HOUSTON SOFTBALL GAMENOTES

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1 HOUSTON SOFTBALL GAMENOTES 2007 houston softball schedule date opponent Time/REsult Feb. 9 Texas-Arlington (1) L, 4-2 Feb. 9 Mississippi (1) W, 4-2 Feb. 10 No. 11, 13 Michigan (1) L, 2-1 (8) Feb. 10 Mississippi (1) W, 2-1 Feb. 11 No. 11, 13 Michigan (1) W, 2-1 Feb. 15 Texas State (2) W, 2-0 Feb. 16 No. 8, 5 Louisiana State (2) L, 5-3 Feb. 16 Missouri State (2) W, 7-0 (F) Feb. 17 Indiana (2) W, 5-3 Feb. 17 RV, RV Southern Illinois (2) L, 4-3 (8) Feb. 18 Centenary (2) W, 9-1 (5) Feb. 20 at No. 16, 16 Baylor (DH) L, 5-0; L, 2-1 Feb. 23 McNeese State (3) W, 3-0 Feb. 23 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3) W, 7-0 Feb. 24 Iowa State (3) W, 2-1 Feb. 24 New Mexico State (3) W, 3-2 Feb. 25 Iowa State (3) W, 4-0 Feb. 25 New Mexico State (3) W, 4-3 March 2 vs. Utah Valley State (4) W, 7-6 March 2 vs. UC Santa Barbara (4) W, 1-0 March 3 vs. Utah Valley State (4) W, 1-0 (10) March 3 at No. 2, 4 Arizona State (4) L, 2-1 March 4 vs. North Florida (4) W, 2-0 March 7 No. 4, 5 Texas A&M (DH) L, 3-0; L, 4-3 March 10 at Southern Miss (DH) (5) W, 6-2; W, 5-0 March 11 at Southern Miss (5) W, 1-0 March 14 at No. 22, 18 Georgia Tech L, 2-1 March 15 at Auburn Cancelled (Rain) March 17 Tulsa (DH) (5) W, 5-1; W, 6-1 March 18 Tulsa (5) W, 3-0 March 24 at Memphis (DH) (5) W, 5-1; L, 2-1 March 25 at Memphis (5) W, 15-3 (6) March 28 at Sam Houston State (DH) W, 7-2; W, 7-3 March 31 UAB (DH) (5) 1:00pm April 1 UAB (5) (CSTV) Noon April 6 at UTEP (DH) (5) 5:00pm April 7 at UTEP (5) 1:00pm April 18 at No. 15, 13 Louisiana-Lafayette (DH) 4:00pm April 21 UCF (DH) (5) 1:00pm April 22 UCF (5) Noon April 28 at East Carolina (DH) (5) Noon April 29 at East Carolina (5) Noon May 5 Marshall (DH) (5) 1:00pm May 6 Marshall (5) Noon May Conference USA Tournament (6) TBA May NCAA Regionals TBA May NCAA Super Regionals TBA June 1-6 Women s College World Series TBA All Times are Central; Home Games are in Bold; DH - Doubleheader; Game 2 of DH starts approximately 30 minutes after completion of Game 1. Rankings reflect NFCA/USA Softball Polls on date of game. (1) - Wiilson/DeMarini Invitational (Houston, Texas) (2) - Crowne Plaza Classic (Houston, Texas) (3) - Marriott Houston Hobby Invitational (Houston, Texas) (4) - Sun Devil Invitational (Tempe, Ariz.) (5) - Conference USA Game (6) - Conference USA Tournament (Orlando, Fla.) conference usa doubleheader softball plays host to key c-usa series with uab The University of Houston softball team (27-11, 8-1 C-USA) plays host to a key Conference USA series this weekend as UAB (24-16, 5-3 C-USA) heads to the Cougar Softball Stadium for a three-game set. Sunday s game at noon will be televised live on CSTV. Carter Blackburn and Ann Schatz will have the call. The Cougars have won 20 of their last 25 games. Three of the five setbacks during the streak have come against Top Five opponents. In fact, nine of Houston s 11 losses this season have come to currently ranked Top 25 opponents with five of those nine losses coming by a single run. Houston is coming off a sweep at Sam Houston State where five Cougars knocked home runs en route to 7-2 and 7-3 wins. The Cougars have outscored their opponents in league games. Our games with Sam Houston State were good preparation for UAB, Holas said. Our goal is to continue to work hard and have two solid practices and get ready for a key conference series. All three games of the UAB series will have live stats available via GameTracker on UHCougars.com last time out HUNTSVILLE Houston took a pair of mid-week games at Sam Houston State Wednesday at the SHSU Softball Complex. The Cougars used the long ball in game one as Christa Raley, Haley Valis and Jessica Valis belted home runs as Houston tallied a 7-2 victory. 1 UAB (24-16, 5-3 C-USA) at Houston (27-11, 8-1 C-USA) Saturday: 1pm (DH); Sunday: Noon (CSTV) Live stats via GameTracker for all games of the series available on probable houston starters batting Pos. No. Player GP-GS AVG R H HR RBI SLG% OB% BB SO C 33 Nordstrom B 16 Grote B 32 H. Valis SS 22 J. Valis B 42 Raley LF 10 Durham CF 4 Bush RF 19 Wagner DP 11 Cummings pitching No. Player APP-GS W-L ERA IP H R ER BB SO B/AVG 6 Shamblin Love Kloecker Kennimer

2 Cougar softball quick facts Location Houston, Texas Enrollment 35,400 Founded 1927 Nickname Cougars Colors Scarlet and White with Navy Trim President Dr. Jay Gogue Director of Athletics Dave Maggard NCAA Faculty Representative Dr. Richard Scamell SWA Diane Hall Softball Administrator Chris Burkhalter Conference Conference USA Began C-USA Competition 2001 Softball Staff Head Coach Kyla Holas Alma Mater (Year) Louisiana-Lafayette (1994) Record at Houston (Seasons) (6) Career Record (Seasons) Same Interviews Contact SID Assistant Coach Beth McClendon Alma Mater (Year) Florida (2000) Assistant Coach Adam Roorbach Alma Mater (Year) Indiana Wesleyan (1998) Volunteer Assistant Coach Kim Nesloney Alma Mater (Year) Houston (2005) Softball Office Line (713) Team Information 2006 Record Conference USA Record (Finish) 15-9 (T-2nd) 2006 Conference USA Tournament Finish 3rd 2006 Postseason NA Letterwinners Returning/Lost 12/5 Starters Returning/Lost 6/2 Pitchers Returning/Lost 4/1 Newcomers 4 home field Information Name (Capacity) Cougar Softball Stadium (1,200) Dimensions (L-R) Press Box Phone (713) Media Relations Associate A.D./Communications Chris Burkhalter Softball Contact Matt Dunaway mbdunawa@central.uh.edu Office Phone (713) Cell Phone (727) Office Fax (713) Website interview policy The Houston softball team practices in the afternoons at the Cougar Softball Stadium from 1pm to 4pm. To schedule an interview with players or coaches, please contact Sports Information Assistant Matt Dunaway, preferably 24 hours in advance at (713) UH on the internet For all of the latest news and notes on the softball program, visit the official website of the Houston Cougars. UHCougars.com has updated news, statistics, box scores, game recaps and weekly notes of Houston softball. Angel Shamblin recorded the win in the circle for UH and broke her own single season program record earning her 17th victory of the season. She was touched up for two runs on seven hits. The Florida native notched 10 strikeouts and now has 190 Ks on the season, also breaking her own program single season record. Katie Bush went 3-for-4 with three runs scored as the Cougars claimed a 7-3 victory in the second game. Carla Kennimer improved to 4-0 in the circle, firing a complete game in her fourth start of the season. The southpaw