Category: Post Game

Cougars Fall Late, Wildcats Claim Series

For the second night in a row, free passes and errors in the field allowed Kansas State to claim Saturday’s game, and the series, with a 6-5 win over Houston at Schroeder Park.

Kansas State opened the game with two singles and a one-out double to take a 2-0 lead.

The score remained there until the bottom of the fifth inning when back-to-back walks to Coby DeJesus and pinch-hitter Cameron Nickens got the inning started . . . A one-out walk to Kenneth Jimenez loaded the bases for Justin Murray . . . Murray lined a ball into shallow center field and his two RBI tied the game . . . Harold Coll singled into center field with two outs to plate two more Houston runs and the Cougars led 4-2.

Thomas Lyssy walked to get the bottom of the seventh inning started and Jimenez singled to left-center field to move him to third base . . . Murray then put down the rare sacrifice bunt, but a textbook one at that, up the first base line allowing Lyssy to cross the plate for a 5-2 Houston lead going to the eighth inning.

The Wildcats battled back, taking advantage of free passes and a crucial fielding error on a throw to complete a strikeout that was dropped at first base allowing two more runners to score as Kansas State took a 6-5 lead.

Right-hander Owen Woodward provided three solid innings out of the Houston bullpen, he did not allow a run and struck out four batters as he kept the Cougars in the game over the third, fourth, and fifth innings . . . Alex Solis then pitched a scoreless sixth inning as well.

Houston and Kansas State will conclude their series on Sunday . . . First pitch is scheduled for 1pm at Schroeder Park.

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Wildcats Top Cougars 5-3 to Open Weekend Series

An early Houston lead was erased when four walks and two errors in the sixth inning gave Kansas State most of what they needed in their 5-3 series-opening win at Schroeder Park on Friday night.

Kansas State’s lead off hitter reached base on an error at shortstop on the first pitch of the ballgame by left-hander Antoine Jean . . . The error was wiped off the bases by catcher Jonathan French who threw the runner out trying to steal second base . . . Jean then retired the next ten batters in a row to face the minimum through 3 2/3 innings.

Kenneth Jimenez led off the bottom of the first inning with a single up the middle to get something started . . . Justin Murray followed with a home run over the right field wall, his third home run of the season, and Houston was cooking.

With two outs in the bottom of the third inning Ace Reese hit a solo home run to make it 3-0 . . . That home run was also Reese’s third of the season.

The Wildcats took a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning with the help of four walks and two throwing errors as the Cougars used three pitchers in the frame.

An error on the Houston defense in the top of the seventh inning led to another run and a 5-3 Kansas State lead.

Houston was unable to get a run off of Kansas State pitching after the third inning home run by Reese.

Kansas State scored five runs in the game, but only one of them was earned . . . Cougars pitching compiled twelve strikeouts, Jean led the way with seven and Ryan Dollar added four.

The Cougars and the Wildcats will do it again on Saturday night at Schroeder Park . . . Right-hander Duncan Hunter (2-0) will be on the mound for Houston . . . First pitch is set for 6:30pm.

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Houston Claims Silver Glove Series for Another Year with 4-2 Win

Houston leadoff batter Kenneth Jimenez bats Wednesday at Reckling Park

The Houston Cougars are headed home with the Silver Glove trophy after a 4-2 victory over the Rice Owls on Wednesday night at Reckling Park.

With no score in the top of the third inning, Kenneth Jimenez hit a solo home run, his first of the season, with one out to give Houston the lead.

The score remained 1-0 into the bottom of the fifth inning when Rice tied the game with the help of two walks by Cougars pitching.

After a two-out walk put Justin Murray at first base, Ace Reese drove a low liner toward the base of the wall in left-center field and Murray scored without a throw to give Houston a 2-1 lead on the Reese double . . . Rice went to the bullpen for their fifth pitcher of the game to get out of the frame without further damage.

The Owls leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning dropped a ball into the right field corner for a triple to put the tying run 90 feet away . . . With the infield playing in, a hard infield grounder was snared by third baseman Thomas Lyssy, his throw to first recorded an out and kept the runner on the bag at third base.

A strikeout was sandwiched between two walks to load the bases for Rice and Houston went to the bullpen in favor of Ryan Dollar with two outs . . . Dollar threw three pitches to end the inning with a strikeout and leave the bases loaded with Houston still leading 2-1.

