Houston softball traveled to Lake Charles, La. over the weekend to compete at the Cajun AC Louisiana Clash at Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond.
In a clash featuring Missouri, Louisiana and host McNeese State, Houston went 3-2 over its weekend to improve to 11-3 overall on the season.
Sophomore pitcher Nevaeh Brown and junior infielder McKenna Mitchell both played critical roles in the tournament for the Cougars.
In going a perfect 3-0 on her weekend, Brown allowed just three runs and 16 hits over 17.2 innings of work including her complete-game shutout in the tournament finale.
Offensively, junior infielder Makenna Mitchell recorded four home runs across the first three games and wound up finishing with six RBIs over the weekend.
Esman’s homer claws Cougars past Tigers in tournament opener
Down 2-0 in the sixth inning, Mitchell lifted a solo home run to center field, making it 2-1.
Senior infielder Mandy Esman followed with a go-ahead three-run home run to center field to cap off a four-run sixth inning towards Houston’s 4-3 comeback win over Missouri in the first game of the Friday doubleheader.
Sophomore pitcher Nevaeh Brown collected her fourth win for Houston, striking out five batters and allowing just three hits in five innings of work.
Redshirt senior pitcher Paris Lehman followed Brown with two innings of one-run ball in relief, holding the Cougars’ efforts firm.
McNeese stuns Houston with seven unanswered runs to close Friday doubleheader
In the top of the third, Houston held a 3-0 lead over McNeese thanks to early homers from Mitchell and sophomore infielder Maddie Hartley.
But seven unanswered runs from the Cowgirls, including their five-spot in the sixth inning, handed the Cougars a 7-3 loss Friday in the back half of the doubleheader.
With Houston’s lead cut down to 3-2 from a fifth inning solo homer by senior infielder Rylee Cloud, senior right-handed pitcher Nicole Bodeux opened the sixth for the Cougars, facing runners in the corners with one out.
Redshirt junior outfielder’s game-tying RBI single up the middle was just the beginning of a go-ahead one-out rally for the Cowgirls.
After a steal of home from sophomore utility player Adriana Mireles gave McNeese its first lead at 4-3, Cloud added her second RBI extra-base hit of the game with a triple to make it 5-3.
Sophomore infielder Maddie Taylor followed with an RBI single to right to score cloud, making it 6-3, before senior infielder Jada Munoz capped off the crooked inning with a two-out RBI single to left.
Bodeux was charged with four earned runs on five hits as a result of the frame, dropping her to 2-1 on her season.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Brookelyn Taylor locked away any answers by Houston to McNeese’s rally, earning the win for the Cowgirls with five innings of three-hit shutout ball in relief.
Mitchell, Brown lead revenge rout of Cowgirls
Behind a multi-homer game from Mitchell and a quality 6.2 innings of one-run ball from Brown, Houston pulled away with a 9-1 win over McNeese Saturday to open the second day of the tournament and avenge its Friday loss to the Cowgirls.
Mitchell effectively extended her home run streak to three games with a two-run shot in the top of the fifth to make it 3-0. Garner scored on a passed ball four batters later to make it 4-0.
In the top of the sixth, she and Hartley each contributed one-out homers to make it 6-0.
With Hartley’s insurance seventh-inning two-out, two-run double, she and Mitchell marked the bulk of Houston’s offensive explosion, combining for six RBIs.
Brown moved her record on the season to a perfect 5-0 in allowing just seven hits and a seventh-inning RBI single from freshman utility player Meiko Dominguez.
Cougars fall to Missouri on receiving end of revenge rout
In a rematch from the tournament opener, Missouri’s six-run second inning and a quality complete game from senior right-handed pitcher Sierra Harrison handed Houston an 8-2 loss in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Senior outfielder Emma Jackson opened the scoring in the crooked frame with a two-run single to left field to give Missouri the 2-0 lead.
With one out, senior utility player Kayley Lenger laced an RBI single to left as a throwing error by sophomore outfielder Ariel Redmond also scored Jackson to make it 4-0.
Following an RBI groundout by freshman infielder Addy Watts, freshman outfielder Sidney Forrester capped off the six-spot with a two-out solo home run to left, making it 6-0.
Though the Cougars threatened in the bottom of the frame with sophomore catcher Isabel Cintron’s RBI single and freshman infielder Leilani Garcia’s RBI fielder’s choice to make it 6-2, it was all Harrison gave up towards her six-hit, seven-strikeout complete game to earn the win for the Tigers.
Sophomore infielder Sophie Smith provided late insurance for Missouri with RBI singles in the fifth and seventh innings.
In return, sophomore right-handed pitcher London Park was dealt her second loss, dropping her record to 2-2 on her season.
Brown, Cougars blank Cajuns in run-rule tournament finale
Redmond’s 3-for-4, 3-RBI day and a three-hit complete-game shutout from Brown fueled Houston’s 10-0 run-rule win over Louisiana in six innings Sunday to conclude the tournament.
Neveah Brown had another enjoyable day on the mound, only allowing three hits in six innings. Brown gets her third win of the tournament and moves to 6-0 on the season.
Hartley opened the scoring for the Cougars with her second home run of the tournament, a one-out solo shot to right center to make it 1-0 in the first.
With two outs in the second, Redmond punched a two-run double to center to make it 3-0. Momentarily, Mitchell singled her home to make it 4-0.
Redmond added to her extra-base hit tally in the fourth with a solo home run to right center to make it 5-0.
Ultimately, Houston’s one-out five-spot in the sixth allowed for a quicker checkmark to Brown’s 3-0 weekend in the tournament.
Esman began the crooked frame with a two-run double, followed by sophomore infielder Madox Mitchael’s two-run triple, the first triple of her career, to make it 9-0.
Cintron completed the run-rule with a sacrifice fly to score Mitchael and complete the tournament in walk-off fashion.
Up next, the Cougars will travel to College Station to face Texas A&M at Davis Diamond on Thursday, Feb. 26, with a 6 p.m. first pitch.
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