C-USA Softball Championship Bracket Announced

HOUSTON, TEXAS (May 4, 2009) With the 3-2 win over Marshall Sunday, the University of Houston softball team is seeded third in the Conference USA Championship presented by Helen of Troy in El Paso, Texas and will play No. 6 Southern Miss on Thursday at 9 p.m. CT.

The Cougars (25-23, C-USA 12-10) played Southern Miss April 25-26 winning two of the three games, including a run-rule victory in the final game. It was the first series the Cougars won on the road this season.

Senior Jessica Valis continues to lead at the plate with her batting average of .348. She has five doubles and four triples this season. Senior Katie Bush, who has a batting average of .343, has 49 hits this season and 21 SAC bunts, which is the second highest in the conference and 11th-most in the NCAA. Bush leads Houston with her .424 batting average in C-USA games.

Senior Laurie Wagner has a team-high 47 RBI and is tied with senior Haley Valis for a team-high nine doubles. She is also tied with freshman Melissa Gregson for a team-high eight home runs.

Sophomore pitcher Baillie Lott has a 16-11 record and has struck out 97 batters in 193 innings pitched.

Southern Miss (25-27-2, C-USA 10-13-1) enters the championship tournament after being swept by Tulsa, which ultimately moved Tulsa to the No. 1 seed in front of East Carolina.

Megan Hill, with a batting average of .404, is the Golden Eagles top batter. She has 15 doubles, four triples and 11 home runs this season.

Kristin Pilgrim has seven doubles, nine home runs and a batting average of .355.

Courtney Ramos and Samantha Davis each have 12 wins this season. Ramos has an ERA of 2.61 and has struck out 117 batters, while Davis has a 3.54 ERA and struck out 88 batters this season.

Fans can find tournament information, live stats and schedule information by clicking the C-USA Championship logo on the sidebar of the softball page on UHCougars.com.

2009 C-USA Championship presented by Helen of Troy
Tournament Schedule (El Paso, Texas)



Thursday, May 7
Game One
(8)UAB vs. (9)Memphis, 9 a.m.


Game Two
(4) Marshall vs. (5) UCF, 12 p.m.


Game Three
(1) Tulsa vs. Winner of Game 1, 2:30 p.m.


Game Four
(2) East Carolina vs. (7) UTEP, 5:30 p.m.


Game Five
(3) Houston vs. Southern Miss, 8:00 p.m.


Friday, May 8
Game Six
Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 2:00 p.m.

Game Seven
Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 4:30 p.m .

Saturday, May 9
Championship Game (CBS College Sports)
Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, 12:30 p.m.

All Times are Mountain Time