Cary Arbolida (2-for-2) took a pitch off of his body to reach base leading off the top of the eighth inning, which was followed by a walk to Lyssy . . . Coby DeJesus pinch-hit with no one out and singled into left-center field to drive in a run . . . Jacob Schoenvogel walked to load the bases and Rice went to the bullpen once again.

A walk to Murray gave Houston their final run of the night and a 4-1 lead.

The Owls got a run back in the bottom of the eighth inning on an infield ground out with a runner on third base to close the deficit by a run.

The Owls loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning after a leadoff single was followed by two walks before Houston went to the bullpen and Diego Luzardo . . . Luzardo’s second pitch was grounded to second base for a game-ending double play . . . Luzardo earned his first collegiate save for the two-pitch effort . . . Kyle LaCalameto earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the year . . . LaCalameto recorded five outs over the fifth and sixth innings, retiring the side in order in the sixth.

The two teams combined to use sixteen pitchers in the game Wednesday night . . . Cary Arbolida was the only Houston batter with multiple hits in the game as seven different Cougars had base hits, he was also hit-by-pitch twice to reach base four times.

The two teams will meet in thirteen days on April 2 back at Schroeder Park to conclude the Silver Glove Series for this season, but the trophy belongs to the Houston Cougars for another year . . . Houston has outscored Rice 8-3 in the first two games of the series.

Houston is now off for a day before another Big 12 weekend matchup at Schroeder Park . . . The Kansas State Wildcats will be in town playing just their second Conference series of the season, having played an out of Conference opponent last weekend . . . First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 6:30pm.

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Strong Citelli Start Leads Houston Past Rice, 4-1

Cade Citelli threw four scoreless innings against Rice on Tuesday

The Houston Cougars took game one of the 2024 Silver Glove Series with a 4-1 win over the Rice Owls on Tuesday night at Schroeder Park.

Cougars starter Cade Citelli set the tone early as he struck out the side in the opening frame . . . Citellii was effective early and never relented as he threw four scoreless innings and racked up seven strikeouts.

Second baseman Harold Coll got Houston’s first base hit of the game with one out in the bottom of the second inning . . . Tre Jones followed with a single and a walk to Jonathan French loaded the bases, still with only one out . . . Jake Rainess tapped a single into the middle of the infield for a single and one RBI . . . Jacob Schoenvogel then tripled to the wall in the right field corner to clear the bases, though a runner was thrown out at the plate Houston took a 3-0 lead.

Left-hander Chris Stuart took the mound for the fifth inning in relief of Citelli and he allowed just one run over four innings, striking out five Rice batters.

Still 3-0 after the seventh inning stretch, French led off the frame with a walk . . . One later a walk to Schoenvogel put two runners on base for Kenneth Jimenez who doubled to the left field wall scoring French to extend the Houston lead to 4-0.

Justin Murray pitched a scoreless ninth inning, retiring the Owls in order to close out the 4-1 victory and he earned his second save of the season . . . Stuart improved to 2-1 on the year with the win . . . Cougars pitching allowed just two hits in the game.

Houston and Rice continue the Silver Glove Series on Wednesday at Rice . . . The first pitch at Reckling Park is set for 6:30pm.

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Houston Loses Saturday Finale, Drops Series in 10-8 Loss

Houston concluded its first Big 12 road series in Provo on Saturday against BYU

Eight runs by the Houston offense were not enough to overcome a rough outing by the pitching staff on Saturday afternoon as BYU took the series with a 10-8 victory in Provo, Utah.

A leadoff walk in the top of the first inning was to no avail for Houston on Saturday . . . Cary Arbolida led off the top of the second inning with a walk, and Jonathan French punished BYU immediately by driving a ball the opposite way over the right field wall for a 2-0 Houston advantage.

BYU had a rally going in the bottom of the second inning, but a great defensive effort by Jake Rainess from scoring more than one run.

Justin Murray led off the top of the third inning with a single . . . One out later, Harold Coll (3-for-5) followed with a home run to straight away center field and BYU went to the bullpen trailing 4-1.

BYU tied the game in the bottom of the third inning with the help of a solo home run and a two-run home run which forced Houston to the bullpen.

BYU manufactured a run and took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Right-hander Duncan Hunter took the mound for the fifth and sixth innings and delivered two scoreless frames to keep Houston within shouting distance . . . Hunter struck out three BYU batters and allowed just one base hit.

After Houston went to the bullpen to start the bottom of the seventh inning, BYU added another three runs to extend their lead to 8-4.