surrendered two earned runs and sprayed 10 hits. Houston gave Kennimer early run support scoring two runs in the first inning by using alert baserunning. With two outs in the frame, Elaina Nordstrom knocked a single followed by a Raley walk. Nordstrom and Raley came around to score on an infield error as the ball squirted away from shortstop Tanya Hooser. The Cougars went ahead 3-0 as Laura Durham slapped a RBI-single to score Katie Bush in the third inning. Laurie Wagner and Samantha Cummings belted home runs in the fourth and seventh innings, while Houston took advantage of Sam Houston State errors in the fifth and six innings. Sam Houston State (14-17) got RBIs from Stephanie Mosley, Mandy Collier and Amanda Lindsay. The Bearkats had a chance to trim the deficit to 7-4 in the seventh inning, but Bush ended the game by gunning down her outfield-leading fourth runner at the plate to end the game. houston tabbed preseason favorite by conference Usa The Cougar softball program tallied five of nine possible first-place votes as Houston was selected by the league coaches for the second consecutive season as the preseason favorite to claim the Conference USA crown as announced by the league office. houston vs. top 25 opponents Date Rank Opponent Result Feb. 10 No. 11, 13 Michigan L, 2-1 (8) Feb. 11 No. 11, 13 Michigan W, 2-1 Feb. 15 No. 8, 5 Louisiana State L, 5-3 Feb. 20 No. 16, 16 Baylor L, 5-0 Feb. 20 No. 16, 16 Bayor L, 2-1 March 3 No. 2, 4 Arizona State L, 2-1 March 7 No. 4, 5 Texas A&M L, 3-0 March 7 No. 4, 5 Texas A&M L, 4-3 March 14 No. 22, 18 Georgia Tech L, 2-1 Rankings reflect NFCA, USA Softball Polls on date of game. Houston earned 76 points and beat out Tulsa, the 2006 regular season and tournament champion, which tallied two first-place votes and 68 points to grab the second place spot. Marshall followed in third place after picking up two first-place votes and 62 points. I m once again fired up about our team being selected as the preseason favorite, head coach Kyla Holas said. Our team was young last season, and we knew we were going to take some bumps along the road. This season we feel that we have all of the pieces in place. The 2007 C-USA Softball Tournament will be hosted by UCF on May at the UCF Softball Stadium with the winner claiming the league s automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals. Below are how the teams stack up according to the C-USA coaches Conference USA Preseason Poll - (First Place votes in Parentheses) 1. HOUSTON (5) 6. Memphis 2. Tulsa (2) 7. Southern Miss 3. Marshall (2) 8. UTEP 4. UAB 9. UCF 5. East Carolina three players earn all-conference Usa preseason honors In conjunction with the Conference USA preseason poll, Angel Shamblin along with Elaina Nordstrom and Jessica Valis garnered All-Conference USA Preseason selections. Shamblin was named 2007 C-USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year. The Florida native set program singleseason marks with 16 victories and 182 strikeouts. She also was ranked in Top 5 of C-USA with a 1.71 ERA and a.205 opponent batting average. There is no doubt in my mind that Angel is deserving of this honor, head coach Kyla Holas said. She proved that last season with her performance, not only in conference play, but her wins against some of the nation s best. Elaina Nordstrom also is coming off a record-setting season, breaking many of Kristen Glowacz s freshman offensive single-season marks en route the Cougar Triple Crown last season. The California native 2

3 belted home 54 RBIs that were not only a freshman record but a program single-season mark. Jessica Valis joined Nordstrom last season on the All-Conference USA Freshman Team. She also became the second Cougar in program history to be named to the All-Conference First Team as a freshman. The Shiner native slapped a program single-season record 72 hits to go along with 25 stolen bases. I m proud that Jessica and Elaina got selected for this team, Holas said. Both are only sophomores and were keys to our success last season. Elaina is one of the best hitters in our conference, and I was glad that there was a spot for her on this team considering that the Player of the Year Rachel Folden and she play the same position. jessica valis named c-usa hitter of the week Jessica Valis earned Conference USA Hitter of the Week honors Monday afternoon as announced by the league office. It s the first career weekly award for Valis. Valis fueled the Houston offense with a 6-for-11 weekend and a trio of multi-hit games as the Cougars took two of three games last weekend at Memphis to strengthen its hold on first place in the C-USA standings. Along with her.545 batting average, Valis racked a.727 slugging percentage in addition to a.615 on-base percentage in the series. She also provided a multi-hit game and scored a run in each game of the series. The Shiner native also has hit safely in each of Houston s nine conference games and is currently on a six-game streak. Valis set the tone for the series, notching an infield single in the first inning of game one. She moved to third base by using alert baserunning on a sacrifice bunt that caught the Memphis defense off guard and scored on an Elaina Nordstrom ground out. In the seventh inning, Valis ripped a triple to left field and scored another run on a Katie Bush RBI-single. standing in line for the top 25 Houston has received votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 on three separate occasions this season. The latest came when the Cougars tallied two votes in the March 21 edition of the poll. Houston also racked up 11 votes on March 7 edition before garnering eight votes on Feb. 14. second best Houston s 2-1 victory over No. 11 Michigan (Feb. 11) at the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational matched the second-highest ranked opponent that the Cougars have defeated in program history. UH knocked off No. 7 LSU in 2003 and No. 11 Baylor during the 2005 campaign. sunday BEST Houston has tallied an 8-0 mark this season on Sunday. The Cougars are coming off a 15-3 rout against Memphis. The 15 runs for Houston was a season-high. Angel Shamblin belted a pair of three run home runs en route to matching a program single game record with 6 RBIs. four is the new magic number The Cougars have proven that four, not three, is the magic number. Houston is 16-0 this season when scoring four or more runs against an tally when being held to three runs or less. compare and contrast UAB Record Stat Houston Overall Conference Home Road Neutral Last Last Batting Average