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Feb. 10 C-USA Softball Recap
Houston is undefeated at 4-0, Marshall grabs a ranked win, Kee wins her 500th game

	ECU head coach Tracey Kee recorded her 500th career victory

Feb. 10, 2008

IRVING, Texas - Conference USA Softball action began this weekend with all nine teams seeing action. Preseason favorite Houston sits atop the league standings with a perfect 4-0 record after sweeping doubleheaders with Nicholls State and McNeese State. UAB won five opening weekend games and sits at 5-2 overall and East Carolina is right behind at 4-2 after finishing second in the Carolina Classic. Marshall sits at 3-3, but grabbed the league's first win over a ranked opponent, when it downed former league member and eighth-ranked DePaul, 4-3, on Friday.

EAST CAROLINA
After slipping past Kent State 3-2 in the first game of the day on Sunday, East Carolina dropped a 5-2 decision to North Carolina in the championship contest of the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill. The Pirates finish their first weekend of play at 4-2. Sophomores Cristen Aona, Toni Paisley and senior Erin St. Ledger were named to the all-tournament team.

Head coach Tracey Kee picked up her 500th career win on Saturday when her team won a pair of contests. They took out preseason Mid-American Conference favorite Kent State 2-1 in Saturday's first game before returning to defeat George Washington 6-1 in the final contest of the day.

ECU bounced back after a season-opening 5-1 loss to North Carolina to rout North Carolina Central in five innings, 13-0, in the nightcap on Friday.

East Carolina returns to action on Friday as it opens up the home portion of the schedule. The Pirates host the Pirate Invitational at the ECU Softball Field, the first of three consecutive home tournaments. Boston College serves as the first opponent for ECU as the contest is scheduled for 2 p.m.

HOUSTON
Houston moved to 4-0 Saturday with wins over McNeese State at Cougar Softball Stadium. UH (4-0) defeated the Cowgirls in game one with a score of 9-1 in just five innings. Junior Elaina Nordstrom led the Cougars hitting her first homerun this season and the 18th of her career.

The Cougars used solid offense in the first inning to score five runs. Junior Jessica Valis and junior Katie Bush each scored after reaching base on walks to open the game.

The Cougars would seal the win with three runs in the third inning.

Freshman Jennifer Klinkert hit her first career homerun in the second game to pace the Cougars. Houston defeated the Cowgirls 8-0 in six innings.

Senior Barbie Love pitched the second game notching nine strikeouts in 19 at bats, one hit, no runs and no errors. This was her first trip to the mound this season.

The Cougars earned their first two wins of the 2008 season, defeating Nicholls State on Friday.

UH (2-0) earned a win in game one with a score of 2-1 behind the pitching of senior Angel Shamblin. Shamblin went the distance tallying 12 strikeouts and just four hits. The one run she surrendered was unearned.

The Cougars opened game two scoring a run in each of the first three innings with their final run coming in the fifth inning. Valis would score again in the second game after reaching base on a single to third base.

The Cougars continue their month-long home stand when they play host to the Crowne Plaza Classic on Feb. 15-17. Teams scheduled to play in the tournament include DePaul, Army and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

MARSHALL
Despite a three-hit performance from All-American Rachel Folden, Marshall was unable to close out the Red/Black Showcase with a win, when it fell to host Georgia, 4-2, Sunday afternoon at the UGA Softball Complex.

It was Folden's first three-hit performance this year as she went 3-for-4 with two doubles and now leads the team with a .565 batting average.

Despite a four run fourth inning, the Herd team dropped a 6-5 decision against the No. 8/10 DePaul Blue Demons, Sunday morning. The Herd totaled seven hits in the contest led by sophomore Caitlyn Jackson.

Marshall couldn't withstand a late Georgia run and fell to the Bulldogs, 7-4 Saturday afternoon. The Herd (3-1) finished with seven hits in the contest, three of them coming from Jackson.

MU improved on its impressive start from Friday with a 9-1 victory over the College of Charleston Cougars on Saturday morning. Marshall's Autumn Mitchell earned her first victory of the season with a five inning performance with only two hits.

The Herd swept Friday action with a 12-2 victory over the College of Charleston. Marshall earned its first win over the Cougars (0-1) in the all-time series to improve to 4-1.

Freshman Melanie Stoehr's walk-off base on balls scored Rachel Folden to upset No. 8/10 DePaul, 4-3, Friday afternoon at the Red/Black Showcase.