Batting with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning, Coll doubled off the wall in left-center field to clear the bases and cut the deficit to a run, 8-7 . . . Coll had five RBI in the game.

But BYU responded with two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to push their lead to 10-7.

A Jacob Schoenvogel double to the wall in left-center field drove home Alex Lopez but the two-out rally ended there as Houston fell 10-8 to drop the series.

Houston returns home Saturday and will have two days off before two midweek games with Rice . . . The two teams will open the Silver Glove Series on Tuesday night at Schroeder Park at 6:30pm . . . The two teams will then play again on Wednesday at Reckling Park.

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BYU Ends Houston’s Streak, Evens Series with 4-2 Rally Late

Houston and BYU played the second game of their series Friday in Provo, UT

A dominant outing by starter Jaxon Jelkin was not enough to keep Houston perfect in Big 12 Conference play as BYU rallied late to claim a 4-2 win Friday night in Provo, Utah.

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning, Harold Coll doubled to the wall in left-center field . . . With two outs in the inning, catcher Jonathan French (2-for-3) doubled to the wall in right-center field to bring Coll across the plate as the tying run.

After allowing a single run in the first inning, Jelkin settled in and pitched six complete innings . . . Jelkin racked up 13 strikeouts of the 18 outs he recorded, but he was out of the game by the time this one was decided.

Alex Solis pitched a scoreless seventeen inning for Houston, but with the game still tied in the bottom of the eighth inning, the game got away from the bullpen and BYU pushed across three runs to take a 4-1 lead.

Houston got a run back in the top of the ninth inning but the rally ended with two runners on base . . . BYU evened the series with the 4-2 victory setting up a decisive rubber match with the series on the line.

Freshman Conner Bennett made a pinch hit appearance in the top of the ninth inning and singled through the left side for his first collegiate base hit . . . The loss snapped Houston’s six gsame win streak, their second such streak of the season.

Houston and BYU conclude their weekend series on Saturday in Provo with first pitch scheduled for 12:30pm CT . . . Left-hander Antoine Jean (2-1, 0.95 ERA) will be on the mound for Houston, with his team trying to win their thirteenth straight series.

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Houston Opens First Big 12 Road Series with 9-2 Rout of BYU

Houston opened its first Big 12 road series on Thursday in Provo against BYU

Houston hit the road for the first time this season to open Big 12 play in Provo, Utah against BYU and took a 9-2 victory to remain undefeated in conference play.

After two quick outs in the top of the first inning, Justin Murray (3-for-5) got a two-out rally started with a single into left field . . . Tre Jones (2-for-5) followed with a double to right-center field scoring Murray all the way from first base . . . Cary Arbolida kept the inning alive with an infield single that rolled about 60 feet from the plate toward third base and stopped on the infield grass . . . Ace Reese then cleared the bases with a triple off the wall in center field and Houston had a 3-0 first inning lead.

BYU cut into the deficit with a two-run inning of their own in the bottom of the first inning to trail by just one run.

Jake Rainess hammered the first pitch of the second inning over the left field wall and Houston led by two, 4-2.

Right-hander Paul Schmitz took the mound with one out in the bottom of the third inning with runners on the corners . . . Schmitz struck out the first two batters he faced to end the jam . . . Schmitz struck out the first batter he faced in the fourth inning, his third straight strikeout, and retired the next two batters to make it five out in a row to start his outing.

Alex Lopez singled to center field to lead off the top of the fifth inning . . . Murray followed with a single to right field, his third hit of the game . . . Jones then bunted for a single to load the bases and BYU went to the bullpen . . . Walks to Arbolida and Reese plated two more Houston runs before BYU went to the bullpen for the second time in the inning.

Harold Coll (2-for-4) then delivered a two-run RBI double to the wall in center field and the four run inning gave Houston an 8-2 lead.

Houston added another run in the top of the sixth inning when a wild pitch allowed Jonathan French to score from third base.

Schmitz was relieved with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning . . . Left-hander Chris Stuart took the mound with runners on the corners and one out and eventually worked around the traffic without allowing a run . . . Stuart also pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning and without allowing BYU any late momentum.

Diego Luzardo took the mound for the ninth inning and worked a scoreless frame to end the game . . . The 9-2 victory gave Schmitz his first win of the season, he is now 1-0 after three innings of work on Thursday night . . . Kyle LaCalameto made the start for Houston and pitched 2 1/3 innings.

“Great Win,” said head coach Todd Whitting after the game.  “We played well in areas of the game to get a solid first road win of the season.”

