard in the second inning for the second consecutive game ... Jessica Valis extended her hitting streak to team-high six games with an infield single in the seventh inning ... 34 of Valis' team-best 48 hits have not left the infield ... Katie Bush reached on a bunt single in the fifth inning and has now reached base in 15 consecutive games ... Elaina Nordstrom has reached base in 38 of 43 games this season ... Nordstrom joins teammate Christa Raley with five home runs for second on the squad ... Like Raley, Nordstrom has hit a home run in back-to-back games ... The LaPalma, Calif. native pushing her RBI total to a team-best 37 for the season breaking a program single-season record for a freshman... The previous record was held by Kristin Glowacz who also totaled 35 RBIs during the 2002 season ... Nordstrom has picked up a RBI in 10 of her last 11 games ... Barbie Love fired another 4.0 innings of relief ... It was the third consecutive game that Love has thrown at least 4.0 innings of work out of the bullpen ... With two strikeouts, Love is now four Ks away from reaching 100 for her career ... Jaci Gonzalez has reached base in 18 of 27 games when in the batting lineup ... The San Antonio, native had her streak of four consecutive games with a run scored come to a close ... With her single in the sixth inning, Gonzalez is now nine hits shy of reaching Michelle Keith's (2002-05) 117 career hits for No. 5 all-time in program history.