DePaul (0-1) is the highest ranked opponent the Herd has defeated in school history. The previous record was a 2-1 victory over No. 22 Iowa in 2003.

The Herd returns to action, Friday, Feb. 16 against Gardner-Webb at 3 p.m. (CT), when it travels to Auburn, Ala. to compete in the Auburn University Tiger Invitational.

MEMPHIS
For the second-straight game, Memphis used an eighth inning rally to earn an extra inning victory. The Tigers (2-3) shut out Bethune-Cookman (0-5), 6-0, in the final game of the USF Wilson Invitational on Sunday.

Freshman Janelle Valle (1-0) earned her first collegiate victory with three scoreless inning in relief. Valle struck out two and allowed just one hit to close the shutout.

Memphis won its first game of the season in extra innings with a 7-4 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday at USF.

Earlier in the day, No. 13 Florida used only four hits to score nine runs in five innings to beat Memphis, 9-0. The Gators took advantage of seven walks and a couple Memphis miscues to score four runs in the second, two in the fourth and three in the fifth.

A short-staffed South Florida softball team held Memphis to one hit in a 7-0 shutout over the Tigers on Friday at the Wilson Invite Memphis (0-2) dropped both games in the tournament to open the season

Illinois overcame a five-run University of Memphis lead with eight runs in the fourth inning to defeat the Tigers, 8-5, as both teams opened its softball season at the Wilson Invitational on Friday.

The Tigers will next compete in the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State beginning Friday in Tempe, Ariz. Memphis will play five games in the three-day tournament beginning with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State on Friday.

SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss dropped its second-straight game in the FSU Early Bird Tournament, losing to Louisville, 5-1, before bouncing back in a big way, defeating Troy in the consolation game, 9-4, on Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla.

Southern Miss (2-2) had only six hits against the Trojans, but five of the six were for extra bases, including back-to-back home runs.

Southern Miss coach Howard Dobson made his debut and his team responded with a 4-1 victory over Troy in the first game of the Early Bird Tournament in Tallahassee Friday. The Lady Eagles lost the afternoon contest to host Florida State, 11-3.

Junior catcher Kristin Pilgrim led the way for Southern Miss going 2-for-2 with a single and triple and scoring a run. Senior Jennifer Fox also had two hits. Southern Miss returns to action, Feb. 13, against Nicholls State at 6 p.m.

TULSA
Tulsa opened the 2008 campaign with a 6-2 victory over Texas State, before falling to host North Texas 7-5 in the final game of the evening at the Quality Inn & Suites/Point Bank Invitational.

Sophomore Lauren Lindsay was the big hitter for the Golden Hurricane against Texas State. Last season's home run leader, she posted two homers in this season's first game to go along with a 3-for-4 performance. Fellow sophomore Jackie Lawrence picked up the win for the Hurricane with a complete-game six strike out effort in the circle.

As a team Tulsa hammered out nine hits against the Bobcats, as seven different players recorded at least one hit. Lawrence limited Texas State to only three hits in the contest.

North Texas used a three-run fourth inning to take the lead for good in the nightcap. Five TU batters recorded a hit in the contest, with senior Sara Dyer posting her first double of the season. Last year the Sand Springs, Okla., native led the nation in doubles.

UAB
UAB capped off a successful weekend Sunday by splitting a doubleheader with Oklahoma State at the Century Bank Classic. The Blazers won four-of-six games here in the four-team event.

The Blazers (5-2) hit two home runs in the first game on their way to a 3-2 victory. UAB dropped the second game, 2-0. Nelson (2-1) earned the victory in the first game allowing just three hits, in the Blazers' 2-0 win in game one. Harris (2-0) recorded a shutout in game two for UAB, as she allowed just four hits, in the 3-0 victory.

UAB split a doubleheader Friday against the University of Arkansas in Texarkana.

The Blazers (2-1) won the second game of the doubleheader, 4-2, after falling in extra innings in game one to the Lady Razorbacks, 6-5. Harris (1-0) earned the victory for the Blazers in the game two, as she threw a complete-game five hitter. She struck out nine batters, and came up with three big strikeouts to end the game. Andrea Rogers had a single and double, while driving in three runs in the Blazers' victory. After giving up the

UAB scored two runs in the bottom of the first, to take a 2-1 lead in the second game. Leigh Walker and Krzan would reach base and would score on Rogers' single in the first inning. The Blazers would add two more runs in the second inning on a Krzan sacrifice fly and a double by Rogers.

