GREENVILLE, North Carolina – Becca Schulte’s RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth gave Houston its first lead and Britaney Shaw followed with a two-run home run as the Cougars took a 5-2 win against Tulsa Thursday morning in the opening game of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.
 
Houston, the No. 4 seed in the tournament advances to face top-seeded UCF Friday in a semifinal matchup at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
 
After going hitless through the first three innings, the Cougars pounded six hits - all for extra bases - in the next three innings. Aspen Howie’s opposite-field solo shot off the scoreboard  in right-center put Houston on the board in the fourth, while Rock Benavides drilled a line drive over the leftfielder’s reach in the fifth inning to make it 2-2.
 
Kati Ray Brown led off the bottom of the sixth with a line drive double down the leftfield line, and Schulte’s deep triple to right put Houston ahead 3-2. Shaw followed with her seventh home run of the year, a two-run shot to left that gave the Cougars a three-run cushion.
 
Tulsa had struck first when Claira Skaggs scored from second before the Cougars could complete an inning-ending double play, giving the Golden Hurricane a 1-0 lead. Celeste Wood led off the top of the fourth with her fourth home run of the season to make it 2-0 before Houston got one back on Howie’s shot.
 
Schulte went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple for Houston (27-26-1), while Hannah Todd got the win in relief after working four shutout innings.
 
Tulsa (18-30-1) had three players with multiple hits as Wood, Kaylie Norwood and Imani Edwards were all 2-for-4. Samantha Pochop took the loss after allowing five runs and six hits in 5.1 innings.