University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
20-23, 3-13
BYU
12-26, 3-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 3 |
| BYU | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | X | 13 | 16 | 1 |
Cougars Drop BYU Series Opener
4/9/2026 10:19:00 PM | Softball
Cintron produces career night; Houston leaps to third most single-season homers in program history
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The Cougars (20-23, 3-13 Big 12) produced a late comeback bid, tallying eight runs in the final three frames led by a perfect night from sophomore Isabel Cintron before BYU (12-26, 3-10 Big 12) held on with five runs in the sixth to escape with the series opener.
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PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS:
- Isabel Cintron: 4-4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
- RyLee Gardner: 3-5, RBI, R
- Bethany Aguilar: 2-2, RBI, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB
- Madox Mitchael: 2-4, RBI, 2 R
- Makenna Mitchell: 2-5, RBI
- Maddie Hartley: 1-2, HR, RBI, 2 R, 3 BB
- Sophomore Isabel Cintron produced a career performance on the night, going a career-high 4-for-4 at the plate while tacking on her fourth homer of the season, as well as two RBIs and a career-best three runs.
- Cintron's homer in the seventh inning marked the Cougars' 60th of the season, becoming only the third Houston team in program history to reach 60 home runs in a season (67 in 2011, 73 in 2008).
- Cintron's two RBIs on the night mark her 15th and 16th of the season, setting a new single season best (15 in 2025).
- Freshman RyLee Gardner matched a career high three hits on the night, doing so for the third time this season for her eighth career multi-hit performance of the year.
- Sophomore Maddie Hartley belted her 16th home run of the season, sending a deep shot to right center in the top of the fifth inning to reclaim the team lead in homers.
- With a pair of hits on the night, junior Makenna Mitchell and sophomore Madox Mitchael remain tied for the team lead in hits this season at 44.
- With her first double of season, junior Bethany Aguilar has now recorded hits in back-to-back games for a second time this season following two hits in Houston's series finale against Baylor. Aguilar now also has multiple hits in back-to-back games.
- Five Cougars produced multi-hit outings on the night as the team reached double-digit hits for the 12th time this season while also matching a season best 15 hits.
2nd | With runner on second and two outs, Cintron supplied Houston's first score of the game with a single down the right field line to score Gardner. After a wild pitch put Cintron at second, Aguilar tacked on a second run with an RBI double down the left field line to cut the deficit to 5-2.
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5th | With one out in the fifth, Hartley crushed the first pitch of the at bat for a solo shot to deep right center, cutting the Cougars' deficit to 8-3.
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6th | Trailing 8-3 with runners on first and second, Mitchael singled up the middle to score Cintron and cut the gap to 8-4. Mitchell followed up with a pop single to right, plating Aguilar to add another run to the frame. After loading the bases via walk to Hartley, Gardner delivered her third hit of the night with a single to left, scoring Mitchael to cut the deficit to 8-6 late.
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7th | Down 13-6 in the seventh with one out, Cintron delivered a solo shot to deep center for her fourth homer of the season. Following back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases with two outs, senior Kylei Griffin supplied a bases-clearing double to round out the night's scoring at 13-10.
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UP NEXT
Houston returns for game two against BYU with first pitch set for 7 p.m., Friday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mares, Gianna (6-8)
L: Brown, Nevaeh (9-9)
Batting:
2B: Aguilar, Bethany 1 ; Griffin, Kylei 1
HR: Cintron, Isabel 1 ; Hartley, Maddie 1
RBI: Cintron, Isabel 2 ; Aguilar, Bethany 1 ; Hartley, Maddie 1 ; Mitchell, Makenna 1 ; Mitchael, Madox 1 ; Griffin, Kylei 3 ; Gardner, RyLee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cintron, Isabel 3 ; Aguilar, Bethany 2 ; Hartley, Maddie 2 ; Mitchael, Madox 2 ; Gardner, RyLee 1
Batting:
2B: Shuler, Hailey 1 ; Brittingham, Ilove'a 1 ; Acosta, Danica 1
3B: Tavita, Rita 1
HR: Udall-Woolley, Maddie 1
RBI: Shuler, Hailey 3 ; Brittingham, Ilove'a 1 ; Owens, Lily 2 ; Acosta, Danica 2 ; Townsend, Bre 1 ; Turlington, Tristen 1 ; Udall-Woolley, Maddie 1
SH: Acosta, Danica 1 ; Bennett, Lexie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shuler, Hailey 1 ; Brittingham, Ilove'a 1 ; Owens, Lily 2 ; Acosta, Danica 2 ; Mansfield, Miranda 1 ; Tavita, Rita 2 ; Turlington, Tristen 1 ; Udall-Woolley, Maddie 1 ; Bennett, Lexie 2
SB: Shuler, Hailey 1
HBP: Owens, Lily 1
