Category: Post Game

Cougars Top Bulls 16-10, Capture Series

Malachi Lott made the Saturday start for Houston on Saturday afternoon

Houston captured their third straight weekend series win with a 16-10 victory over South Florida on Saturday afternoon at Schroeder Park giving the Cougars a chance to sweep on Sunday.

In the bottom of the first inning, Zach Arnold (4-for-4) laced a one-out double to the wall in deep right-center field and extended his reached base streak to 31 games . . . Alex Lopez followed with a towering home run to right field for a 2-0 Houston lead.

Tied at two in the bottom of the second inning, the Cougars loaded the bases with one out on a walk to Brandon Burckel, a single by Ian McMillan (3-for-5), and a walk to Drew Bianco (2-for-4) . . . Malachi Lott (4-for-6) then lined a single between shortstop and third base to drive in two runs . . . Arnold followed with a mammoth, 428 foot home run to center field, a three-run blast to cap the scoring in the five-run inning, and the Cougars took a 7-2 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, Justin Murray singled for the second time in as many innings . . . One out later, McMillan dropped a singled into right-center field, a ball that fell between players fighting the sun . . . Bianco singled to right field to drive in Murray and a throwing error by the right-fielder allowed McMillan to cross the plate . . . An infield single by Arnold scored Bianco as the third run of the inning and Houston led 10-2.

Lott added a solo home run in the fifth inning which traveled 431 feet to right field . . . Lott singled again to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning . . . Arnold followed with a double before Lopez grounded out to plate Lott . . . Tulimero then drove a ball off the Houston Baseball billboard in left-center field gap for a two-run home run with two outs and the Cougars increased their lead to 16-8.

The Houston offense scored a run in six of eight frames in the game with nineteen hits . . . Lott and Arnold both finished the game a triple shy of hitting for the cycle . . . Defensively, the Cougars turned three double plays and did not commit an error in the field.

The Cougars and the Bull conclude their conference series on Sunday at Schroeder Park . . . Cade Citelli will be on the mond for Houston in the finale . . First pitch will take place at 1pm.

Houston Takes Opener Against Bulls 6-5

Houston opened a weekend series with South Florida Friday at Schroeder Park

The Cougars took the first game of their weekend series with conference foe South Florida on Friday night with a 6-5 victory at Schroeder Park.

South Florida jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead against Houston.

Brandon Uhse led off the top of the second inning with a single, the first hit of the game for the Cougars . . . One out later, Justin Murray (3-for-4) tripled to the wall in right-center field to score Uhse . . . Brandon Burckel followed with a two-out single into left-center field bringing Murray across the plate . . . After an errant throw on a pick-off attempt at first base allowed Burckel to reach second base, Ian McMillan (2-for-3) singled into center field to tie the game at three.

Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the third inning, the Houston offense got churning once again . . . Zach Arnold singled to lead off the inning and extend his reached-base streak to 30 games . . . Alex Lopez followed with a walk . . . Two outs later Murray doubled off the wall in right field to give Houston a one-run lead, driving in his third run of the game . . . Cameron Nickens followed with a single into right field to drive home Murray and the Cougars led 6-4.

Right-hander Owen Woodward took the mound in the third inning with two outs . . . Woodward proceeded to throw five innings when the Cougars needed someone to eat up some innings after the short outing by the Friday starter . . . Woodward allowed just one run and struck out four while not walking any batters . . . Brendan O’Donnell got the final out of the top of the eighth inning, striking out the only batter he faced.

Murray took the mound in the top of the ninth inning to protect the 6-5 lead . . . Murray allowed a one-out infield single on a slow-roller to shortstop but he worked around it to retire the next two batters and earn the save, his fifth of the season . . . Woodward picked up the win for his effort, he improves to 3-0 this season.

The Cougars (19-15, 5-2) and the Bulls will continue their series on Saturday afternoon at Schroeder Park . . . Due to the potential for weather issues later in the night, Saturday’s first pitch has been moved up to 2pm . . . Paul Schmitz will be on the mound for Houston as they look to capture the series.

Cougars Win 14-3 Over Sam Houston, Even Sanders Cup

Houston hosted Sam Houston at Schroeder Park Tuesday night

The Houston Cougars evened the Don Sanders Cup series on Tuesday night with a dominant 14-3 victory over Sam Houston at Schroeder Park . . . The win was also the 400th career win for head coach Todd Whitting.

