The Houston softball team struggled through its worst defensive game of the season. But the Lady Tigers’ offense was able to carry the load.
After giving up five unearned runs and seeing its lead trimmed to two runs, Houston scored nine times in the fourth inning and cruised to an 18-7 home victory Tuesday against Liberty.
The Lady Tigers (4-1, 1-0 SCA) have won four consecutive games since dropping the season opener. Houston won 16-8 Monday at Mansfield and defeated Stoutland 11-1 last Thursday.
The final score against Liberty indicated a blowout, but coach Willy Walker was hardly pleased.
“It’s the most embarrassing win we’ve had,” Walker said. “Something has happened. We’ve become overconfident, and we’re not making as many plays as we did at the beginning of the year. I don’t know if we’re getting lackadaisical, but we’ve got to get it together because we’ve got some tough teams coming up.”
The Lady Tigers got strong contributions from the bottom of the lineup. Kyla Chambers and Erika Kugler, the team’s Nos. 6 and 8 batters, combined to go 4-for-8 with four runs and six RBIs. Kugler replaced sophomore Carmen Floyd, who suffered a high ankle sprain Monday. Walker said Floyd would likely play in the team’s next game Tuesday.
Tory Burgess, Lyndsey Tarrants and Chambers scored three times apiece for Houston, which led 9-2 before committing three errors in Liberty’s five-run fourth inning.
Leading 9-7, the Lady Tigers sent 14 batters to the plate in the bottom of the fourth and scored eight of their nine runs with two outs.
“We just kind of fell apart,” Walker said of the fourth inning. “It was a good test for us. Maybe we’ll be able to overcome adversity later in the year.”
On Monday, Bethany Korte had three hits and scored three times in the Lady Tigers’ victory at Mansfield. Burgess and Hannah Pounds had two hits apiece.
Pounds scattered four hits and worked around three walks in Thursday’s win against Stoutland. Korte led the team offensively with two hits and three runs.
Tuesday’s game
Liberty 110 50 – 7 10 3
Houston 450 9x – 18 10 4
HOUSTON (4-1) – Korte cf 3-2-0-0. Pounds p 1-2-2-0. Burgess ss 4-3-3-2. Tarrants c 2-3-1-0. Moore 2b 1-2-0-0. Chambers 1b 4-3-2-3. Harrah lf 2-1-0-1. Kugler dp 4-1-2-3. Herndon 2b 2-1-0-1. Totals 23-18-10-10.
2B: Burgess, Chambers. SB: Korte, Moore.
houston ip h r er bb so
Pounds, W 5 10 7 1 0 4
HBP: Herndon.
Monday’s game
Houston 127 114 0 – 16 12 1
Mansfield 113 010 0 – 8 8 2
HOUSTON (3-1) – Korte cf 5-3-3-0. Pounds 3b 4-2-2-0. Burgess ss 4-2-2-0. Moore 2b 4-1-1-1. Tarrants c 3-0-1-1. Floyd p 2-2-1-0. Ashworth ph 1-1-0-1. Harrah lf 1-1-1-2. Chambers 1b 3-2-1-0. Herndon rf 4-1-0-0. Totals 31-16-12-5
2B: Korte, Burgess. SB: Korte.
Thursday’s game
Stoutland 100 000 – 1 4 4
Houston 320 105 – 11 6 1
HOUSTON (2-1) – Korte cf 2-3-2-1. Pounds p 2-3-1-1. Burgess ss 2-2-2-2. Moore 2b 2-0-0-0. Tarrants c 3-0-0-0. Floyd lf 4-01-1-1. Harrah rf 2-1-0-0. Chambers 1b 2-2-1-1. Herndon 3b 2-0-0-0. Totals 21-11-6-6.
2B: Korte, Burgess, Chambers. SB: Korte 3, Burgess 2, Pounds.
houston ip h r er bb so
Pounds 6 4 1 1 3 2
HBP: Harrah, Chambers.