Runs Hits Home Runs RBIs Innings Pitched ERA Strikeouts Opp. Batting Average.197 scoring first The Cougars have compiled a (.784) mark since the start of the 2004 season when scoring first, including a 21-6 (.777) record this season. Houston also has won 54 of its last 70 contests (.771) since the start of the 2004 season after scoring a run in the first inning. the opposite Even though Houston has won at a.780 clip since the start of the 2004 season when scoring first, the Cougars have compiled 6-5 (.545) when the opposition scores first. Elaina Nordstrom provided a walk-off grand slam in 5-1 comeback victory against Tulsa (March 17). houston by the numbers in 2007 Overall Home 16-6 Away 7-5 Neutral 4-0 Non-Conference Conference USA 8-1 Top 25 Opponents 1-8 Texas Opponents 4-5 Vs. Atlantic Coast 0-1 Vs. Atlantic Sun 1-0 Vs. Big Ten 2-1 Vs. Big XII 2-4 Vs. Big West 1-0 Vs. Independent 2-0 Vs. Mid-Continent 1-0 Vs. Missouri Valley 1-1 Vs. Pac Vs. Southeastern 2-1 Vs. Southland 5-1 Vs. Sun Belt 0-0 Vs. Western Athletic 2-0 February 13-6 March 14-5 April 0-0 May 0-0 Day Games 20-6 Night Games 7-5 Sunday 8-0 Monday 0-0 Tuesday 0-2 Wednesday 2-3 Thursday 1-0 Friday 6-2 Saturday 10-4 C-USA Home Games 3-0 C-USA Road Games 5-1 Game One of a C-USA Series 3-0 Game Two of a C-USA Series 2-1 Game Three of a C-USA Series 3-0 Vs. Right-Handed Starter Vs. Left-Handed Starter Run Games Run Games Run Games Run or more Games 11-1 When Scoring 4 Runs or More 16-0 When Scoring 3 Runs or Less Scores First 21-6 Opponent Scores First 6-5 Scores in 1st Inning 7-3 Opponent Scores in 1st Inning 1-4 When Leading after 4 Innings 17-3 When Trailing after 4 Innings 2-5 When Tied after 4 Innings 8-3 When Leading after 6 Innings 20-1 When Trailing after 6 Innings 2-5 When Tied after 6 Innings 3-5 Extra Innings 2-2 Shutouts 10-2 Outhit Opponent Outhit by Opponent 4-8 When Hits are Tied 3-1 Red on Grey 7-5 Blue on Blue 10-3 White on White 10-1 Pink on White 0-2 3

4 game one starter: angel shamblin W-L ERA APP-GS CG/SHO IP H R ER BB SO B/AVG / / / Career / UAB W-L ERA APP-GS CG/SHO IP H R ER BB SO B/AVG Career / game highs Strikeouts: 16 (at Memphis - 03/24 - Game 1) Walks: 3 (2x), (Last: at Southern Miss - 03/11) Hits: 12 (at No. 16 Baylor - 02/20) Earned Runs: 4 (at No. 16 Baylor - 02/20) 2007 splits Home: 9-3, 0.87 ERA, 13APP/9GS, 11ER/79.2 IP, 21BB/97SO Away/Neutral: 8-2, 1.24 ERA, 12APP/9GS, 12ER/67.2 IP, 12BB/93SO Day: 13-4, 1.08 ERA, 18APP/14GS, 16ER/103.2 IP, 20BB/139SO Night: 4-1, 1.12 ERA, 7APP/4GS, 7ER/43.2 IP, 13BB/51SO the book on shamblin Angel Shamblin has backed up her billing as 2007 Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, headlining C-USA with an impressive 17-5 record and a stifling 1.09 ERA. She is second in C-USA, racking up 190 strikeouts in innings of work. Shamblin has registered doubledigit strikeouts in nine of her 18 starts this season and notched a pair of double-digit strikeout performances to open conference play against Southern Miss (March 10 and 11). Shamblin enters this weekend s action 86 Ks away from matching Jenny Johnson ( ) for the No. 1 position in program history. She already has recorded a program-best 15 career shutouts. At the Marriott Houston Hobby Invitational (Feb ), Shamblin surpassed Crystal Briscoe ( ) for the No. 3 position in program history for career strikeouts and tossed her third career no-hitter against Iowa State (Feb. 25). She enters this weekend three wins away from matching Jenny Johnson and Jamie Falco for the top spot in program history. single-season strikeout record Player (Season) Strikeouts 1. Angel Shamblin (2007) Angel Shambin (2006) Jenny Johnson (2002) Jamie Falco (2002) Jenny Johnson (2004) 139 single-season wins record Player (Season) Wins 1. Angel Shamblin (2007) Angel Shamblin (2006) Jenny Johnson (2002) Jamie Falco (2002) Jamie Falco (2003) 13 Shamblin fired two complete game shutouts at the Sun Devil Invitational against 2006 NCAA Tournament participant UC Santa Barbara (March 2) and North Florida (March 4). The opposition had only one runner reach third base. The junior right-hander had a scoreless inning streak come to a close at 37.1 innings over six appearances in the sixth inning against No. 4 Texas A&M (March 7). Shamblin is coming off a career-best and program single-game record 16 strikeouts in the series opener against Memphis (March 24). shamblin career notes Shamblin tallied a record with a staff-low 1.71 ERA en route to 2006 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year honors and an NFCA All-South Region Second-Team selection. The Florida native also was an All-Conference USA Second-Team selection as a utlity player. Shamblin s 16 victories and 182 strikeouts also were single-season program records. She won three C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors and became just the second player in league history to win Hitter and Pitcher of the Week award in the same week (March 13). shamblin vs. UAB (lifetime) Date Result W/L IP H R ER BB SO HR 05/06/05 W, 6-2 W /29/06 L, 4-6 L /30/06 W, 2-0 W Player AVG AB H R HR RBI BB SO Stanley Walker Rogers Davis Antonovich Krzan Harris day-by-day Date OPP Result W/L IP H R ER BB SO 02/09 MISS W, 4-2 W /10* MICH L, 1-2 L /10* MISS W, 2-1 W /11* MICH W, 2-1 W /15 TXST W, 2-0 W /16* LSU L, 3-5 ND /17 SIU L, 3-4 L /20 BAY L, 0-5 L /23 MCN W, 3-0 W /24 NMSU W, 3-2 W /25 IAST W, 1-0 W /02 UCSB W, 1-0 W /03* UVST W, 1-0 W /03* ARST L, 1-2 ND /04 UNF W, 2-0 W /07 TAM L, 0-3 L /10 USM W, 6-2 W /11 USM W, 1-0 W /14 GT L, 1-2 L /17 TLS W, 5-1 W /18 TLS W, 3-1 W /24 MEM W, 5-1 W /24* MEM L, 1-2 ND /25 MEM W, 15-3 W /28 SHSU W, 7-2 W Bold - Home Appearance; * - Relief Appearance Shamblin was a member of the 2005 C-USA All-Freshman squad, tying Carla Kennimer for the staff lead with 11 wins. The Florida native paced UH, recording 83 Ks and fired the program s first perfect game with a then career-best 10 strikeouts against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (March 14). 4

