Month: May 2025

Houston Advances in Big 12 Championship, Eliminates Kansas State

Andres Perez held Kansas State scoreless for four innings Wednesday night.

Houston impressed in all facets of the game Wednesday night in Arlington and walked away 9-2 victors over Kansas State to advance in the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.

The Cougars, serving as the visiting team, went to bat first in the top of the first inning and we sat down quietly . . . The Wildcats then scratched across two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 2-0 lead.

They were the only runs of the game for Kansas State.

Meanwhile, the Houston offense went to work in the top of the second inning against Kansas State ace Jacob Frost . . . A strikeout to lead off the frame seemed to be setting the Cougars up for another inning like the first one, but Tyler Cox quickly changed things as he doubled to get on base.

Brandon Bishop quickly followed with a double of his own to score Cox and cut the Kansas State lead in half . . . Malachi Lott singled home Bishop to tie the game at two and then he stole second base . . . Tre Broussard drew a two out walk in front of Kenneth Jimenez who hammered a run-scoring single to give Houston a 3-2 lead.

Second baseman Connor McGinnis doubled in two more runs to make it 5-2 Houston and Kansas State went to the bullpen.

The five-run second inning was the third such inning for Houston in their last four games, the Cougars did it in back-to-back frames in the first game against Arizona last weekend at Schroeder Park.

After the first two Kansas State batters of the bottom of the second inning reached base via free passes, Houston also went to the bullpen in favor of right-hander Andres Perez.

What Perez did over the next four innings was nothing short of spectacular . . . Perez worked around the two inherited runners and escaped the frame without allowing Kansas State to claw back at the Houston lead.

Perez then faced the minimum in the third inning getting two swinging strikeouts and a fly ball out . . . Perez worked a scoreless fourth inning and started to show signs of tiring a bit in the bottom of the fifth inning as he approached and surpassed the 60-pitch mark, although he did strike out two batters in the frame, including the last batter he faced in the contest.

McGinnis (3-for-5) led off the top of the fifth inning with a single and X. Perez tripled to drive him home and expand the Houston lead to 6-2.

David Stich was next out of the Houston bullpen and he pitched a scoreless sixth inning, facing just four batters.

The Houston offense went to work again in the top of the seventh inning, starting with McGinnis leading off the inning with a double, his third hit of the game . . . X. Perez (2-for-5) singled home McGinnis and subsequently stole second and third base . . . Coby DeJesus was the third straight batter of the inning to reach base as he took a free pass and stole second base . . . Evan Haeger, a mid-game replacement for Bishop, singled home both runners on base and pushed the Houston lead to 9-2.

After the seventh inning stretch, right-hander Brady Fuller took the mound for the Cougars protecting a seven-run lead . . . The ballgame was Fuller’s at that point as he tossed three scoreless frames and retired nine of the ten batters he faced . . . Fuller earned the save for his effort, his first of the season.

Prrez pitched a career-high four innings and allowed just two hits, and the win improved his record to 3-1.

His postgame comments were as efficient as his outing against the Wildcats, “I was expecting to go in and do my job,” Perez said.

Perez did his job, first he stopped the bleeding and then he worked through a potent Kansas State offense without allowing anything that looked like momentum.

Head coach Todd Whitting agreed. “Andres getting out of that big jam the inning he came in, I thought was huge,” Whitting said. “Then, we just kept pouring on the runs. Stich comes in and gets his inning and Fuller comes in and does his job.”

“Overall, top to bottom, just a great team effort,” Whitting said.

Houston pitching allowed just five base hits in eliminating the Wildcats from the Championship field . . . The Cougars combined for 11 hits offensively and McGinnis, X. Perez, and Haeger each had two RBI.

The nine runs scored by Houston was the most runs scored by any team on day one of the 2025 Big 12 Championship, the next closest team was Cincinnati, which scored six runs in eliminating Texas Tech.

Houston will next face TCU on Thursday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington . . . The Cougars played the last game of the day on Wednesday, and the original start time was mercifully pushed back only 15 minutes . . . Thursday’s matchup with the Horned Frogs is a 7:30pm scheduled start, but with three games being played before it, look for a possible later start.

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Antoine Jean Named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year

Antoine Jean pitches at Kansas State on April 27.

Houston left-hander Antoine Jean was just named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year by the Conference this afternoon.

In perhaps his most dominant outing of the season for the Cougars, Jean pitched five scoreless innings at UCF in March . . . Jean recorded 15 outs in the road victory, 11 of them by strikeout.

Jean also turned in a terrific performance in his outing against Kansas State on April 27 . . . Jean took the mound with just one out in the first inning as things had started to unravel for the Cougars . . . Jean pitched thru the seventh inning and set up Houston for the eventual 6-5 victory to salvage a game in the road series . . . Over 6 2/3 innings, Jean struck out eight batters in the potent Kansas State offense.

In Big 12 play this season, Jean went 3-0 with 72 strikeouts. Jean struck out five or more batters in nine of the 12 Big 12 games in which he pitched.

Jean was also named to the All-Big 12 First Team, the only Houston player named to any of the All-Big 12 lists.

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Houston to Face Kansas State in Big 12 Championship Opener

Houston and Kansas State will play the final game of the first day of the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Wednesday at 8:00pm CT . . . Houston will enter the Championship as the #11 seed of the 12 teams in the field, Kansas State will be the #6 seed.

With three games scheduled to be played before the Houston/Kansas State game, delays in the start time are both possible and to be expected . . . With games scheduled at 9:00am, 12:30pm, and 4:00pm and the necessary field preparations between the game, an 8:00pm start is unlikely.

