Feb. 18, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

IRVING, Texas - No. 23 Houston sweeps this week's Conference USA Softball Player of the Week awards after grabbing two ranked wins on the way to the Crowne Plaza Classic title. The Cougars are now 9-0 on the season and 2-0 against ranked foes. Freshman Jennifer Klinkert is the Hitter of the Week after helping fuel a Cougar offense that out-scored its opponents 33-1 over the weekend. She hit .583 (7-for-12) with two home runs, eight RBI and seven runs scored. Preseason Pitcher of the Year Angel Shamblin is the Pitcher of the Week after shutting out No. 14 DePaul twice over the weekend. The senior moved to 4-0 on the season with a miniscule 0.27 ERA.

HITTER OF THE WEEK (2/18)
JENNIFER KLINKERT - Houston
1B, Fr., Chino, Calif. (Chino Hills)
Klinkert helped fuel a Cougar offense that outscored its opponents 33-1 in five wins last weekend at the Crowne Plaza Classic en route to the team title. She hit her second and third career home runs, including a grand slam against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday. Her five RBI against the Islanders are a team high this season. Klinkert's second career home run came in a 5-0 win over No. 14 DePaul. In the California native's two games against the Blue Demons, she went 3-for-5 with one home run and two RBI. For the weekend, Klinkert hit .583 (7-for-12) with two home runs, eight RBI and scored seven times. Through nine games this season Klinkert's batting average of .458 is fourth-best on the team. She is first on her team in home runs (3) and RBI (15) and is second in runs scored with 11. The weekly award is the first of Klinkert's career.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK (2/18)
ANGEL SHAMBLIN - Houston
P, Sr., Davie, Fla. (Hollywood Christian)
Shamblin, Houston's all-time strikeout leader, earned two shutout wins against No. 14 DePaul at the Houston Crowne Plaza Classic. She now has 23 career shutouts and moved her record to 4-0 in the circle this season. Over the weekend, the senior recorded 11 strikeouts in 14 innings of work while giving up just nine hits. For the season, Shamblin has three complete game shutout wins and has struck out a team-leading 32 batters in a team-high 26 innings pitched, while giving up just one earned run. Her ERA is a miniscule 0.27 and opponents are hitting only .181 against her. The Cougars have out-scored their opponents 17-2 when she is in the circle. This is Shamblin's 10th career weekly honor, her first in 2008.