April 25, 2008

HOUSTON - The University of Houston softball team will head to Birmingham, Ala., for its final Conference USA road series of the season when they face UAB on April 26-27. Saturday will feature a doubleheader set to begin at 1pm with a single game on Sunday to start at 1pm.

Houston is 41-7 overall this season after defeating Sam Houston State on Wednesday. They hold a C-USA-best 15-2 record in conference action.

The Cougars are 15-6 in the all-time series against the Blazers. Houston won all three meetings last season in Houston with a combined score of 17-2.

Fans can follow all games of the series on GameTracker by logging onto www.UHCougars.com and clicking on the softball schedule page. A complete wrap-up will also be available on the web following each day's action.

Junior Jessica Valis leads the team entering the series with a .450 batting average. She went 10-for-11 against Tulsa last weekend on her way to being named the Co-C-USA Hitter of the Week.

Senior Angel Shamblin has a team and league-best 0.65 ERA. She is 25-2 in the circle this season with 200 strikeouts in 183.0 innings pitched.

Houston won a single game against Sam Houston State on Wednesday, 10-2. They were led by junior Haley Valis' three-run home run in the third inning.

The Blazers are 23-29 this season and 8-10 in C-USA. Andrea Rogers leads the team with a .317 batting average. Pitcher Jennifer Nelson has a team-best 2.92 ERA and is 13-19 this season.

Up Next
Following the series at UAB, Houston will return home for a doubleheader against Louisiana-Lafayette on April 30. Houston will hold a ceremony to present the 2007 C-USA Championship team with their rings following the second game.

They will wrap-up conference play with a series against UTEP on May 3-4. The four seniors, including Shamblin, Barbie Love, Amanda Grote and Courtney Spittler will be honored in between the May 3 doubleheader.