Category: Post Game

Houston Tops McNeese 4-2, Pitching Strikes Out 14

Houston preps for McNeese ahead of Wednesday’s midweek.

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston topped McNeese 4-2 Wednesday night at Schroeder Park to conclude back-to-back home-and-away midweek games.

Tre Broussard, batting in the two spot on Wednesday after having hit leadoff for a few games, singled into center field with one out and then stole second base moments later . . . With Broussard moving toward third base on a steal attempt, Cade Climie punched a single through the hole at third base into left field and Broussard scored easily for a 1-0 lead.

Still leading by a run in the bottom of the third inning, Jackson LaLima sent a no-doubter 414 feet over the left field wall with one out for a 2-0 lead.

Lefty Chris Scinta started for the Cougars and despite allowing three singles in the first inning, yielded nothing to the Cowboys offense in one inning of work . . . Freshman Connor Udland took the mound to start the second inning and retired the next nine straight batters he faced, a perfect three innings pitched, and he struck out four McNeese batters.

Harrison Boushele took the mound to start the fifth inning and proceeded to toss four scoreless innings, two of them perfect, and allowing just one base hit in each of the other two innings.

Climie and Xavier Perez opened the bottom of the sixth inning with singles and a sacrifice bunt by Riley Jackson moved both into scoring position . . . Carsten Sabathia III grounded out and scored Climie to give the Cougars a three run advantage.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Tyler Cox singled before Broussard (3-for-4) singled for his third hit of the night . . . Climie (4-for-4) drove in Cox with a single into left field and Houston led 4-0.

A two out two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning closed the margin by half, but Richie Roman was able to strike out the final McNeese hitter to close out the 4-2 victory.

Houston pitchers combined to strikeout 14 McNeese batters.

Houston will welcome Cincinnati to Schroeder Park for a Big 12 weekend series on Friday night . . . Action is scheduled to get underway at 6:30pm, with weather a possible factor in the series this weekend.

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Cougars Fall to the Lumberjacks in Midweek Road Game

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston fell to Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches 5-2 on Tuesday afternoon to conclude their latest road trip.

The Lumberjacks used three singles and a walk to scratch across two runs in the bottom of the first inning for an early 2-0 lead.

Those two runs stood as the only score until the top of the fifth inning when the Cougars put together a two out rally . . . Antonelli Savattere and Dylan Maxcey set the table with back-to-back singles before Jackson LaLima took a pitch high and out of the zone and dumped it into left field for a run-scoring single . . . Tre Broussard was then walked on five pitches to load the bases and the Lumberjacks went to their bullpen for the second time in the game to get out of the jam leading 2-1.

SFA added three more runs to their tally in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 5-1 lead.

LaLima delivered again for the Cougars in the top of the seventh inning when, batting in the nine spot, he hit a one out solo home run over the left field wall to shrink the Lumberjack advantage to three, 5-2 . . . The home run was the eighth of the season for LaLima.

Alex Solis, Ryne Rodriguez, and Diego Luzardo all pitched scoreless relief to give the Cougar offense a chance to get back in the game . . . Luzardo took the bump for the bottom of the eighth inning and retired all three batters he faced, two of them by strikeout.

The Cougars are headed back home and will be in action Wednesday night against McNeese for a second game of the midweek . . . For Houston it will be the first game at Schroeder Park since April 11 when they closed out a series with BYU . . . First pitch Wednesday night is set for 6:30pm.

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Cougars Undone by the Horned Frogs in Run-Rule Finale

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston was run-ruled 14-2 in seven innings by TCU on Sunday to put an end to a dreary weekend at Lupton Stadium in Ft. Worth.

The Cougars were held scoreless until the game was all but over, plating two runs in the top of the seventh inning, one on a passed ball and the other on a sacrifice fly ball off the bat of Justin Cherrington in a pinch-hitting appearance.

The Houston offense did not have a strikeout until the fifth inning as they were at the plate swinging and putting the ball in okay, often right at defender . . . Cougar batters registered eight fly ball outs before the first strikeout was recorded.