The UAB softball team won its season opener, scoring five runs in the sixth inning to rally for a 5-2 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Thursday.

The win extended the Blazers' streak to seven consecutive opening day victories that dates back to 2002. It also improved the Blazers' record to 6-1 when opening the season on the road.

The Blazers' next action will come on Tuesday when they play at Jacksonville State in a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.

UCF
Kime (Brandon, Fla.) had a season-high nine strikeouts in the circle despite the UCF softball team falling to Kansas, 6-0, Sunday in the championship game of the UCF Softball Tournament at the UCF Softball Complex. The Knights earned second place in the tournament, but fell to 3-2 on the season.

Kime was tagged with her first loss of the season tossing seven innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs while striking out nine. Junior Marquita Council (Orlando, Fla.) had a hit in the contest to improve her batting average to .500 on the year. Three other Knights recorded a hit in the game.

Breanne Javier was a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with three RBI and one run scored and Lexi Gresham earned her first win of the season in the circle to lead the UCF softball team to an 11-3 victory over Central Arkansas Saturday night. The contest was shortened to five innings due to the eight-run rule.

UCF used a four-run fifth inning and three RBI from senior Ashley Van Ryn to defeat unbeaten Kansas, 5-2, Saturday afternoon on day two of the UCF Softball Tournament.

Both Van Ryn and fellow Kime had two hits in the contest to pace the Knights' offense. Kime also earned the win in the circle for UCF, allowing two runs on four hits, while striking out seven Jayhawk batters.

Kime pitched a complete-game shutout and went 3-for-3 with two doubles from the plate to lead the UCF softball team to a 5-0 victory over Illinois State Friday afternoon, before the Knights dropped a 10-6 decision to NC State in the nightcap of the opening day of the UCF Tournament.

Kime had six strikeouts in the win over the Redbirds, while allowing only three hits and a walk. She also paced the Black and Gold with four hits on the day. Freshman Abby McClain chipped in three RBI, while fellow freshman Tiffany Lane scored three runs in the pair of contests.

UCF travels to Hawai'i to compete in the Hawai'i Paradise Classic on Feb. 14-17. The Knights open the four team tournament against Long Beach State at 10 p.m. EST on Thursday.

UTEP
Nichole Tunget pitched her first career no-hitter as UTEP defeated Prairie View A&M, 11-0, on Sunday in Prairie View, Texas.

The senior pitcher tossed five innings, struck-out nine and allowed just one walk - the first player she faced - for the near perfect game. Tunget moves to 2-0 on the season while boosting the Miners to 3-2 overall.

Tunget's no-hitter victory is just the fourth in school history. Senior pitcher Renne DiPuccio had UTEP's first in the inaugural softball game on Feb. 15, 2004. Megan Barber and Veronica Flournoy accomplished the feat in 2005. Freshman Camilla Carrera continues to lead the Miners offensively, posting her third career home run in just nine at bats to go 3-for-3 with two doubles and a long ball for a team-high five RBI against the Lady Panthers.

Simone Holland blasted UTEP's first grand slam of the season, the third in her career, to lead the Miners past Texas Southern, 7-0 and 15-2, on Saturday in Houston, Texas. Holland ended the day batting .667 going 4-of-6 with three runs and was one of three Miners to post five RBI with Ashley Perez and Camilla Carrera. Perez led UTEP in batting going 6-of-7 (.857) with a double and a home run while Carrera batted .750 with two runs on three hits and two home runs.

Tunget and Kelly Curran each received the wins for the Miners and move to 1-0. UTEP combined for 23 runs on 22 hits with four doubles and 21 RBI. They hit four home runs to total eight for the season, averaging two per game.

UTEP dropped both ends of a doubleheader on Friday against Stephen F. Austin to open its 2008 slate 0-2. Rachel Schaeffer and Shea Lodes were the day's big hitters. Schaeffer hit .600 going 3-of-5 with two doubles while Lodes connected for five hits, a home run and three RBI.

The Miners' offense dominated at the plate with five doubles and four home runs as both teams combined for 19 hits but the Lady Jacks scored five more runs and had 13 RBI to UTEP's eight. Stacie Townsend and Renee DiPuccio took the losses, respectively.

The Miners return to action on Thursday as they take on the Canadian National Team and Northwestern State on the opening day of the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.