CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

TAMPA, Fla. - Houston freshman Tierrah Williams launched a three-run homer in the fourth, providing the only offense needed for the No. 2 seed Cougars in a 3-1 victory over No. 7 ECU in the opening round of the 2018 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship. With the win, Houston advances to the tournament semifinals for the fourth-consecutive season and will meet No. 6 seed Tulsa on Friday in a rematch of 2017's championship game.



In the circle, Cougar junior Savannah Heebner allowed just one earned run on nine hits in the complete game, striking out five. ECU saw a strong outing from freshman Erin Poepping, who carried a perfect game through three innings before giving up five hits despite no earned runs.

Four Houston players gathered a hit, with Sarah Barker lacing a double. Pirates Tyler King and Ashley Weingartz went 2-for-4 and 2-for-3, respectively, with Tate McClellan driving in ECU's lone run.

Poepping and Heebner traded clean innings until the top of the fourth, when Ashleigh Inae drove a single to right field. The next batter, Meredith Burroughs, advanced Inae to second with a groundout before McClellan dropped another single to score the run.

Houston notched its first hit to start the fourth, and moved runners to second and third with a pop-up by Sarah Queen. Williams then stepped in to belt her three-run shot over the left-field fence and move the Cougars in front for good. In the top of the fifth, Heebner got out of a jam with her fourth strikeout, stranding runners on second and third.

A scoreless sixth gave way to and ECU single and a fielder's choice to open the seventh, but Houston turned the double-play ball to end the challenge and the contest.

For full coverage of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, visit TheAmerican.org/Softball and follow @American_DN on Twitter.


2018 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship
USF Softball Stadium - Tampa, Fla.

Quarterfinals - Thursday, May 10
American Digital Network
Game 1: No. 6 Tulsa 3, No. 3 Wichita State 1
Game 2: No. 2 Houston 3, No. 7 ECU 1
Game 3: No. 4 UCF vs. No. 5 Memphis - 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT
Game 4: No. 1 USF vs. No. 8 UConn - 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT

Semifinals - Friday, May 11
American Digital Network
Game 5: No. 6 Tulsa vs. No. 2 Houston - 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT

Championship - Saturday, May 12
ESPN2
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 - Noon ET/11 a.m. CT