5 game Two starter: barbie love W-L ERA APP-GS CG/SHO IP H R ER BB SO B/AVG / / / Career / UAB W-L ERA APP-GS CG/SHO IP H R ER BB SO B/AVG Career / game highs Strikeouts: 9 (2x), (Last: vs. No. 4 Texas A&M - 03/07) Walks: 4 (vs. No. 4 Texas A&M - 03/07) Hits: 6 (at Memphis - 03/24) Earned Runs: 2 (3x) (Last: at Memphis - 03/24) 2007 splits Home: 3-2, 1.30 ERA, 7APP/4GS, 5ER/27.0 IP, 7BB/35SO Away/Neutral: 1-1, 0.71 ERA, 3APP/3GS, 2ER/19.2 IP, 7BB/19SO Day: 3-2, 0.93 ERA, 7APP/4GS, 4ER/30.0 IP, 9BB/31SO Night: 1-1, 1.26 ERA, 3APP/3GS, 3ER/16.2 IP, 5BB/23SO the book on Love Barbie Love has emerged as Houston s game two starter after starting the season in the bullpen. She is 4-3 with a 1.05 ERA and has held opponents to a staff-low.157 batting average, which ranks second-lowest in C-USA. Conference usa Era leaders Player (School) ERA 1. Allison Kime (UCF) Barbie Love (Houston) Angel Shamblin (Houston) Jennifer Nelson (UAB) Toni Paisley (East Carolina) 1.67 She has put together six consecutive quality starts and recently had a stretch of 16.0 innings in Conference USA action without allowing an earned run come to a close. In fact, Love has been touched up for only three earned runs in her last eight appearances. The Manvel native compiled a memorable weekend at the Marriott Houston Hobby Invitational (Feb ). She racked up a career-best nine strikeouts in a 7-0 shutout against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 23). The junior right-hander also threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief against New Mexico State (Feb. 25) In a tough-luck loss to No. 4 Texas A&M (March 7), Love matched her career-best with nine Ks and was touched up for only two earned runs in a 4-3 loss. Love rebounded from her Texas A&M outing by retiring 12 of the first 14 batters she faced in a two-hit shutout of Southern Miss (March 11). She carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning as the Cougars emerged with a 5-0 win. She also tosssed a complete game against Tusla (March 17) where she was touched up for an unearned run on three hits. She registered seven strikeouts against one walk. love vs. UAB (lifetime) Date Result W/L IP H R ER BB SO HR 05/06/05 W, 4-3 ND /29/06 L, 0-8 ND Player AVG AB H R HR RBI BB SO Stanley Harris Davis Antonovich Walker day-by-day Date OPP Result W/L IP H R ER BB SO 02/09* UTA L, 2-4 L /10 MISS W, 2-1 ND /18* CENT W, 9-1 ND /23 TAMU-CC W, 7-0 W /25* NMSU W, 4-3 W /03 UVST W, 1-0 ND /07 TAM L, 3-4 L /10 USM W, 5-0 W /17 TLS W, 6-1 W /24 MEM L, 1-2 L Bold - Home Appearance; * - Relief Appearance Love career notes During the 2006 season, Love fired her first career no-hitter with a season-high seven strikeouts against Texas Southern (April 24). She became seventh pitcher in program history to surpass the 100-strikeout mark against TSU. Love earned 2005 C-USA All-Freshman team honors, registering a staff-low 1.94 ERA and three saves. Her three saves were tied for third in C-USA 5

6 cougar countdowns Jessica Valis enters this weekend s action three hits away from tying Jaci Gonzalez for the No. 5 position on the program s career hits list. Elaina Nordstrom and Katie Bush are six and nine hits shy from reaching 100 for their careers. The duo is attempting to catch Lindsay Durham for the No. 11 spot in the Cougar record book. Angel Shamblin enters this weekend s action 86 strikeouts from matching Jenny Johnson ( ) for the No. 1 spot in program history. With her two-run homer in the series finale against Memphis last weekend, Elaina Nordstrom now has 15 career home runs. She passes Kim Nesloney ( ) for the No. 6 spot in program history and is one shy of Michelle Keith ( ) for the No. 5 slot conference usa leaderboard stats as of march 30, 2007 BATTING - (ALL Games, C-USA only) Bold (c-usa only) Player Category Rank Jessica Valis Hits (48, 14) T-3rd, 1st Jessica Valis Triples (5, 2) 2nd, T-1st Jessica Valis Batting Average (.366,.452) 8th, 3rd Jessica Valis Runs Scored (25, 8) T-9th, T-1st Katie Bush Sac Hits (10, 3) 3rd, T-1st Katie Bush Stolen Bases (9, 2) T-8th, T-3rd Elaina Nordstrom Sac Hits (9, 3) T-4th, T-1st Elaina Nordstrom Walks (22, 6) T-4th, T-3rd Elaina Nordstrom Home Runs (6, 3) T-10th, 1st Elaina Nordstrom Batting Average (.458) T-1st Elaina Nordstrom RBIs (11) 1st Elaina Nordstrom Slugging Percentage (.833) 1st Christa Raley Sac Hits (8, 3) T-8th, T-1st Christa Raley Stolen Bases (11, 3) 7th, 2nd Christa Raley Hit-By-Pitch (10, 1) 1st, T-5th Christa Raley RBIs (9) 2nd Laura Durham Triples (1) T-9th Laura Durham Sac Hits (9) T-4th Laura Durham Batting Average (.458) T-1st Laura Durham Slugging Percentage (.708) 3rd Laura Durham Hits (11) T-3rd Haley Valis Batting Average (.360) 10th Haley Valis RBIs (5) T-7th Angel Shamblin RBIs (6) 6th pitching - (ALL Games, C-USA Games only) bold (C-USA only) Player Category Rank Angel Shamblin ERA (1.09, 0.89) 3rd, 4th Angel Shamblin Strikeouts (190, 56) 2nd, 1st Angel Shamblin Wins (17, 6) 1st, 1st Angel Shamblin Opp. B/Avg. (.167,.143) 3rd, 2nd Angel Shamblin Fewest Runs Allowed (30, 6) T-7th, T-5th Barbie Love ERA (1.05, 0.69) 2nd, 2nd Barbie Love Opp. B/Avg. (.157,.153) 2nd, 3rd Barbie Love Fewest Runs Allowed (10, 3) 1st, T-1st team - (ALL Games, C-USA Games only) Category Batting Average (.259,.316) Hits (239, 72) Runs Scored (141, 47) Doubles (37, 10) Home Runs (29, 10) RBIs (112, 39) Walks (100, 28) Stolen Bases (42, 6) On-Base Percentage (.342,.398) Slugging Percentage (.407,.509) Sacrifice Hits (52, 13) ERA (1.31, 1.02) Fewest Hits Allowed (181, 32) Fewest Runs Allowed (69, 11) Fewest Earned Runs Allowed (48, 9) Opponent Batting Average (.197,.150) Strikeouts (283, 76) Fielding Percentage (.968,.972) Rank 8th, 1st 7th, 1st 6th, 1st T-7th, 2nd 3rd, 1st 9th, 1st 5th, T-2nd 3rd, 2nd 7th, 1st 5th, 1st 1st, 1st 2nd, 1st 3rd, 2nd 1st, 2nd T-1st, T-1st 3rd, 1st 1st, 1st 2nd, 2nd finishing strong The Cougars also have had a knack for finishing strong, notching an impressive 95-4 (.960) since the start of the 2004 season when taking a lead into the seventh inning. Houston has won 52 of its last 54 decisions (.963) during the streak. The Cougars held a 2-1 advantage in the final frame of the season opener against Texas-Arlington (Feb. 9) before a three-run, walk-off homer lifted the Mavericks to a 4-2 win. The other defeats came at DePaul (April 4, 2004), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (April 2, 2005) and against UTEP (April 2, 2006). home cooking Houston has jumped out to a 16-6 (.727) start in 2007 at the Cougar Softball Stadium and has won 11 consecutive home outings. Over the last two seasons, the Cougars have gone (.759) at home. series history Houston has compiled a 12-6 all-time record against UAB. The Cougars have won seven of the eight meetings played in Houston. However, UAB won two of three meetings last season in Birmingham at George Ward Park. Houston won a 2-0 decision in the series finale behind a complete game shutout from Angel Shamblin. Elaina Nordstrom provided a solo home run coupled with a Jessica Valis RBI-single. up next Houston continues its Conference USA slate with a weekend series at UTEP. Friday