The Houston offense was held to just five hits in the ballgame as a trio of TCU pitchers controlled the game.

Diego Luzardo (one inning), Cameron Edmonds (2/3 inning), and Alex Solis (1/3 inning) were the only three Houston pitchers not to allow a run.

The Cougars will next be in action on Tuesday afternoon in Nacogdoches where they will face Stephen F. Austin at 4pm before returning to Schroeder Park to play host to McNeese on Wednesday night.

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Cougars Lose Opener to TCU; Climie Homers Twice

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston was overpowered by TCU 8-3 at Lupton Stadium on Friday night to open the Big 12 weekend series.

The Cougar offense had few answers for the pitching staff of the Horned Frogs, with Cade Climie being the exception.

Climie hit two home runs, one to left-center field, one to right-center field, both came on 1-0 pitches, and neither came with runners on base, to help keep up with the output of the TCU offense.

Caleb Kimble provided an inning of scoreless work in relief of starter Kendall Hoffman who pitched six complete innings . . . Diego Luzardo, making just his third appearance of the season, entered the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and retired the only batter he faced.

With the Cougars trailing 8-2 in the top of the ninth inning, Antonelli Savattere singled home a run but that was all Houston could score in the game.

The Cougars and the Horned Frogs will play the middle game of the series Saturday afternoon at Lupton Stadium . . . Houston will send Paul Schmitz to the mound with a first pitch is set for 2pm.

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Cougars Claim Another Silver Glove Series with 4-3 Victory at Rice

Houston played game two of the Silver Glove Series at Rice on Tuesday

By Steve Parkhurst

After a delay of one hour and fifteen minutes due to weather, Houston outlasted Rice 4-3 Tuesday night at Reckling Park to claim the Silver Glove Series for the fifth season in a row.

The Cougars took an early lead when Xavier Perez drove in the first run of the game in the top of the first inning with a double to the wall in right field . . . Houston added a run in the top of the second inning when a throwing error on a Jackson LaLima sacrifice bunt attempt gave Houston a 2-0 advantage.

Rice tied the game in the bottom of the second inning and forced Houston to the bullpen with two out in the bottom of the third inning.

Right-hander Alex Solis retired the next seven straight batters, including striking out the side in the fifth inning . . . Solis struck out six Owls and yielded just one run when a leadoff batter hit by a pitch eventually came around the bases to score.

Max McCraray took the mound in relief of Solis in the bottom of the seventh inning and retired the next three batters he faced into the eighth inning.

Cade Climie put Houston in front in the top of the fifth inning with a home run over the left field wall, it was his fifth home run of the season.

The Owls tied the game at three in the bottom of the seventh inning and after a scoreless eighth inning, the stage was set for drama and heartbreak in the ninth inning or beyond.

Richie Roman took the mound in the eighth inning with one out and retired the final two outs to keep the game knotted up at three.

After two quick outs in the top of the ninth inning, Riley Jackson willed a ball over the wall in left-center field to give the Cougars their final run, and the deciding one . . . The home run was the eighth home run of the season for Jackson.

After retiring the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth inning, Roman hit batters on consecutive pitchers to give the Owls two free baserunners . . . A fly ball that looked destined for the left field berm off the bat was reined in easily by Blake Fields on the warning track and victory was secured.

The Cougars and the Owls still have one game yet to play in the Series this season, that will take place on May 12 at Schroeder Park . . . For both teams it will be the final midweek game of the season.

Houston will be back in action this weekend up in Ft. Worth where they will take on TCU in Big 12 play . . . First pitch on Friday is set for 6pm.

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Houston Edged Out by BYU 3-2 in Series Opener

Houston hosts BYU this weekend at Schroeder Park

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston was edged out by BYU 3-2 Thursday night at Schroeder Park to open the Big 12 weekend series between the two sets of Cougars.

Houston managed only three hits in the ballgame, two of them went for home runs, while the pitching was pretty solid once again.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Xavier Perez tied the game with a two-out solo home run over the left field wall.

