Softball 5/17/2008 4:00:00 AM MEAC Media Relations

Shamblin, Houston Too Much For Hornets In NCAA Tourney Opener

Houston’s Angel Shamblin tossed a five-inning perfect game in the Cougars’ 9-0 win over Delaware State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament’s Houston Regional Friday evening.

Houston (51-9), one of 16 top regional tournament seeds, will take on Washington in a second round contest on Saturday on 12:00 p.m. (CDT), while the Hornets (29-24) will look to stay alive in the tourney against Texas at 3:00 p.m. Washington defeated Texas 2-1 in Friday’s first round.

Shamblin improved to 33-3 on the season after striking out 11 of the 15 batters she faced. It marked the 11th time this season that she struck out at least 10 batters in a game. Shamblin now has 278 strikeouts in 241 innings this season.

“She is certainly the best pitcher we’ve seen this year, and no doubt one of the best in the country,” said Delaware State head coach Jeff Savage of Shamblin. “I thought our approach to facing her got better as the game went on, but she was just surgical in her execution.”

Houston opened the scoring when Delaware State starter Brittney Ruark (15-11) walked Amanda Grote with the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the first.

The Cougars stretched their lead to 3-0 on a two-run double by Katie Bush with one out in the second. Houston loaded the bases for Grote later in the second. She responded by smacking a home run over the left field fence to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.

Houston opened up a 9-0 lead when Jennifer Klinkert singled in two runs in the bottom of the third.

The game was called after Shamblin retired the Hornets in the fifth inning due to the eight-run rule.

Houston is the number eight overall seed in the 64-team NCAA Tournament. The Hornets are making their NCAA Tournament debut after winning their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship last weekend.

“Houston is a great team, but I also thought we had a little bit of stage fright,” said Savage. “Hopefully, we have the jitters out of the way and will put forth a better effort on Saturday.”

Delaware State first baseman Jessica Chrabaszcz left the game in the bottom of the second inning and did not return after injuring her left knee while chasing a foul pop off the bat of Houston’s Elaina Nordstrom. She was examined by University of Houston medical personnel after the game, and her status for Saturday’s contest is uncertain.