Malachi Lott pitched five innings on Sunday afternoon, allowing the games only run . . . The effort was Lott’s longest outing of the season and gave Houston a boost of sorts, as well as options, as the coaching staff tried to adjust the pitching rotation after the loss of Kyle LaCalameto for the rest of the season.
The Cougars return home for a Tuesday midweek with Prairie View A&M and then playing host to the Oklahoma Sooners next weekend . . . First pitch on Tuesday at Schroeder Park is scheduled for 6:30pm.
Malachi Lott delivers the first pitch Tuesday night against Texas Southern
For the fourth time in their first eight games to open 2023, the Houston Cougars scored eight runs on Tuesday night in a 8-5 defeat of Texas Southern at Schroeder Park.
Third baseman Zach Arnold (2-for-3) got the scoring started with a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the first inning.
The Houston offense then erupted for five runs in the bottom of the second inning . . . Three hits, a dropped pop-up, a hit batter, and two walks added up to a 6-2 run after two complete innings.
In the bottom of the fourth inning a ground out and an Anthony Tulimero sacrifice fly padded the Cougars lead at 8-3.
The Cougars bullpen put on a power display against the Tigers with Travis Phelps touching 92-94mph in the fourth and fifth innings, and Josh Ekness topping out at 96-97mph in the seventh and eighth innings . . . Phelps struck out five Tigers in earning his first win of the season while Ekness also struck out five and earned his first save of the season.
Despite a ninth inning solo home run, the Cougars closed out Texas Southern to take the 8-5 victory.
Houston has two days off before hitting the road for the second straight weekend . . . The Cougars will open with UT Rio Grande Valley on Friday at 6:30pm.
Anthony Tulimero is greeted at home plate by teammates after a fourth inning home run on Friday
The Houston Cougars opened the 2023 Kleburg Bank Classic in Corpus Christi with an offensive explosion at Whataburger Field defeating the Utah Utes 14-5 on Friday afternoon.
After an Alex Lopez single gave Houston a 1-0 first inning lead, catcher Anthony Tulimero tripled to drive him in and the Cougars took a two-run lead before the Utes had even been up to bat.
The Cougars added two runs in the second inning and led 4-2 going into the fourth inning.
Lopez doubled to get the fourth inning scoring started, his third hit in three at-bats at that point . . . One out later, Tulimero followed with a two-run home run to left field and the Cougars took an 8-2 lead . . . It was Tulimero’s first home run of the season.
Brandon Burckel hit a two-out solo home run in the fifth inning . . . Cary Arbolida got a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning when Utah went to the bullpen in the middle of a Malachi Lott at-bat . . . Arbolida hit the first pitch he saw for a run-scoring double and the lead was extended to 10-2, the first time this season Houston scored double-digit runs.
Houston starter Cade Citelli was removed from the game during his third inning having allowed two runs and was hampered with five walks in 2 2/3 innings pitched . . . Maddux Miller took the ball to end the inning and stayed in to record 3 1/3 scoreless innings where he also did not allow a hit.
With the Cougars leading 10-5 in the top of the ninth inning, Drew Bianco got his first hit in a Houston uniform, a three-run home run to left field . . . Justin Murray added an RBI and the Cougars took a 14-5 into the bottom of the frame where Owen Woodward closed out the game.
Tulimero went 3-for-4 with a walk in the contest and finished just a double shy of hitting for the cycle . . . Burckel tripled in the ninth inning, the Cougars second three-bagger of the game . . . Houston had hit just one home run in their previous four games, a Brandon Uhse solo home run last weekend against Cal, but the offense accounted for three of them in Friday’s victory
The Cougars return to action Saturday night when they face Texas A&M Corpus Christi . . . Expect to see left-hander Kyle LaCalameto make his second straight Saturday start in the game . . . First pitch in Corpus Christi is scheduled for 7pm.
Few things went right for Houston in San Antonio on Wednesday as UTSA run-ruled the Cougars in seven innings, 12-2.
Among the positive takeaways against the Roadrunners is the fact that many Cougars pitchers got their first action of the season, and many pitchers made their debut in Houston uniforms . . . Eleven pitchers were used in the midweek contest.
The Cougars now head south to Corpus Christi to take part in the Kleberg Bank Classis where they will be opposed by Utah, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Incarnate Word . . . First pitch against Utah from Whataburger Field on Friday will be at 2pm.
Tommy Egan delivers the first pitch of Sunday’s game at Schroeder Park
Houston picked up its first win of the 2023 season with an 8-6 victory over the Cal Golden Bears at Schroeder Park on Sunday afternoon.Cal got in on the act immediately when their first two batters hit their way on base to open up the contest, and both scored quickly as the Golden Bears took a 2-0 lead.
Brandon Burckel (3-for-3) got the Cougars on the board in the second inning with a two-run double to the wall in left-center which tied the game at two . . . Batting with two outs in the fourth inning, Burkel drove his second double in as many at-bats down the left field line to score Justin Murray all the way from first base to tie the game at three . . . Cameron Nickens (2-for-4) drove home Burckel with a single to center to put the Cougars in front for the first time on the weekend, 4-3.