s doubleheader against the Minors begins at 5pm followed by a Saturday single game at 1pm. All games of the UTEP series will have live stats via GameTracker on UHCougars.com on these dates The Cougars have totaled a 2-2 (.500) mark on these dates in program history. It will mark the first time since the inaugural 2001 season that Houston has played on March 31 since dropping a doubleheader at Southern Miss. Houston has won two of three games played on April 1. The Cougars split a doubleheader with UTEP last season. Candi Kloecker tossed her first career no-hitter in game two against the Minors. iron ladies Sophomores Jessica Valis and Elaina Nordstrom have started all 100 games of their careers. Valis has made all 100 of her starts at shortstop, while Nordstrom notched 95 of her starts at catcher in addition to five starts at designated player. Laura Durham, who transferred to the program last season from Texas A&M, also has played in all 100 career games, totaling 98 starts. Katie Bush has started 97 consecutive games in centerfield after missing a start against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 12, 2006) during the opening weekend of last season. jump on it Jessica Valis fuels the Houston lineup from the leadoff position and has started the game by reaching base 43 of 100 (.430) chances in her career. She has reached 24 times with a hit, 13 times by drawing a walk and six times via an error. climbing the charts Jessica Valis slapped her 100th career hit at the Sun Devil Invitational with a double in the third inning against Utah Valley State (March 3). She became the 11th player in program history to reach that feat. The Shiner native opened the weekend by turning in a 4-for-5 performance against Utah Valley State (March 2). The four hits were a career-best for Valis. She also registered a 2-for-3 line against No. 2 Arizona State (March 3). That allowed the sophomore slapper to move into the UH s Top 10 in career hits. Career hits record Player (Seasons) Hits 4. Jenilee Skender ( ) Jaci Gonzalez ( ) Jessica Valis (2006-Present) Michelle Keith ( ) Leslie Seay ( ) 112 Valis is coming off a trio of multi-hit games last weekend at Memphis and was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week for her efforts. The sophomore slapper enters this weekend s action three hit back of Jaci Gonzalez ( ) for the No. 5 position in program history. 6

7 more on 22 Over her 100-game career, Houston has tallied a (.782) mark when Jessica Valis scores a run. That includes 15 of 19 games (.789) this season. The Cougars also have racked up a (.711) record when Valis tallies a multi-hit effort, including winning 11 of 15 games (.733) in two valis are better than one Twins Jessica and Haley Valis started at shortstop and second base 44 times over their two-year career. The Cougars have won 32 of those 44 games (.727) with both Valis in the starting infield. The Valis are the second pair of siblings to be out on the diamond for Houston. During the 2003 and 2004 seasons, outfielder Brooke and pitcher Jenny Johnson were on the field at the same time for the Cougars. sensational sophomores Head coach Kyla Holas starts six sophomores and each player brings a unique talent to the Cougar lineup. Below is a glance at each piece. Jessica Valis and Katie Bush are the slappers. Valis leads the team with a.366 batting average and has hit safely in 29 of 37 games this season in addition to 50 of her last 62 outings dating back to last season. She has notched a hit in seven of her last eight outings and has five multi-hit outings during the streak. The Shiner native paces the squad and is tied for third in Conference USA racking up 48 hits. Bush follows Valis with a.339 hitting clip and has tallied a hit in 15 of her last 22 appearances, including a stretch of five of her last six outings. The Brenham native also has scored multiple runs in two of her last three games. Defensively, she has used her strong arm from the outfield to gun down four runners at the plate, including one in the seventh inning to end the game at Sam Houston State (March 28). Elaina Nordstrom has returned to her 2006 Conference USA Freshman of the Year form and is currently on a season-best eight-game hitting streak. She has hit safely in 13 of her last 14 games, including all nine C-USA appearances. Nordstrom is batting.286 with a team-high six home runs and 23 RBIs in addition to drawing the fourth-highest walks in C-USA with 22. The California native belted a walk-off grand slam in the opening game against Tulsa (March 17). She also has produced a RBI in five of her last eight outings, including all three games of the Memphis series (March 24-25). She has reached base in 88 of her 100 career games, including 32 of 37 outings this season. Christa Raley has a knack for getting on-base by any means necessary and has reached base in 23 of her last 26 games. She has notched a hit in nine of her last 13 outings in addition to producing multi-rbis in four of her last six games. The LaPorte native also has been hit-by-a-pitch 10 times this season and already holds the program record and has been hit-by-a-pitch 19 times in her career. She also is one of three Cougars to draw double-digit walks this season. Raley is 5-for-11 with five RBIs since moving to the No. 4 spot in the lineup. compare and contrast Non-Conference Player C-USA.230 Elaina Nordstrom Christa Raley Laura Durham Haley Valis Jessica Valis Katie Bush Laurie Wagner Angel Shamblin Amanda Grote.150 Laurie Wagner broke out of an 11-game stretch without a hit, knocking a second inning lead-off double in game two against Tulsa (March 17). The Houston native has already racked up 15 RBIs after producing 24 RBIs in her freshman campaign. She provided a two-out, two-run double in the first inning against No. 11 Michigan (Feb. 11) that ended up being the game-winning hit. Wagner also has tallied a hit, scored a run and picked up a RBI in two of in three of her last five games conference usa standings School C-USA PCT Overall PCT (1) HOUSTON (2) East Carolina (3) UAB (4) Marshall (5) UCF (6) Tulsa (7) UTEP (8) Memphis (9) Southern Miss this weekend in conference usa Sat., March 31 Tulsa at East Carolina (DH) - Noon Marshall at UCF (DH) - Noon UAB at Houston (DH) - 1pm Memphis at Southern Miss (DH) - 1pm Sun., April 1 Marshall at UCF - 11am UAB at Houston - Noon (CSTV) Tulsa at East Carolina - Noon Memphis at Southern Miss - 1pm this week s C-usa results Thurs., March 29 Tulsa vs. Arkansas - PPD (Rain) Oklahoma State at Tulsa - PPD (Rain) Wed., March 28 