Houston went to the bullpen in the first inning already trailing 2-0 . . . Right-hander Braden Forsyth took the ball with two on base and one out and induced a double-play ground ball to end the inning without further damage.

The Cougars wasted no time changing the score . . . Zach Arnold (3-for-4) singled into right-center field to extend his reached-base streak to 29 games with one out . . . Alex Lopez followed with a double to the wall in right field to drive in Arnold all the way from first base . . . Brandon Uhse (3-for-4) tied the game with a single to right field before a RBI single by Justin Murray (3-for-4) gave Houston a 3-2 lead going to the second inning.

Forsyth was replaced on the mound with two out in the top of the fifth inning having pitched 4 1/3 quality innings, his longest out of the season, at a time when Houston needed to stop the hemorrhaging in the first inning.

With the game tied at three in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cougars mounted another big rally . . . Drew Bianco led off the frame with a walk . . . One out later, Arnold singled for the second time on the night . . . After a walk to Lopez to load the bases, Uhse doubled down the right field line to drive in two runs . . . A sacrifice fly RBI to left field off the bat of Anthony Tulimero (2-for-3) was followed by Murray’s second RBI single to right field in the game and Houston grabbed a 7-3 lead heading to the sixth inning.

With two runners on base and no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Malachi Lott doubled off the wall in right field to drive in one run . . . Arnold followed with his third single of the game to drive in two runs . . . Lopez and Uhse both followed with two RBI doubles . . . Murray, as the eighth batter of the frame, flew out to right field for the first out of the inning, but his sacrifice fly RBI made it 13-3 in favor of Houston.

The Cougars added a run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly to left field by Uhse to score Lott from third base and Houston led 14-3.

The Houston bullpen held the Bearkats offense to no runs and just one hit over the final five frames . . . Brendan O’Donnell, Maddux Miller, Malachi Lott, and Dan Wright all limited the potent Sam Houston lineup to preserve the victory . . . O’Donnell (2-0) retired all four batters he faced and earned the win . . . Miller retired the side in order in his frame and Lott struck out two Bearkats in his inning of work . . . Wright struck out the side in the top of the ninth inning.

The Houston win sets up a decisive third game to determine the winner of the 2023 Don Sanders Cup . . . The Cougars and the Bearkats will determine the winner of the Cup on May 16 at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.

Asked about his 400th win of his career, Whitting was gracious and directed credit for it to everyone but himself.

“400 wins come by being surrounded by great players, assistant coaches, fans, donors and an administration that has the same vision. I truly appreciate everyone that has the same passion that I have for University of Houston Baseball,” Whitting said.

Houston is off until they welcome South Florida to town for a conference series beginning on Friday . . . . The Cougars have won the first two conference series, first against East Carolina and then against Wichita State . . . First pitch at Schroeder Park will take place at 6:30pm.

Houston Run-Rules Wichita State 17-3, Takes Road Series

Houston took the series win on Saturday at Wichita State

Houston clinched a series win on the road against Wichita State on Saturday in a decisive 17-3 run-rule victory.

Zach Arnold was bit by a pitch with one out in the top of the first inning . . . Arnold then moved to third base on a two-out single to left field by Brandon Uhse (2-for-3) . . . After a steal of second base by Uhse, Anthony Tulimero (3-for-5) doubled to left field to drive in both runners on base . . . Justin Murray followed with a single to right-center field to score Tulimero and give Houston a 3-0 lead in the opening frame.

The score remained 3-0 until the top of the fifth inning when Ian McMillan led off the inning with a single before he stole second base to reach scoring position with one out . . . Malachi Lott (3-for-5) then drove a single the opposite way into left field to plate McMillan and extend the Cougars lead.

Cade Citelli made the Saturday start for Houston and was really good in his outing . . . Citelli pitched five complete innings before being removed in the top of the sixth inning . . . Citelli allowed just one earned run on four hits while striking out eight and was in line for the win if the Cougars held on the rest of the way.

Leading 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning, Brandon Burckel was hit by a pitch to reach base before he stole second base ahead of a Drew Bianco infield single to put runners on the corners with no one out, forcing Wichita State to their bullpen once again . . . Arnold then drove a ball to the wall in left field for a two-run double . . . Alex Lopez immediately followed with a single into right field to score Arnold, but Houston was not done in the inning.

A walk to Uhse was followed by a RBI single by Tulimero setting the stage for a Murray three-run home run deep to left field . . . Burckel was hit by a pitch for the second time in the same inning ahead of walks to McMillan and Bianco to load the bases . . . Lott then drove a ball deep the opposite way off the top of the wall just about a foot or two from the foul pole for a bases clearing double.