The Cougars and the Wildcats played a three-game series in Manhattan in April, with Kansas State winning the first two games before Houston claimed the finale.

The winner of the Wednesday night game will face #3 seed TCU (37-17, 19-11) in the last game Thursday night, technically scheduled to get underway at 7:30pm . . . The game will be TCU’s first game of the Championship as they are one of the four teams to get a first day bye in Arlington.

Houston concluded its regular season earlier today with a loss to Arizona at Schroeder Park . . . The Cougars finished the regular season with an overall record of 29-24 and a 12-17 record in Big 12 action.

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Houston Offense Erupts in 13-4 Win Over Arizona

Houston celebrates after a win over Arizona Thursday night.

Houston rode back-to-back five-run innings to a 13-4 defeat of Arizona Thursday night at Schroeder Park.

The victory came in the opener of the final weekend of Big 12 play, and of the regular season, with the Cougars having already clinched a spot in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship next week in Arlington.

Connor McGinnis (3-for-4) had his best performance since returning last weekend after an injury . . . McGinnis finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle and drive in three runs.

Tre Broussard also put on a show Thursday night batting in the leadoff spot after a stint in the middle of the order . . . Broussard went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run over the left field wall in the sixth inning, three of his four RBI on the night.

Left-hander Antoine Jean took the mound for Houston to start the top of the fifth inning with his team trailing 4-3 . . . Jean set the Wildcats down in order in the fifth, getting three fly ball outs and he worked around an error behind him in the sixth inning to face just four batters.

Houston notched its first five-run frames in the bottom half of the sixth inning.

Jean faced the minimum in the top of the seventh inning, thanks in part to a great defensive play by Aaron Lugo behind the third base bag . . . The Cougars then plated five more runs after the seventh inning stretch.

Houston, deciding to save Jean for later this weekend if needed, or early next week in the Big 12 Championship, sent Andres Perez to the mound for the final two innings.

Perez retired six of the seven batters he faced and closed out the Houston victory with a looking strikeout.

Jean threw three hitless innings and struck out three batters in earning the win to improve to 5-1 this season.

Tyler Cox was 2-for-4 with three RBI batting in the eight spot, his two singles came in the back-to-back five-run frames.

The Cougars and the Wildcats will meet again on Friday night at Schroeder Park . . . Alex Solis will be on the mound for Houston . . . The game is scheduled to get underway at 6:35pm.

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Houston Wins 10-4 to Complete Sweep of Utah

Xavier Perez went 3-for-5 with a home run Sunday against Utah

Houston completed its first Big 12 sweep of the season on Sunday with a 10-4 victory over Utah at Schroeder Park.

With the game still scoreless in the bottom of the second inning, Coby DeJesus singled into right-center field to become Houston’s first base runner . . . DeJesus was attempting to steal second base, and with the second baseman moving to cover the base, Brandon Bishop (3-for-3) bounced a ball through the right side of the infield and into right field moving DeJesus to third base . . . After Bishop stole second base, Tyler Cox delivered a fly ball to right field and DeJesus scored on the sacrifice fly ball for a 1-0 Houston lead.

Utah took a 2-1 lead in the top half of the fourth inning, one of the runs scored on a questionable call at home plate which is stood up after a replay review.

Xavier Perez (3-for-5) led off the Cougars half of the fourth inning with a slow single up the middle into center field . . . Tre Broussard pulled a bunt past the pitcher’s mound toward second base and out-ran a toss to first base for a single to put two runners on base with no outs . . . DeJesus put down a sacrifice bunt to third base to move both runners into scoring position . . . Bishop popped a bunt toward the pitcher, who missed the ball but fielded it cleanly to make a toss to first base, which was late, as the first baseman seemed dismayed by the call at first base, Broussard was in full sprint toward the plate and scored easily . . . Cox (3-for-4) singled for the fourth hit in five batters to start the inning . . . Climie hit a sacrifice fly ball deep to right field to score Bishop and Houston took a 4-2 lead going to the fifth inning.

Kenneth Jimenez walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning . . . One out later, Perez launched his eighth home run of the season high over the left field wall, the two-run shot extended the Houston lead . . . Broussard then drove a ball into center field on which most hitters would have settled for a single, but Broussard hustled it into a double . . . Broussard moved to third base on a groundout to shortstop before Bishop walked with two outs to put runners on the corners . . . Cox then lined a triple the opposite way into right field to plate Broussard and Bishop as his second and third RBI for an 8-2 lead.

After the Utes added a run in the top half of the seventh inning, two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Houston after the seventh inning stretch . . . Riley Jackson plated a run on a sacrifice fly ball to left field to once again extend the Houston lead to six runs, 9-3.

Both teams added a run to their tally in the eighth inning, 10-4 stood as the final score.

Houston essentially threw a bullpen game on Sunday, using seven pitchers, none of whom threw more than two innings . . . Diego Luzardo made the start and pitched two scoreless frames . . . Andres Perez added two scoreless innings of work in the middle of the game while Alex Solis and Michael Benzor each added a scoreless inning of relief late in the ballgame.

Ten runs is the most runs Houston has scored in a Big 12 this season . . . The last time the Cougars swept a Big 12 series was last season when they opened Big 12 play against Baylor at home.

The Cougars are off for a day before they welcome Texas A&M to Schroeder Park on Tuesday night for the final midweek game of the season . . . First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm.

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This weekend Houston passed the one million mark for fans that have passed through the gates at Schroeder Park.

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