Month: March 2024

Houston Outlasts Louisiana in 11 Innings to Close Out Astros Classic

It took eleven long innings Sunday night, but Houston closed out the Astros Foundation College Classic with a 13-10 win over Louisiana in the first hour of Monday morning at Minute Maid Park.

Houston got the first three batters on base to start the second inning . . . A fielder’s choice erased one of the runners, but Cameron Nickens stole second base before moving to third base on a wild pitch . . . Harold Coll followed with a walk and stole second base to put two runners in scoring position . . . Jonathan French (2-for-4) then drove a ball the opposite way over the right field wall for a three-run home run.

The Ragin’ Cajuns got a run back in the bottom of the second inning when two errors on one stolen base attempt led to a runner scoring all the way from first base.

Still 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Louisiana got a leadoff home run to get within a run.

The Cougars got a run back in the top of the fifth inning when Ace Reese tripled into the right field corner . . . Justin Murray (4-for-6) followed with his second double of the game, this one a low liner to the right field wall, plating Reese.

Louisiana struck for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a two-run lead into the seventh inning.

Coby DeJesus led off the top of the seventh inning with a walk . . . One out later, pinch-hitter Alex Lopez reached base on a single . . . After the runners moved up a base on a balk, Reese walked to load the bases . . . Murray lined his third double of the game into right-center field that rolled to the warning track to clear the bases and give Houston a 7-6 lead.

Coll reached base for the third time in the game when he walked to lead off the top of the eighth inning . . . Coll then stole second base, his third stolen base of the game, which set a new record for stolen bases in a single game at the Astros Foundation College Classic.

French then lined a single which deflected off of the pitcher and into shallow right-center field to plate Coll and give the Cougars an 8-7 lead on his fourth RBI of the game . . . Despite a Lopez double off the scoreboard under the Crawford Boxes, the Cougars could not add any extra runs.

Down to their final out in the game, Louisiana scratched across a run in the bottom of the ninth inning and threatened for more before Murray induced a groundout to Lopez third base.

After a scoreless tenth inning for both teams, Houston put together a five-run top of the eleventh inning . . . Murray’s fourth hit of the game brought home the first run, it was his fifth RBI in the game . . . That was followed by RBI singles by both Trey Jones and Cary Arbolida . . . Coby DeJesus delivered the dagger, with a two-run single to put Houston in front by five, 13-8.

The Ragin’ Cajuns would get two in the bottom of the eleventh on a two-run home run, but left-handed reliever Tim Williamson entered the game and struck out the side to end the game . . . Williamson earned the Save, his first of the season, while Diego Luzardo was the winner, his first of the season, for his scoreless inning in which he struck out two Louisiana batters.

The 13-10 victory ended Houston’s four game losing skid.

Houston used ten pitchers in the game, which ran just two minutes shy of four and a half hours . . . The Cougars staff compiled sixteen strikeouts and walked only four batters in eleven innings as the strikeout to walk ratio continues to be an interesting metric to watch . . . Sunday starter Duncan Howard allowed just two runs over four innings and was relieved by Owen Woodward at the start of the fifth inning.

Murray and French accounted for six of the thirteen Houston base hits and were the only two Cougars with multiple hits in the game.

Houston, which improved to 7-4 with the win, is off Monday and will return to action on Tuesday night when they welcome Sam Houston to town for the Cougars only midweek game of the week . . . Things get underway against the Bearkats at 6:30pm.

. . .

Houston Falls to Vanderbilt 3-1 Saturday at Astros Classic

Houston always had a chance against No. 11 Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon at Minute Maid Park, but Commodores pitchers combined to limit the Cougars to five hits and one run in a 3-1 defeat.

Houston starter Antoine Jean took the game into the fourth inning before departing with two outs in favor of second-year right-hander Paul Schmitz trailing 1-0 . . . Jean allowed just one run in the outing and only threw 44 pitches . . . Schmitz was making his first appearance of the season, and not unexpectedly he was a bit wild, walking three in 2/3 of an inning and leading to a Vanderbilt run.