BYU responded immediately, scoring twice in the top of the fourth inning to take a 3-1 lead.

Once again, Connor Udland made the Friday night start for Houston . . . Udland departed after two innings having allowed one run, he had seen the BYU order one time through.

Caden Cooper followed Udland on the mound and he allowed two runs in what was an otherwise fine outing.

Harrison Boushele dazzled for another 2 2/3 scoreless innings when he needed to keep the score where it was.

Cade Climie hit a high, arching shot over the left field wall, for a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning.

On most nights in Big 12 play, allowing only three runs to the opposition is enough to get the job done, but that was not the case on Thursday night.

Houston and BYU will continue their weekend series on Friday, with game two at Schroeder Park set to get underway at 6:35pm . . . Kendall Hoffman will be on the mound for Houston as they look to even the series.

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Cougars Dropped by the Bears 6-2 Despite Solid Pitching

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston’s troubles in Big 12 play continued on Friday night when Baylor came to Schroeder Park and claimed a 6-2 victory.

As the Cougars continue to look for a workable solution to the starting rotation, they chose right-handed freshman Connor Udland.

Udland pitched well, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing just two runs on five hits, and he added three strikeouts.

The Houston offense struggled against Baylor starter Lucas Davenport who pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed just one run.

A Blake Fields RBI single in the sixth inning was followed by Jackson LaLima’s sixth home run of the season in the seventh inning, a solo shot to deep left-center field, and that was the extent of the Cougars’ run production.

Right-hander Harrison Boushele pitched for the second game in a row, and just as he was dominant against Texas on Tuesday night, he was equally brilliant in shutting down the Baylor offense . . . Boushele allowed the Bears nothing over the final 2 1/3 innings, with a lone base runner reaching on a fielding error at third base which was of no consequence.

Boushele also struck out four batters for the second straight game.

Houston only had five hits in the game, and only one of them was for extra bases.

The Cougars and the Bears return to action Saturday at 1pm at Schroeder Park.

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Cougars Fall to Jayhawks in Big 12 Road Opener

Houston played its first Big 12 road game at Kansas on Friday

By Steve Parkhurst

A four-run first inning was not enough for Houston on Friday night in Lawrence as the Cougars fell to Kansas 12-10 in the series opener.

The Cougars got off to a fast start when leadoff hitter McClane Helton walked on four pitches before Tre Broussard drove him home on a double to the wall in left-center field . . . Two pitches later Xavier Perez was hit by a pitch . . . With one out, Easton Winfield drove in his first run as a Houston Cougar when he singled to left field to drive in Broussard.

Kansas went to the bullpen just five batters into the game, but it was more of the same for Houston as Blake Fields walked on five pitches . . . One out later, Antonellie Savattere hammered a single to right field to drive in two runs and the Cougars had a 4-0 lead and batted around in the inning sending 10 hitters to the plate.

Houston scored a pair of runs in the third inning on a Savattere RBI single and a Tyler Cox sacrifice bunt and the Cougars led 6-1.

It was not long before the Jayhawks reversed things, scoring six runs in the bottom of the third inning and chasing the second Houston pitcher of the game, in the bottom of the fourth inning

The Cougars were in danger of hemorrhaging pitchers in game one of the series, but freshman Connor Udland took the mound with two outs in the fourth inning trailing 9-6 and pitched some terrific baseball over the next 4 1/3 innings.

After allowing one fourth inning run, Udland settled in and did not allow another run until the bottom of the eighth inning, striking out six batters along the way.

While Udland was keeping the Jayhawks off the scoreboard, the Cougars crept back into the game, thanks in part to a three-run sixth inning . . . Perez hit a two-run home run to right field and Fields doubled in a run and Houston was within a run at 10-9.

Cox tied the game at 10 in the top of the eighth inning with a double down the third base line to bring home Fields.

Kansas got to Udland for a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and that was the difference in the ballgame . . . It was a great outing by the freshman and one that should pay dividends for Houston as the season plays out.

