The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Travels To Houston To Face Conference-Leading Cougars
3/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 30, 2007
Houston Game Notes
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB softball team will head to Houston for a weekend conference series against the Houston Cougars at Cougar Softball Stadium. The two teams will square off for a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:00 p.m. and round out the series on Sunday at noon. Sunday's game will be televised on CSTV.
The Cougars currently sit atop the Conference USA standings, while the Blazers are in third place.
Houston has won 10 of its last 12, including a current three-game winning streak. The Cougars swept in-state rival Sam Houston State on Wednesday after taking two out of three at Memphis last weekend in their most recent conference series.
UAB is enjoying its longest winning streak of the season, sweeping its last two opponents for five consecutive victories. The Blazers took two from Kennesaw State on Tuesday after sweeping the series against conference foe UTEP last weekend.
This season marks the seventh in a row that the two teams have met, with Houston holding a 12-6 advantage in the series. The Cougars are 8-1 against the Blazers when playing in Houston. UAB's only win in the Bayou City was a 6-4 victory in the first-ever meeting between the two teams in 2001.
While Houston has yet to lose a conference home game, UAB has played only one conference series on the road, dropping two games at Tulsa on the opening weekend of conference play.
Last season, the Blazers broke a nine-game losing streak to the Cougars with back-to-back wins in Birmingham.
Overall, Houston has outscored UAB 72-57.
Scouting Houston: The Cougars are the 2007 preseason favorite to win the conference, returning 12 letterwinners from last season's 40-win squad. Sophomore shortstop Jessica Valis was selected to the preseason all-conference team and leads the way for the Cougars on offense. Valis is hitting .366 with six doubles, five triples and two homeruns. Sophomore catcher Elaina Nordstrom, the defending C-USA Freshman of the Year, leads the team with 23 RBI and is batting .286. In the circle the Cougars are led by the reigning C-USA Pitcher of the Year, junior Angel Shamblin. Shamblin leads the conference with 17 wins and is second with a 1.09 ERA.