Cameron Nickens finally got the Cougars on the board with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning when he homered into the Crawford Boxes to cut the Vanderbilt lead in half 2-1.

The Commodores wasted no time getting the run right back in the top of the sixth inning to regain a two-run lead.

Vanderbilt went to the bullpen with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning with Houston threatening . . . A strikeout ended the threat, but the Cougars offense still had its chances.

Coll (2-for-4) led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double off the left field wall and he would advance to third base on a fly out to right field by Nickens . . . But Coll was stranded at third base when the inning ended . . . Coll was one of only four Houston batters with a base hit in the game and the only batter with multiple hits . . . Commodore pitchers struck out eleven Houston batters and walked just two.

Houston pitching was quite good by any measure against a highly ranked team from the SEC . . . Cougar pitchers struck out six Commodores batters and while they walked four total batters, three of those belonged to Schmitz, who can be excused . . . Kyle LaCalameto and Alex Solis pitched the final 4 2/3 innings of the game, going 2 2/3 and 2 innings, respectively and neither allowed a walk . . . Solis struck out three Vanderbilt batters in his two scoreless frames.

The Cougars were playing their second game of the Astros Foundation College Classic and the loss Saturday was their fourth in a row.

Houston (6-4) will close out the weekend on Sunday night against Louisiana at Minute Maid Park . . . First pitch is scheduled for 7pm, but could be later depending on the earlier games . . . When the game does get underway, right-hander Duncan Howard will be on the mound trying to pitch the Cougars into the win column for the only time this weekend.

(The ranking used in this poll are from College Baseball Nation)

. . .

Cougars Get Walked-Off by Bobcats in 10 at Astros Classic

Two chances to close out a day one victory in the Astros Foundation College Classic eluded the Houston Cougars Friday at Minute Maid Park as they dropped the first game of the weekend 8-7 to Texas State in ten innings.

Houston grabbed an early lead when Jake Rainess (2-for-5) got the first inning started Friday morning with a leadoff single . . . Justin Murray followed with a double to the wall in right-center field . . . Tre Jones (2-for-5) singled home Rainess and Murray for a quick 2-0 Cougars advantage.

The Cougars would not score another run until the eighth inning.

As the final hour of morning gave way to a sunny afternoon Houston was holding onto a 2-0 lead.

Texas State finally got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the Houston lead in half . . . Cougars starter Jaxon Jelkin took the game into the sixth inning, departing with one out and by the time the inning was over, the Bobcats held a 3-2 lead.

Texas State took a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning and added two runs in the seventh inning for a three-run lead heading to the eighth inning.

Jones hit a solo home run into the right field seats to lead off the top of the eighth inning . . . After loading the bases via three consecutive walks by Texas State pitchers, an Alex Lopez sacrifice fly RBI preceded Cameron Nickens punching a two-run single through the left side of the infield and the Cougars took a 6-5 lead.

The Bobcats tied the game at six with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning which eventually sent the game into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth inning, Nickens brought home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly ball to score Anthony Tulimero.

Texas State responded in the bottom of the tenth inning and eventually a two-run home run into the Crawford Boxes dealt the Cougars an 8-7 defeat in walk-off fashion.

Jelkin’s eight strikeouts was a career high for the right-hander and he only walked one Bobcat batter in his 5 1/3 innings pitched . . . Left-handed reliever Jose Torrealba had a nice rebound effort after a tough outing on Tuesday night against UTSA throwing a scoreless inning with striking out one . . . Overall, Cougars pitching compiled thirteen strikeouts and walked just three batters . . . Rainess and Jones were the only Cougars with multiple hits in the Friday contest and they accounted for four of the nine Houston hits.

The Cougars are back to work again early on Saturday when they will face No. 11 Vanderbilt at 11am at Minute Maid Park . . . Left-hander Antoine Jean will get the start against one of the great SEC teams atop all national rankings.

. . .