Still in the top of the seventh inning, Arnold was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game . . . Cary Arbolida pinch-hit for Lopez and promptly drove the third pitch of his at-bat over the wall in center field for a three-run home run and a 17-3 Cougars lead heading to the seventh inning stretch.

The Cougars scored 13 runs in the seventh inning, all of them with two outs . . . Houston also sent 17 batters to the plate in the inning.

Owen Woodward took the mound for the bottom of the seventh inning and struck out all three batters that he faced to close out the victory.

After some travel woes caused the delay of the start of the weekend series and forced a doubleheader to be played on Saturday, Cougars head coach Todd Whitting had good reason to wonder what his team would do with three games to play in just over 24 hours.

“I thought the team was tough and grinded all weekend,” Whitting said. “After delays, we didn’t get to the hotel until 6am on Thursday, I thought fatigue caught up with us in game two [Friday] but we came out today ready to play from the first pitch.”

In all three games this weekend, the Cougars got five or more innings from their starting pitchers and had minimal need for the bullpen in what could have been a difficult short-term situation with both fatigue and over-use real possibilities.

“I have said all along we have a talented pitching staff and it would take us some time to get roles established,” Whitting said after Saturday’s win. “With LaCalameto and Phelps out, and Torrealba out until this past weekend . . . it took a little longer than we wanted.”

Lott and Murray each had four RBI in the Saturday win, while Tulimero and Arbolida each had three RBI.

Houston (17-15, 4-2) returns home after the Saturday contest and will next be in action on Tuesday night at Schroeder Park when the Cougars will host Sam Houston State . . . Houston will be trying to even the three-game Don Sanders Cup series after dropping the first game in Huntsville last month . . . First pitch on Tuesday night is scheduled for 6:30pm.

Cougars Split Two with Shockers, Deciding Game Saturday

Josh Ekness got the start in game one Friday at Wichita State

The Cougars and the Wichita State Shockers split a doubleheader on Friday with Houston taking game one 8-6 and losing game two 6-1 at Eck Stadium in Wichita.

Josh Ekness got the start for Houston in game one and was outstanding over 5 1/3 innings.

Ian McMillan hit a two-run home run to left field in the top of the eighth inning to increase the Houston advantage to 8-5.

Justin Murray closed out the win for the Cougars tossing the final two innings and allowing just two hits and striking out three in earning the save, his fourth of the season.

Paul Schmitz took the mound in game two and was quite good, though the result went against him as his defense let him down a couple of times and the Houston offense was stymied all evening . . . Schmitz tossed 6 1/3 innings allowing the potent Shockers offense five hits and four earned runs.

As alluded to, the defense behind Schmitz was lacking at times in Friday’s second game . . . A potential inning-ending fly ball was dropped on the warning track in deep left-center field allowing the hitter to wind up on third base with a triple while two runs scored.

The Shockers did not score another run until the seventh inning after Schmitz had handed the ball to the Houston bullpen.

A sacrifice fly RBI off the bat of Murray in the top of the eighth inning was the extent of the Houston offense in game two.

The Cougars (16-15, 3-2) and the Shockers (18-12, 3-2) will conclude their Easter weekend series on Saturday at noon in Wichita.

Cougars Walk-Off Rice in 14-13 Midweek Slugfest

Graysen Drezek got the start against Rice on Tuesday at Schroeder Park

Houston scored a run in every inning except the first on their way to a 14-13 win over Rice in game one of the 2023 Silver Glove Series Tuesday night at Schroeder Park.

With no score in the game, Anthony Tulimero led off the bottom of the second inning with a line-drive home run to left field . . . One out later, Brandon Uhse doubled off the wall in deep left-center field . . . Ian McMillan then drove a two-out ground ball down the left field line just inside the third base line to plate Uhse and give Houston an early 2-0 lead.

Trailing 4-2, Zach Arnold clobbered a ball 444 feet to lead off the bottom of the third inning to close the deficit by a run.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Alex Lopez was walked to get the inning started . . . Tulimero lined his fourth hit of the game into left-center field for a single . . . Justin Murray then drove a double into left-center scoring both Lopez and Tulimero and giving Houston a 13-12 advantage.

Rice tied the game at 13 in the top of the ninth inning setting up for a dramatic finish.