Houston 7, Sam Houston State 2 (Gm 1) Houston 7, Sam Houston State 3 (Gm 2) No. 24 North Carolina State 12, East Carolina 2 (Gm 1) East Carolina 9, No. 24 North Carolina State 8 (Gm 2) UCF 1, Florida State 0 (Gm 1) Florida State 8, UCF 3 (Gm 2) Memphis 7, Tennessee-Martin 4 (Gm 1) Tue., March 27 Memphis 2, Tennessee-Martin 1 (Gm 2) Marshall 2, Morehead State 0 - Gm1 Marshall 5, Morehead State 4 - Gm 2 UAB 4, Kennesaw State 3 (8 Innings) - Gm 1 UAB 5, Kennesaw State 2 - Gm 2 UTEP 13, Alabama A&M 5 (6 Innings) - Gm 1 UTEP 9, Alabama A&M 2 - Gm 2 Mon., March 26 South Alabama 9, Southern Miss 8 UTEP 9, Alabama A&M 0 Sun., March 25 East Carolina 5, Marshall 0 Houston 15, Memphis 3 (6 Innings) UAB 3, UTEP 0 UCF 7, Tulsa 1 Sat., March 24 Marshall 5, East Carolina 4 Marshall 3, East Carolina 2 (9 Innings) Houston 5, Memphis 1 Memphis 2, Houston 1 UCF 3, Tulsa 0 Tulsa 7, UCF 4 UAB 4, UTEP 2 UAB 5, UTEP 3 Haley Valis also has recorded a hit in four of her last seven games. She has notched hits in key situations this season, including a.333 batting average with runners in scoring position. The Shiner native provided a solo home run in the sixth inning of a 3-3 game against New Mexico State (Feb. 25) and turned in 2-for-3 performance with a career best 3 RBIs in game two against Tulsa (March 17). She also produced a careerbest three hits in the series opener against Memphis (March 24). durham s big stick Laura Durham went 6-for-7 with an outstanding.857 batting average to go along with a.889 on-base percentage in Houston s opening weekend sweep of Southern Miss (March 10-11). She also tallied a pair of 7

8 cougar trends Elaina Nordstrom has reached base in 88 of 100 games in her career, including 32 of 38 games this season. Nordstrom is currently on a season-long eight game hitting streak and has notched a hit in 13 of her last 14 game. She has knocked home a RBI in five of her last eight outings. Jessica Valis has hit safely in 29 of 37 games this season, including seven of her last eight games. She has tallied five multi-hit efforts during the stretch. The Shiner native now has notched a hit in 50 of her last 62 dating back to last season. 72 of Valis 120 career have not left the infield. Jessica Valis and Elaina Nordstrom have hit safely in each of Houston s nine C-USA games. Katie Bush has recorded a hit in 15 of her last 22 appearances, including five of her last six games. The Brenham native also has produced multiple runs in two of her last three games. Carla Kennimer has won 12 on her last 13 decisions and is 4-0 this season after taking the loss in the 2006 season opener against No. 19 Florida. Angel Shamblin has recorded double-digit strikeouts in nine of her first 18 starts this season. She also has allowed two or less earned runs 23 of her last 26 starts dating back to last season. Christa Raley has reached base in 23 of her last 26 games. She is 5-for-11 since moving to the No. 4 spot in the lineup in the series finale against Memphis (March 25). Laurie Wagner has knocked a hit, scored a run and picked up a RBI in two of her last three games. Haley Valis has recorded a hit in four of her last seven games. Of Houston s last 12 home runs, 10 of them have brought home multiple runs. fun facts about the cougars Jessica and Haley Valis senior class at St. Paul High School in Shiner, Texas is only one more person (17) than the number of players on the Cougar softball team. It s 2,742 miles from Angel Shamblin s hometown of Davie, Fla. to Elaina Nordstrom s hometown of LaPalma, Calif. The approximate travel time according to Yahoo! maps between pitcher and catcher is 40 hours and nine minutes. Pitching Coach Beth McClendon was a hurler at the Univer sity of Florida ( ) when head coach Kyla Holas was the pitching coach with the Gators. Laura Durham s sister, Lindsay, played on the inaugural 2001 team. Over her four-year career, Lindsay ranked 11th in program history with 100 career hits. The Cougars also have a Brenham connection on the team. Candi Kloecker, Amanda Grote and Katie Bush were all teammates at Brenham High School in 2002 and multi-hit games en route to scoring four runs and slugging at a clip. The Pearland native is tied with Elaina Nordstrom with a.458 batting clip that not only leads Houston but Conference USA. cougar hitting streaks Player Season Long Career Long Current Jessica Valis Elaina Nordstrom Haley Valis Laurie Wagner Katie Bush Samantha Cummings Laura Durham Angel Shamblin Christa Raley Lara Lang Amanda Grote Courtney Spittler Candi Kloecker Carla Kennimer Durham has hit safely in three of her last four C-USA games, including a pair of back-to-back multi-hit efforts to close the Memphis series (March 24-25). She has already knocked four home runs on the season against No. 11 Michigan (Feb. 10), Southern Illinois (Feb. 17), UC Santa Barbara (March 2) and Southern Miss (March 10). Durham has tallied 13 career roundtrippers and is one homer away from Kim Nesloney for the No. 6 spot. Durham also is 11th in program history with 45 RBIs and is one away from tying Brandi Clark ( ). grote finds a home After moving in and out of the lineup in the first two weeks of the season, Amanda Grote has found a home at first base. The Cougars are 19-5 (.792) this season when Grote starts at first base. In the shift, Christa Raley moved from first base to third base, while Laura Durham went from third base to left field. nothing beats the first time Lara Lang and Amanda Grote will never forget their debuts with the Cougars. Lang provided an RBI single down the left field line in her first career at-bat against Texas-Arlington (Feb. 9), while Grote followed up with a 2-for-3 performance against Ole Miss (Feb. 9). Samantha Cummings first run-producing hit was a pinch-hit, two-run double against Centenary (Feb. 18) that put the Cougars on the board in the third inning. coming attractions Houston took advantage of the early signing period last November by inking five players to National Letters of Intent. The class includes Jennifer Klinkert, Baillie Lott, Christie Nieto, Angela Spittler and Katy Beth Sherman. All five players will compete as freshman for the Cougars starting in multi-rbi games Name Total Career Elaina Nordstrom Angel Shamblin Laurie Wagner Laura Durham Christa Raley Haley Valis Katie Bush Jessica Valis Samantha Cummiings Courtney Spittler Amanda Grote over Arizona State, Arizona, Washington and North Carolina State. multi-hit games Name Total Career Jessica Valis Elaina Nordstrom Katie Bush Laura Durham Angel Shamblin Laurie Wagner Christa Raley Haley Valis Amanda Grote Samantha Cummmings Courtney Spittler This is a huge class for us, not only in size, but in talent, head coach Kyla Holas said. We have secured our success atop Conference USA for another year with this class of incomers. The talent and potential of these ladies is something that we hope for in each recruiting year. (Assistant Coach) Beth (McClendon) worked very hard on the recruiting trail last year and it shows with this class. I m excited to have them as Cougars and look forward to having them in uniform next year. Klinkert (Chino, Calif) was an All-Sierra League First- Team selection in 2004 and a CIF Champion last season at Chino Hills High School. She chose UH Lott (Nashville, Tenn.) has been an All-District pitcher over the last three seasons at Brentwood High School. She was an All-Mid-State Second-Team pick in 2005 and moved up to the All-Mid-State First 8

