Fresh off a sweep of Middle Tennessee, the Sam Houston softball team is looking to keep pace in the race for a spot in the Conference USA Tournament with a trip to El Paso to face UTEP over the weekend.
 
Series Schedule
Friday • 6 p.m. • ESPN+
Saturday • 3 p.m. • ESPN+
Sunday • 12 p.m. • ESPN+
 
The Bearkats (15-23 overall, 4-11 CUSA) got right back in the thick of things after taking care of the Blue Raiders. The top eight teams qualify for the league tournament and Sam Houston is a game back of the final spot.
 
The Miners (19-13, 5-7) are currently in fifth place in the conference standings ahead of FIU (16-21, 4-8) and MTSU (18-24, 5-10).
 
Elia Hebel was named the CUSA Player of the Week and Amy Abke was tabbed Freshman of the Week for their performances against the Blue Raiders.
 
Hebel drove in what would prove to be the game-winning run with a double to left-center field in the fourth inning of a 3-0 victory in game one against Middle Tennessee on April 5. She added a three-run home run in game two and had another RBI double in the finale to secure the series sweep.
 
Hebel finished with a slash line of .545/.545/1.091 with five RBI, four runs scored, two doubles and a home run.
 
Abke was a workhorse in the circle for the Bearkats over the weekend, finishing with a 0.93 ERA in three appearances with two wins in a pair of starts. She went the distance in a 3-0 shutout of Middle Tennessee in the series opener for just Sam Houston's second conference win of the season at that point.
 
She came in and squashed any comeback attempt with a scoreless seventh inning in game two of a 7-3 victory to nail down the team's first conference win. Abke also got the call to start in game three and was once again solid, tossing seven strong innings for her second win of the weekend.
 
Those two will look to continue their hot streaks against UTEP as the Kats look for their first-ever win against the Miners. UTEP is 1-0 all-time in the series with a 4-0 win at home on Feb. 8, 2007.