Kansas pitching walked 10 Houston batters, but also struck out 15, and the Cougars left 14 runners on base . . . Houston did force Kansas to use five pitchers in the game, with the Cougars only using three, this is worth watching over the final two games of the weekend. 

The Cougars and the Jayhawks will play again on Saturday in Lawrence, with a first pitch scheduled for 2pm.

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Houston Walks-Off Kansas State to Nab First Big 12 Win of the Season

Ryne Rodriguez silenced the Kansas State offense for six innings on Sunday.

By Steve Parkhurst

After being walked-off via run-rule two nights in a row to open Big 12 play this season, Houston returned the favor as it walked off Kansas State 16-6 in eight innings Sunday afternoon at Schroeder Park.

The afternoon got off to a rough start and things looked bleak in the top of the first inning as the Wildcats took a 4-0 lead on a grand slam.

Left-hander Ryne Rodriguez took the mound in relief to start the second inning with the Cougars still trailing by four . . . Rodriguez promptly pitched the next six innings allowing just one unearned run and only three hits on a career-high 88 pitches.

It was an effort the Cougars pitching staff desperately needed after two rough games to open the series.

The Cougars clawed back as Rodriguez was quieting the potent Wildcats offense.

In the bottom of the second inning, Jackson LaLima hit a three-run home run to left-center field, his fourth long ball of the season, and Houston only trailed by a run, 4-3.

Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, shortstop Tyler Cox tied the game at five with a one out solo home run to left field . . . The dinger was the first for Cox in a Houston uniform, his last home run was hit for Dartmouth three years ago to the day.

After Houston went to the bullpen for the eighth inning, Kansas State took a 6-5 lead when a leadoff walk came home to score.

Ball four appeared to be a strike on the outside corner, low and away on that leadoff walk and the umpires heard about the missed call for a while from the Houston dugout . . . When the runner crossed the plate as the go-ahead run a few minutes later, the chatter increased and Houston head coach Todd Whitting was ejected from the game.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, McClane Helton led off with a pinch-hit single on the infield, little did anyone know that he would bat again, and single again, in the frame.

With Helton on second base, Cox (2-for-3) singled to tie the game at six, his second time in as many at-bats to tie the game . . . Tre Broussard was then intentionally walked after the count on him reached 2-0, he would also bat again in the inning.

Riley Jackson then took the next pitch off his batting helmet to load the bases with one out . . . Dylan Maxcey (3-for-4) doubled to the wall in left-center field to drive in two runs and Houston took its first lead of the game, 8-6.

After the Wildcats went to the bullpen, Antonelli Savattere singled into right-center field to plate two more Cougars just before Blake Fields (2-for-2) was hit by a pitch on his lower left leg and he took his place at first base . . . Both Savattere and Fields moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.

LaLima followed by flying out to the warning track in center field, the sacrifice fly RBI made it 11-6 with two outs.

Helton (2-for-2) singled in his second at-bat of the inning, this one to left-center field drove in a run and kept the merry go round moving.

Cox was hit by a pitch as he was attempting to bunt, he was the third batter hit by a pitch in the inning . . . Perez then powered an 0-1 pitch off the center field wall for a double and the Cougars held a 14-6 advantage.

Broussard ended things when he drove a towering shot to center field on a 1-0 pitch, and when the ball bounced off the batter’s eye and back onto the field of play, the Cougars were walk-off winners as chaos ensued around home plate . . . The Cougars scored 11 runs in the frame, more than the nine total runs they had scored in the previous two games.

In postgame comments, Broussard called the previous two days “embarrassing.” But, Broussard was quick to point out that the response to the previous two games was about sticking to the process and executing the game plan.

When asked about the electricity in the dugout as his team battled back, Broussard kept it simple.

“A good dugout, means a good team.”

The Cougars are now off until Wednesday when they will host the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns in a midweek matchup before heading off to Kansas for a Big 12 weekend series in Lawrence . . . First pitch on Wednesday is scheduled for 6:30pm at Schroeder Park.

