SAN ANTONIO ? The UTSA softball team will step out of Southland Conference play for a doubleheader at No. 10 Houston on Wednesday, April 9. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Cougar Softball Stadium in Houston.
Live stats will be provided at goUTSA.com and live audio will be available to Rowdy Zone subscribers, also at goUTSA.com.
The Roadrunners, 18-18 on the season, will look to snap a four-game losing streak with their first two of seven straight road games. Freshman Danye Holmes (Sugar Land, Texas/Kempner HS) leads the offense with a .367 batting average, five doubles, six home runs, 29 RBIs and 28 walks. She also totes a 5-5 record, 2.50 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 61.2 innings of work in the circle.
Holmes is one of 12 Roadrunners who hail from the Greater Houston area: freshman Whitney Balch (Hardin HS), sophomore Brittany Bell (Baytown Sterling HS), sophomore Rudi Cantu (Alvin HS), redshirt sophomore Kelly Cato (Brazoswood HS), sophomore Chelsey Chapman (Clear Lake HS), senior Kim Chavez (Dobie HS), sophomore Mercedes Hessel (Montgomery HS), freshman Kristin Kappler (Brazoswood HS), Lindsay Perry (Alvin HS), junior Rachel Rackley (Baytown Lee HS) and Krista Sitka (Dobie HS).
Meanwhile, the Cougars, who enter a Tuesday night contest against the USA National Team with a 32-5 record, are ranked No. 10 in the USA Today/NFCA and No. 11 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Polls, respectively.
Junior Laurie Wagner has a team and Conference USA-best batting average of .423. The team batting average of .319 leads the league. In the circle, senior Angel Shamblin has a team and conference-best ERA of 0.69. The pitching staff, including senior Barbie Love and freshman Baillie Lott, has a combined 1.10 ERA, which paces C-USA. The Cougars are holding opponents to a .168 batting average this season.
The all-time series between UTSA and Houston is tied at 5-5 and the Roadrunners have won three straight, including a doubleheader sweep on April 4, 2006, in the last meeting.