Alex Lopez (2-for-3) singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning . . . Brandon Uhse doubled into the left field corner to score Lopez from first base . . . A sacrifice fly to center field by Murray plated Uhse from third base and the Cougars took a 6-5 lead.
Tied at six in the bottom of the eighth inning, Malachi Lott walked and stole second before Burckel followed with an infield single, his third hit of the game, putting runners on the corners with no one out . . . One out later, Zach Arnold dropped a looping single into shallow right-field to give the Cougars a one run lead . . . Lopez gave Houston an 8-6 lead on a sacrifice fly to left field.
Left-hander Jose Torrealba closed out the win in the ninth by retiring the Golden Bears in order . . . Torrealba struck out two in the ninth inning and picked up the win for his effort over 1 1/3 innings.
Houston is off for two days before hitting the road for the next four games . . . The Cougars will play UTSA in San Antonio on Wednesday at 6:00pm before heading to Corpus Christi for a weekend tournament where they will face Utah, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Incarnate Word.
Kyle LaCalameto made his first start of the season Saturday night at Schroeder Park
The Cougars dropped their second straight game to open the season with a 5-3 loss to the Cal Bears on Saturday night at Schroeder Park.
Kyle LaCalameto made his first start of the 2023 season and was impressive over 5 2/3 innings allowing just one run on three hits . . . The sole run allowed by LaCalameto came in the sixth inning, his last inning of work.
Brandon Uhse launched a towering home run to left field that just cleared the fence to tie the game at a run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Maddux Miller saw his first game action of the season and threw a flawless 1 2/3 innings striking out one to get the Cougars from the seventh to the ninth inning.
Cal was leading 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning after scoring two runs in the seventh inning . . . Ian McMillan hit a two-out double to left field to tie the game at three heading to the ninth inning . . . The two runs were the biggest offensive inning for Houston in the first two games of the season.
The Bears added two runs off of Houston pitching in their half of the ninth inning to take a 5-3 lead which stood as the final score.
In the loss, Zach Arnold went 2-for-5, the only Cougar with multiple hits . . . Whereas in game one just two Cougars hit Cal pitching, eight Houston hitters earned hits on Saturday night.
Houston and Cal conclude their opening weekend series with a Sunday finale, first pitch is at noon . . . At this point the Cougars have not named their starting pitcher for the game.
Cade Citelli delivers the first pitch to open the 2023 season against Cal
The Houston Cougars opened the 2023 campaign with a 7-0 loss at the hands of the Cal Bears at Schroeder Park.
Cade Citelli marched through the Cal lineup in smooth fashion to open the season while also making his Houston debut . . . Citelli retired the first nine batters he faced and was perfect through three innings before things fell apart for him in a three-run fourth inning.
Cal left-hander Ian May went eight strong innings allowing just three hits to the Cougars and striking out seven along the way.
Alex Lopez hit May twice, the only Houston hitter with multiple hits in the game, and just one of two Cougars with hits against the Bears.
In addition to Citelli, Paul Schmitz, Travis Phelps, Owen Woodward and Graysen Dezek also made their Houston debuts.
Former Cougar Joe Davis, the all-time home run hitter in program history, was on hand Friday night to throw out the honorary first pitch prior to the game . . . Davis retired from baseball back in December after three seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization . . . Davis is back in Texas now, having returned to his hometown of Austin.
The Cougars and the Bears resume their opening weekend series on Saturday when the Cougars will send left-hander Kyle LaCalameto to the mound . . . First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.
On the Minor League Baseball website a short blurb announced that Joe Davis has retired from professional baseball.
Davis, the all-time Houston home run leader, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2019 and remained in their system thru the 2022 season. There was no minor league baseball in 2020, so after being drafted and getting initiated in a brief 2019 stint, Davis did not play again until the 2021 season.
Davis hit 42 home runs and drove in 150 runs while batting .274 over his three professional seasons.
Wednesday was National Signing Day across our great land, and the University of Houston baseball team inked numerous high school seniors to letters of intent. The signees include: Ace Reese, Landon Bowden, Diego Luzardo, Larry Drake, Riley Pechacek, Logan Simmons, Tristan Russell, Conner Bennett, and Braylen Collins.
Congratulations to @BraylenCollins9 on signing with the University of Houston today! ⚾️♥️⚾️ To know him is to love him and it’s been a blast watching him through the years! Keep Smilin’ & Grindin’ kiddo! #GoCoogspic.twitter.com/7tn5i7lQ8i
It's too early for him to start 'PLAYING BALL' with the University of Houston, but Logan Simmons has signed his letter of intent to hit Cougar Field after graduation!
@tristanrussell_ signed his NLI to play @UHCougarBB. Respect and love to all the coaches. Not all are in photo, but we are grateful to all of you. Special shout out to P3, Cruz Baseball, Trosky, Trosky Texas, Premier Baseball, Banditos, German Nat’l Team coaches Bull and Schumi. pic.twitter.com/wxaJiDz82M
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