“I thought the team played tough in cold conditions. I’m proud of the effort and enthusiasm we played with for all nine innings,” Whitting said.

Houston and BYU continue their series with a middle game on Friday . . . Jaxon Jelkin will be on the mound for Houston when the game gets underway at 7pm CT.

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Houston Sweeps Baylor to Open Big 12 Slate

Duncan Hunter pitched six innings strong innings Sunday against Baylor

Houston put an exclamation point on opening weekend in Big 12 play with a three-game sweep of Baylor after a 3-2 victory on Sunday at Schroeder Park.

Houston starter Duncan Howard was perfect through the first three innings with six ground outs.

The game was still scoreless in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jonathan French walked with one out . . . French then moved up a base on a wild pitch . . . Alex Lopez doubled down the first base line to score French from second and Houston scored the first run of the ballgame and took a 1-0 lead.

The Bears got the run right back with the aid of a single and a triple to tie the game.

With the game still tied in the bottom of the sixth inning, Cameron Nickens got his first at-bat in the game after the third inning ejection of Houston designated hitter Kenneth Jimenez . . . Nickens drove a ball through the right side for a single against a shift playing for him to hit the ball up the middle . . . Cary Arbolida then hit a no-doubter over the wall in left-center field at the 375 marker for a two-run home run and a 3-1 Houston lead.

Chris Stuart took the mound to start the seventh inning and retired the side in order . . . Baylor plated a run in the top of the eighth inning and Ryan Dollar entered the game and retired both batters he faced before Michael Benzor entered the game to record the final out of the inning with the Cougars holding a one run lead.

Hunter struck out five and did not walk any batters in his six innings where he allowed just the one earned run.

Murray took the mound for the ninth inning and worked around a one out single to earn his first save of the season . . . Murray induced two swinging strikeouts, including the final out of the ball game to cement the victory.

“I was throwing strikes early, that was kind of the goal coming into the game,” said Hunter after the win, “just pound the zone with all my pitches and get ahead and let them get themselves out.”

Hunter also gave credit to his defense behind him, “Shout out to my team for making all the plays behind me, I don’t think I had a strikeout until the fourth or fifth inning, all of them were making plays behind me.”

In fact Hunter did not pick up his first strikeout until the fifth inning when he struck out two, and then he struck out the side in his sixth and final inning . . . Eight of Hunter’s first twelve recorded outs were on ground outs.

Head coach Todd Whitting acknowledged the work on the mound this weekend by the entire team. 

“I think the story of the weekend was our pitching staff,” said Whitting. “Coach Kenny, that staff, has done a good job with those pitchers minimizing opportunities for others to score. We were really good out of the bullpen this weekend.”

Whitting added, “We had a 4-0 week, I talk to the team all the time about going week to week, we always want to go 4-0 or 3-1 and we accomplished that this week.”

Houston (11-4, 3-0) is next in action on Thursday when they open their first road trip of the season at BYU (7-7, 1-2) riding a five-game win streak . . .The Cougars will not play a midweek this week as they begin their weekend series on a Thursday instead of a Friday.

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Houston Takes Baylor Series with Dominant Jean Outing, 8-0 Shutout

Antoine Jean struck out 11 against Baylor on Saturday night

Houston pitched a shutout on Saturday night behind a dominant outing by Antoine Jean to take their opening series in the Big 12 against Baylor 8-0 at Schroeder Park.

Jean set a tone early when he struck out two in the opening frame and erased a leadoff walk with pick off-caught stealing to face the minimum.

In Houston’s half of the first inning, Kenneth Jimenez was hit by a pitch to reach base with one out . . . Justin Murray (3-for-4) doubled to the wall in right-center field to score Jimenez from first base for a 1-0 lead.

Still leading by a run in the bottom of the third inning, Jonathan French took a leadoff walk which was followed by a single into right field by Alex Lopez . . . One out later a walk to Murray loaded the bases for Tre Jones . . . Jones hit a sacrifice fly ball to left field to score French making the score 2-0.

Ace Reese walked to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning . . . With one out in the inning, Jacob Schoenvogel, making his first start for Houston this season, hit a two-run home run over the right field wall to extend the Cougars lead to 4-0 . . . The home run was the first hit by Houston in Big 12 play and also came against Scheonvogel’s former team for whom he played for two seasons.

Jean took the ballgame into the top of the sixth inning and departed with one out and two runners on base . . . Of the sixteen outs he recorded on Saturday, Jean struck out eleven and walked two batters without allowing a run.