9 Team last season, striking out 166 batters in 157 innings of work. She also batted.399 and added 42 RBIs. Nieto (Yorba Linda, Calif.) was on a league-champion squad at El Dorado High School in 2004 and She has been an All-League and All-County honoree in addition to a Golden Bat and Big Stick award recipient during her career. She chose UH over Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Georgia. Spittler (College Station, Texas) has been showered with a trio of 13-5A All-District awards during the last three seasons at Bryan High School. She was named 2004 Newcomer of the Year, 2005 Defensive Player of the Year and 2006 Offensive Player of the Year. She also garnered All-State and NFCA All-America status. She is the cousin of current Cougar Courtney Spittler, choosing UH over Wichita State, Iowa State, Boston University and Lehigh. Sherman (Waller, Texas) has been a three-time 18-4A All-District pick and was named 2006 All-District Offensive MVP. She batted.423 and stole 18 bases last season at Waller High School. She chose UH over Arkansas. starting lineup by position Position Player Starts Team Record Pitcher Angel Shamblin Pitcher Candi Kloecker Pitcher Barbie Love Pitcher Carla Kennimer Catcher Elaina Nordstrom st Base Amanda Grote st Base Christa Raley st Base Candi Kloecker nd Base Haley Valis nd Base Amanda Grote Shortstop Jessica Valis rd Base Christa Raley rd Base Laura Durham Left Field Laura Durham Left Field Lara Lang Left Field Courtney Spittler Left Field Haley Valis Centerfield Katie Bush Right Field Laurie Wagner Right Field Courtney Spittler Right Field Lara Lang Designated Player Angel Shamblin Designated Player Samantha Cummings Designated Player Lara Lang Designated Player Laurie Wagner Designated Player Courtney Spittler Designated Player Haley Valis Designated Player Amanda Grote Designated Player Carla Kennimer starting lineup by batting order Lineup Spot Player Starts Team Record 1st Jessica Valis nd Katie Bush rd Elaina Nordstrom rd Angel Shamblin rd Laurie Wagner th Christa Raley th Angel Shamblin th Elaina Nordstrom th Laura Durham th Laurie Wagner th Samantha Cummings th Haley Valis th Christa Raley th Laura Durham th Laurie Wagner th Elaina Nordstrom th Haley Valis th Angel Shamblin th Samantha Cummings th Laura Durham th Christa Raley th Laurie Wagner th Angel Shamblin th Haley Valis th Samantha Cummings th Laurie Wagner th Laura Durham th Haley Valis th Angel Shamblin th Samantha Cummings th Haley Valis th Amanda Grote th Angel Shamblin th Samantha Cummings th Laurie Wagner th Lara Lang th Amanda Grote th Lara Lang th Courtney Spittler th Haley Valis

10 2007 Houston cougars softball roster No. Player Pos. B-T Ht. Cl.-Exp. Hometown/Last School 4 Katie Bush CF L-R 5-3 So.-* Brenham, Texas (Brenham HS) 6 Angel Shamblin P R-R 5-5 Jr.-** Davie, Fla. (Hollywood Christian HS) 7 Lara Lang OF R-R 5-6 Fr.-HS Katy, Texas (Mayde Creek HS) 10 Laura Durham 3B/LF R-R 5-10 Sr.-* Pearland, Texas (Texas A&M) 11 Samantha Cummings P/UTL R-R 5-7 Fr.-HS Shepherd, Texas (Shepherd HS) 13 Candi Kloecker P/INF R-R 5-9 Sr.-* Brenham, Texas (Blinn CC) 15 Courtney Spittler OF L-L 5-7 Jr.-** Caldwell, Texas (Alvin CC) 16 Amanda Grote 1B/2B R-R 5-10 Jr.-TR Brenham, Texas (Blinn CC) 18 Barbie Love P R-R 5-9 Jr.-** Manvel, Texas (Alvin HS) 19 Laurie Wagner RF R-R 5-9 So.-* Houston, Texas (Stratford HS) 21 Carla Kennimer P R-L 5-7 Sr.-*** Porter, Texas (New Caney HS) 22 Jessica Valis SS L-R 5-2 So.-* Shiner, Texas (St. Paul HS) 25 Brett Moody C R-R 5-7 Jr.-TR Pasadena, Texas (San Jacinto CC) 32 Haley Valis 2B R-R 5-4 So.-* Shiner, Texas (St. Paul HS) 33 Elaina Nordstrom C R-R 5-10 So.-* La Palma, Calif. (Kennedy HS) 42 Christa Raley 3B/1B R-R 5-6 So.-R* La Porte, Texas (La Porte HS) * - Indicates Letters Earned Coaching staff Head Coach: Kyla Holas (Louisiana-Lafayette, 1994) Assistant Coach: Beth McClendon (Florida, 2000) Assistant Coach: Adam Roorbach (Indiana Wesleyan, 1998) Volunteer Coach: Kim Nesloney (Houston, 2005) usa today/nfca Top 25 Poll #8 - March 28, 2007 Bold - Houston Opponent Rank School Record Last Poll Points 1 Tennessee (24) Texas A&M Alabama Oklahoma Arizona LSU Arizona State Northwestern Texas Michigan UCLA Washington Oregon Stanford Lousiana-Lafayette Baylor Oregon State Southern Illinois Florida Illinois State Hawai`i Georgia DePaul North Carolina State North Carolina 32-8 RV 35 Dropped Out: No. 25 California Others Receiving Votes: Fresno State 31; Georgia Tech 28; Virginia Tech 14; Cal Poly 9; California 7; Nine other received one vote, and appeared on only one ballot. support Staff Trainer: Krystal Gary Team Manager: Katy Rodgers Strength & Conditioning: Dale Jones Academic Counselor: Lori Selzer usa softball Top 25 Poll #8 - March 27, 2007 Bold - Houston Opponent Rank School Record Last Poll Points 1 Tennessee (17) Texas A&M (1) Oklahoma (1) Alabama (1) Arizona LSU Northwestern Michigan Arizona State Texas Stanford Baylor Oregon UCLA Louisiana-Lafayette Washington Illinois State DePaul Oregon State Southern Illinois Hawai`i Florida RV North Carolina 32-8 RV Georgia Tech Virginia Tech Dropped Out: No. 19 Georgia and No. 25 North Carolina State Others Receiving Votes: Georgia 28; Fresno State 12; Cal Poly 9; California 4; Kansas 4; Florida State 3; North Carolina State 3; South Carolina 2; Creighton 1; Cal State Fullerton 1; Liberty 1 and Penn State 1. 10