Houston has a short week for the Easter holiday . . . The Cougars are on their way to Wichita on Wednesday morning to face Wichita State in a series that opens on Thursday . . . First pitch from Eck Stadium is slated for 6pm.

Houston Defeats No. 8 East Carolina 6-4, Wins Series

Jose Torrealba made the Sunday start for Houston on Sunday at Schroeder Park

Two Houston home runs off the foul pole in left field made the difference on Sunday afternoon as Houston took the series finale 6-4 against No. 8 East Carolina, and the weekend series at the same time.

Jose Torrealba made the Sunday start for Houston, his first appearance since February 26 . . . Torrealba gave Houston a nice start retiring six of the first eight batters he faced and departing after his second inning of work having not allowed a run.

Brandon Burckel (2-for-4) led off the bottom of the third inning with a home run off the foul pole in left field to give Houston a 1-0 lead.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Malachi Lott grounded to second base for what seemed like the final out of the inning, but a fielding error allowed Lott to reach first base . . . Zach Arnold followed with a towering two-run home run that was just fair and the Cougars led 3-0.

A two-run top of the sixth inning for East Carolina was followed by a two-run top of the seventh inning and the Pirates led 4-3.

Back-to-back singles by Brandon Burckel and Ian McMillan to start the bottom of the seventh inning preceded Alex Lopez hitting a drive the opposite way off the left field foul pole, a three-run home run and the second home run off the same foul pole in the game, and Houston led 6-4.

Justin Murray took the mound for the eighth inning with the task of recording the final six outs for Houston . . . Murray allowed a one-out single in the eighth and set the side down in order in the ninth inning, going through the heart of the East Carolina lineup to secure the 6-4 victory . . . For his efforts, Murray earned the save, his third of the season, and Woodward registered the win.

Houston Head Coach Todd Whitting saw a lot to like about his team this weekend. “Amazing effort and enthusiasm by the team,” Whitting said. “I thought we played with no fear and never let them throw a knock-out punch.”

On Murray’s multiple innings pitched at the end of both series wins, Whitting added, “Murray is a tough veteran player, he has been tremendous closing for us.”

After the two-inning save by Murray on Sunday on short rest, Whitting added, “Gritty performance after an extended outing to win the game Friday.”

With his fifth inning home run, Arnold extended his reached-base streak to 24 games . . . Houston scored six runs in the Sunday contest on just seven hits . . . Burckel was the only Cougars hitter with multiple hits in the game . . . Houston pitching allowed the Pirates just fourteen runs over the entire weekend series

Houston (14-14, 2-1) closes out the current homestand on Tuesday when they play host to Rice for the first game of the 2023 Silver Glove Series . . . First pitch at Schroeder Park will take place at 6:30pm.

Late Heroics Lead Houston to 5-4 Win in 10 Innings

Josh Ekness was on the mound Friday as the Cougars opened conference play

Houston used a rally in both the ninth and tenth innings to rally past No. 8 East Carolina 5-4 in the opening game of conference play on Friday night at Schroeder Park.

Josh Ekness made his first Friday night start on the mound for Houston and was really good against a Pirates offense that can score runs . . . Over 6 2/3 innings, Ekness kept Houston in the game with his power-pitching on full display.

Catcher Anthony Tulimero was the extent of the Houston offense until the late inning comeback . . . Tulimero led off the bottom of the second inning with a home run to left field for the early 1-0 lead . . . A sixth inning one-out walk to Alex Lopez was followed by a two-out Tulimero double to left-center to get Houston to within a run at 3-2.

Justin Murray replaced Ekness on the mound and handled the final 3 2/3 innings of the game without allowing a run and even playing some good defense on the mound, helping his own cause late in the game.

Trailing 4-2, Murray led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single, his only hit in four plate appearances . . . Brandon Burckel (2-for-4) followed with a single of his own . . . Ian McMillan put down a sacrifice bunt to move the tying run to second base with one out . . . Brandon Uhse, in a pinch-hit appearance, grounded out to shortstop, scoring Murray from third base . . . Malachi Lott then sliced an opposite-field double to the wall in left field to tie the game and eventually send it to extra innings.

Lopez led off the bottom of the tenth inning with a double, taking advantage of some sloppy outfield play by East Carolina to alertly wind up on second base . . . Cameron Nickens, the reigning player of the week in The American, then bounced a single between first and second base into right field to allow Lopez to cross the plate as the winning run from second base . . . For Nickens it was his only hit in five plate appearances.