Paul Schmitz relieved Jean and retired the first two batters he faced to get out of the jam . . . Schmitz induced a pop-up to his shortstop and then ended the frame with a swinging strikeout to preserve the four run lead . . . Schmitz set down the Bears in order in the top of the seventh inning . . . Schmitz, making just his second appearance of the week, did not allow a hit over 1 2/3 innings and struck out one.

After the seventh inning stretch, French led off with a home run to right-center field near the video board to give Houston a 5-0 lead.

The Houston offense still had work to do.

A walk and a hit by pitch preceded a Murray RBI single . . . Two outs later Harold Coll lined a single into right-center field to plate two more Cougars and the lead was 8-0 going to the top of the eighth inning.

Alex Solis took the mound in the eighth inning and retired the side in order, striking out two Baylor batters . . . In the top of the ninth inning, Solis worked around a one-out walk to retire the side and secure the shutout.

The shutout was the second of the young season for Houston pitching . . . The Cougars allowed just five hits to Baylor, but none in the final three innings . . . Left-hander Jean improved to 2-1 with the series-clinching victory . . . The Cougars continue to impress with the strikeout to walk ratio, on Saturday night the staff struck out fifteen batters and walked just three.

The Houston offense only collected seven hits in the game, three of them by Murray, including two doubles.

Houston (10-4, 2-0) and Baylor (4-10, 0-2) conclude their conference opening weekend series on Sunday . . . Duncan Howard will be on the mound for the Cougars as they go for the sweep having already taken the series . . . First pitch at Schroeder Park is scheduled for 1pm.

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Houston Opens Big 12 Era with 4-3 Win Over Baylor

Jaxon Jelkin delivers the first pitch of the Big 12 at Schroeder Park on Friday night

A new era got underway at exactly 6:35pm at Houston’s Schroeder Park on Friday night when the first pitch by Jaxon Jelkin against Baylor’s Ty Johnson got Big 12 play underway in Houston for the first time.

After the Cougars fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning, Alex Lopez slashed a one-out opposite field single between third base and shortstop for Houston’s first base hit as members of the Big 12.

Still 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Houston accomplished a few other firsts . . . Justin Murray (2-for-2) walked with one out and wound up on second base after a wild pitch . . . A two out walk to Kenneth Jiminez kept the inning alive.

Tuesday night hero Ace Reese dropped a single into left field going the opposite way scoring Murray from second base to tie the game . . . After a walk to Harold Coll loaded the bases, Jake Rainess singled into left field plating two and giving the Cougars a 3-1 lead going to the fifth inning.

Baylor tied the game in the top of the fifth inning, but Houston wasted no time reclaiming the lead.

Murray got things started with a two-out single before a wild pitch and an attempted pick-off throw at second base that rolled into center field landed him at third base . . . Tre Jones singled up the middle for his first hit and RBI in the Big 12 to give Houston a 4-3 lead.

Kyle LaCalameto took the mound in relief of Jaxon Jelkin with one out in the top of the fifth inning . . . LaCalameto was dominant out of the bullpen and his 3 2/3 innings pitched was his longest outing of the season . . . LaCalameto faced 13 batters and retired 11 of them and allowed just one hit, struck out four and did not walk any batters on 53 total pitches (he did hit a batter with a pitch).

Left-hander Jose Torrealba took the mound in the top of the ninth to protect the one-run lead, and he retired all three batters he faced, getting the final out on a strikeout looking to close out the victory . . . It was the second save of the season for Torrealba.

LaCalameto earned the win, his first of the season, he is now 1-0 . . . Asked about getting the first Houston win in the Big 12, he grinned and said, “Feels great, feels great.”

“Fastball command was there, basically all my pitches were there. I didn’t throw many curveballs but the slider was working very well today,” LaCalameto said. “The last ten months have been pretty hard, but they’ve been good, and I’ve clearly come back a little bit better, throwing a little bit harder. I think that whole ten months of rehab really helped me out.”

“I’m proud of LaCalameto,” said head coach Todd Whitting after the game. “He had a tough break having surgery last year, but he has grinded his way back to being one of the top lefties in the country.”

Houston improves to 9-4 on the year and has won three games in a row now . . . The Cougars collected eight base hits in the game, Murray was the only batter with multiple hits

The Cougars and the Bears continue their series on Saturday at Schroeder Park . . . Antoine Jean (1-1) will be on the mound for Houston, first pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.

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