11 H ead coach Kyla Holas embarks on her seventh season at the helm of the Cougar softball program she began constructing from scratch in In the program s first six seasons, Houston has proven to be a mainstay at the top of the Conference USA standings on the way to national recognition with five consecutive winning seasons and an NCAA Regional appearance in To get to the top, Holas doesn t let anything get overlooked. Her dynamic personality, work ethic and past accomplishments as a player and coach make the program s sky-high outlook seem very realistic. Success comes by being obsessive about details, Holas said. The little things are what separates the All-Americans from everyone else. Under the direction of Holas, Houston has become a successful program that has registered 35 or more wins in four of the last five seasons and is coming off its first 40-win campaign a season ago. The Cougars have emerged as one of the top programs in Conference USA, reaching the final day of the C-USA Tournament in each of the last three seasons. In fact, the only season in which Houston failed to reach the 30-win plateau was 2001, the program s inaugural season. Recruiting quality student-athletes on and off the field has been the key to keeping us at the top of Conference USA on our way to gaining national recognition, Holas said. Each season we have been able to address our needs and improve our talent with each class that comes into our program. Holas has taken Houston from a 22-win season during that inaugural season to an NCAA Regional caliber team, proven by three-top 25 wins over No. 18 Baylor, No. 22 Oregon and No. 25 BYU last season. The Cougars received votes in the Top 25 on three separate occasions a season ago as Holas picked up her 200th career victory in the regular season finale against Memphis. Despite the program still being young, excellence has not only been established but is expected. I feel like we ve taken the bumps we needed to take, and that we re right on target, Holas said. We re right on track with our goals and with where we want to be. It s been exactly what it was supposed to be all along. Holas has committed herself to building a winning tradition at Houston. Her staff and players have all bought into this philosophy and bring all of the necessary key ingredients to producing a winning program. In 2004, Holas picked up her 100th and 101st career victories, sweeping a doubleheader at No. 15 Texas A&M. Houston rolled to a mark, not only making its first NCAA Regional appearance, but also picked up the program s first postseason win with a 1-0 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Our whole philosophy and approach is to build a program that wins our conference, goes to the Regionals every year and gets to the College World Series, Holas said. We ve laid the groundwork for a standard of excellence on the field and in the classroom. That philosophy towards winning is one that Holas learned as a three-time NCAA All-America pitcher at Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette) after leading the Ragin Cajuns to a third-place finish at the 1993 Women s College World Series. She received WCWS All-Tournament Team honors and was a two-time finalist ( ) for the prestigious Honda Broderick Cup, a national award given to the top female student-athlete at the NCAA level. Holas racked up a career record on a 0.50 ERA, in addition to compiling a.301 career batting average, en route to setting seven school records. Her.839 winning percentage is still in the Top 15 of NCAA history. In 1999, Holas was inducted into the ULL Athletics Hall of Fame. In six seasons at Houston, Holas has produced five National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-South Region awards, including three-time selection Kristen Glowacz to go along with 19 Conference USA honors. Glowacz also was named to the C-USA All-Decade team in The Cougars have placed at least one member on the All-Conference USA First Team and NFCA All-South Region Second Team in each of the last four seasons. Houston also has racked up 12 Conference USA All-Freshmen standouts and two Freshmen of the Year, including 2006 winner Elaina Nordstrom. The Cougars garnered a C-USA Co-MVP from Glowacz in 2005 in addition to Angel Shamblin s 2006 C-USA Pitcher of the Year award. Holas also coached Kim Nesloney, who currently plays for the Rockford Thunder in the National Pro Fastpitch League (NPFL). Since coming to Houston, Holas has worked endlessly to build a program focused on winning with high academic standards, something that is paramount to the student-athletes on the Cougar squad. Academic standards which Holas has set for her team have also been a staple of the program as a program-record eight players earned recognition on the Conference USA Commissioner s Honor Roll for the academic year. Six student-athletes were honored during , as Katie Bush was the program s second recipient of an Academic Medal. Jaci Gonzalez also earned ESPN The Magazine s Academic All-District VI First Team accolades from the College Sports Information Directors of America in May Amber King received the NFCA Academic All-America Scholar-Athlete Award in 2003 after winning a C-USA Academic Medal in 2002, while Ali McDougal and Riane Netardus were both named District VI Verizon Academic All-Americans. Holas came to the Cougar program from Florida, where she was responsible for developing the pitchers and catchers for three seasons. She guided the Gators through its inaugural season and a tough Southeastern Conference. While at Florida, Holas was instrumental in the development of Chelsey Sakizzie, who won 1998 SEC Player of the Year in addition to Louisville Slugger All-America Third-Team honors. She coached five other players to SEC accolades, including current Cougar assistant coach Beth McClendon from walkon to a pair of 20-win seasons. McClendon is currently ranked in the SEC Top 10 in complete games and shutouts. Before going to Florida, Holas spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois. While working in DeKalb, Ill., Holas tutored the Husky pitchers and catchers. She coached the 1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year, pitcher Angie Zuspann, as the Huskies reached the NCAA Regionals for only the second time since A native of Pasadena, Texas, Holas now lives in Pearland, Texas, with her husband, John, and their son Payton (9), daughter Brenan (5) and newborn son Jase, who was born on August 4, holas at houston Season W-L PCT. Postseason NCAA Waco Regional Totals CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 31 All-Conference USA honors Five consecutive 30-win seasons Four NFCA All-South Region selections Two C-USA Freshman of the Year (Kristen Glowacz and Elaina Nordstrom ) One C-USA Co-Player of the Year (Kristen Glowacz ) One C-USA Pitcher of the Year (Angel Shamblin ) 11