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Cougars Claim First Game of Silver Glove Series in 13-1 Walk-Off Win Over Owls

Caden Cooper was great over 5 1/3 innings against Rice on Tuesday

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston claimed the first game of the 2026 Silver Glove Series at Schroeder Park on Tuesday night with a 13-1 walk-off run-rule victory over Rice.

McClane Helton wasted no time getting Houston started from the leadoff spot as he singled through the right side in the bottom of the first inning . . . Xavier Perez then punished a baseball, sending it high over the left field wall for an early 2-0 lead.

Dylan Maxcey walked to lead off the bottom of the third inning and Carsten Sabathia III then reached on a throwing error on a line drive off of the pitcher . . . After Antonelli Savattere sacrificed to move both runners up a base on a bunt, Blake Fields hit a sacrifice fly ball to center field to score Maxcey and Jackson LaLima (3-for-5) doubled for the second time in the game to score Sabathia and Houston led 4-0 going to the fourth inning.

Tyler Cox (2-for-3) led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single and Helton (2-for-3) followed with his second single of the game, then Perez was hit by a pitch to load the bases . . . Maxcey flied out to center field and scored Cox on the sacrifice while the Cougars lost a runner on the bases for a second out on the play.

Sabathia was at it again, sending a high, arching home run over the left field wall, the two-run blast was his fifth of the season, and all five of Sabathia’s home runs have come in the last seven games.

  Asked after the game about his fourth inning home run, Sabathia, having fouled off several pitches, admitted to seeing the ball well in the at-bat.

“I think just trying to see it deep,”Sabathia said. “I missed a couple heaters early that I should have attacked. But, once I get the two strikes, I’m just trying to fight, pass the bat back, get on base any way I can.”

“I kind of saw the hanger start at my shoulder a little bit and just tried to stay inside it, and got rewarded.”

Houston added a in the bottom half of the fifth inning to take an 8-0 lead.

Freshman Cade Cooper made the start for Houston and he delivered 5 1/3 scoreless innings allowing just two hits on 62 pitches . . . Cooper allowed a single to the leadoff batter to open the game, but he was erased attempting to steal second base . . . Cooper faced the minimum in the inning and retired the side in order in three other frames . . . He earned the win and is now 1-0 this season.

Alex Solis relieved Cooper in the top of the sixth inning with two runners on base and induced a terrific 3-6-1 double play to end the inning . . . Solis added a scoreless seventh inning before the Cougars went to the bullpen for the final six outs . . . The final out by Solis was a swinging strikeout on 95mph heat.

Rice scored its only run in the top of the eighth inning, a lone manufactured run on a ground out to first base, but the Cougars got the run back in their half of the eighth inning when a bases loaded walk pushed the Houston advantage back to eight runs.

A five-run eighth inning was capped off by a Justin Cherrington grand slam to end the game via the run-rule . . . The slam happened on just the second at-bat of the game for Cherrington, who entered the game in the seventh inning in a pinch-hitting role . . . The home run was the first of the season for the transfer from Yavapai College in Arizona.

Asked about the walk-off grand slam by Cherrington, and the subsequent team celebration, Sabathia was all smiles after the game.

“That’s my guy,” Sabathia said. “Seeing him have that moment is real special. It was a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun for sure.”

From day one of spring workouts, head coach Todd Whitting has talked about the depth of the team this year, and he pointed to that again on Tuesday night following the victory.

“It’s just you can only DH one guy at a time,” Whitting said. “But that’s what I like about this team is all year we’ve consistently had guys come off the bench and give me at least a quality at-bat.”

“So it keeps the pressure on the guys in the lineup.”

Freshman Peyton Dickens picked up his first collegiate base hit with a second inning single.

The next game in the Silver Glove Series will take place on April 21 when the Cougars will travel to Reckling Park with a third game scheduled for May 12 back at Schroeder Park.

Houston returns to action on Friday night when Big 12 play gets underway . . . The Cougars will welcome Kansas State to town with a first pitch on Friday slated for 6:30pm at Schroeder Park.

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