Houston Head Coach Todd Whitting pointed to the tenth inning plate approach by Nickens on a tough night at the plate overall. “Proud of Cam for having a selfless, tough at-bat to win the game,” Whitting said. “A tremendous at-bat against one of best bullpen guys in country.”

Friday night was the first game this season that East Carolina has played a game outside of North Carolina . . . The 5-4 loss was just the Pirates seventh loss of the season in 26 games . . . Murray earned the win, his first of the season, and continues to be impressive on the mound . . . In Murray’s seven relief appearances, he has allowed just a single earned run.

The Cougars (13-13, 1-0) and the Pirates (19-7, 0-1) resume their weekend series on Saturday at Schroeder Park . . . Paul Schmitz will be on the bump for Houston . . . First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.

Houston Homers Seven Times on Sunday, Wins 18-9

Josh Ekness throws the first pitch Sunday at Schroeder Park

Houston reached double-digit runs for the second day in a row on Sunday defeating UT Arlington 18-9 at Schroeder Park to end the weekend overall with a 2-1 record.

Cameron Nickens led off the bottom of the second inning with a home run to give Houston a 1-0 lead.

One inning later, Ian McMillan (4-for-5) led off with a home run of his own, but the Cougars were not done in the frame . . . A one-out single by Malachi Lott was followed by a Zach Arnold single before Alex Lopez made it three-straight singles, this one scoring Lott for a 3-0 lead.

The Mavericks took a 6-3 lead in the top of the fourth inning off of Houston pitching.

The Cougars responded with a four-run frame capped by a home run by Arnold that soared 428 feet and Houston led by a run, 7-6 . . . Nickens then led off the bottom of the fifth inning with his second home run of the game and his fifth of the past week for a 8-6 Houston advantage.

The Mavericks, who scored 15 runs in Friday’s game, would not go away Sunday afternoon.

Drew Bianco was hit by a pitched ball to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning . . . Lott followed with an infield single, his third hit of the game to that point . . . Arnold then with the opposite way with a home run to right field, his second of the game, a three-run shot to give Houston the lead again at 11-9.

Arnold was not done . . . After Lott led off the seventh inning with a single, Arnold launched another home run over the wall in left-center field and Houston had a seven run lead at 16-9.

Brandon Burckel (2-for-4) hit Houston’s seventh home run of the game with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning . . . Brandon Uhse got a pinch-hit opportunity in the same frame and drove in a run to extend the Cougars lead to 18-9.

Lott was 4-for-5 for the second day in a row in the victory . . . Arnold also had four hits in a 4-for-6 performance.

Kyle Ayers and Braden Forsyth handled the final four innings on the mound for Houston and kept the Mavericks from getting back into the game . . . Ayers picked up his first win of the season and is now 1-0 after three innings of quality pitching.

Three different Houston hitters had four hits in the Sunday contest, part of an offensive outburst that saw the team knock out twenty hits

Having evened their record on the year at 12-12, the Cougars are off Monday before playing a midweek game up in Huntsville on Tuesday before returning home to open conference play next weekend against East Carolina . . . First pitch on Tuesday will be at 6:30pm in Huntsville.

Houston, Schmitz Dominate Northwestern 10-2

Paul Schmitz delivers the first pitch of Saturday’s game against Northwestern

After a miserable Friday night performance, the Cougars rebounded on Saturday against the Northwestern Wildcats behind right-hander Paul Schmitz for a 10-2 victory.

Zach Arnold got the scoring started in the bottom of the third inning with a RBI single into left-center for a 1-0 Houston lead.

Cameron Nickens hit his third home run of the week, a two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning to give Houston a 5-0 lead . . . Malachi Lott was 4-for-5 in the game with a RBI in both the fifth and seventh innings.

Schmitz has earned his way into the weekend rotation and his Saturday outing was another shining example of his efficiency and effectiveness as a starter . . . Schmitz took the game into the seventh inning, when the Wildcats scored their only runs of the game, getting two outs before giving way to Owen Woodward.

After the seventh inning stretch, Anthony Tulimero hit a three-run home run over the wall in left-field, a ball that traveled 406 feet and the Cougars led 8-2.

Woodward handled the final 2 1.3 innings of word and earned his second save of the season . . . Schmitz (1-1) earned his first win of the season.

The Cougars close out the homestand on Sunday when they will face Friday’s opponent, UT Arlington . . . A properly rested Josh Ekness will get the start for Houston, his second consecutive Sunday start . . . First pitch at Schroeder Park is scheduled for 1pm.