Category: Post Game

Reese Walks Cougars Off Against Sam Houston in the 9th

Ace Reese bats in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday against Sam Houston

Two half innings were the story Tuesday night as Houston used their last time at-bat to walk off Sam Houston 2-1 at Schroeder Park for their second straight win and the first win in the Don Sanders Cup series this season.

Right-hander Dan Wright made his third straight midweek start for the Cougars . . . Wright made one mistake in his 1 2/3 innings pitched and it resulted in a leadoff home run in the top of the second inning, it was the only run Wright allowed and the only run for the Bearkats in the game . . . Wright recorded two more outs before Chris Stuart took the mound in relief.

Stuart then proceeded to keep Sam Houston at bay over the next four innings . . . The Bearkats only collected one hit over those four innings and Stuart punched out eight Sam Houston batters.

Paul Schmitz then tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings ahead of a scoreless frame by Michael Benzor.

Cade Citelli took the mound for the top of the ninth inning trying to keep the deficit at one run . . . Citelli was successful as he struck out all three batters he faced to set up the potential for a Cougars rally in the bottom of the inning.

Tre Jones led off the bottom of the ninth inning by working a seven pitch walk and Sam Houston made a pitching change, bringing in former Cougar Malachi Lott . . . Pinch-hitter Jacob Schoenvogel put down what would have been a sacrifice bunt, the ball went into the ground and bounced up to Sam Houston’s catcher, Walker Janek . . . Having fielded the ball cleanly, Janek fired to second base to attempt to get lead runner Jones on a force play, but the throw went into center field allowing Jones to move up to third base as the potential tying run . . .  Schoenvogel stole second base to put both base runners in scoring position with no outs.

Ace Reese faced an 0-2 count with one out when he drove a ball into right-center field that reached the wall . . . Jones scored easily on a slog job to the plate as the Bearkats attempted to keep the winning run from scoring . . . Schoenvogel dove head-first across home plate as the winning run as the ball hit Janek’s mitt but got away for a 2-1 Houston victory.

Houston claimed game one of the Don Sanders Cup and will have two chances to take the Cup home once again . . . The Cougars travel to Huntsville on April 9 and then the two teams will play their annual neutral site game down in Sugar Land at Constellation Field on May 14.

Citelli earned the win, his first of the season, with his scoreless ninth inning pitched.

Houston has a couple of days off before opening Big 12 play this weekend against Baylor . . . The Cougars will welcome the Bears for a weekend set with game one scheduled to get underway at 6:30pm at Schroeder Park as a new era begins.

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Houston Outlasts Louisiana in 11 Innings to Close Out Astros Classic

It took eleven long innings Sunday night, but Houston closed out the Astros Foundation College Classic with a 13-10 win over Louisiana in the first hour of Monday morning at Minute Maid Park.

Houston got the first three batters on base to start the second inning . . . A fielder’s choice erased one of the runners, but Cameron Nickens stole second base before moving to third base on a wild pitch . . . Harold Coll followed with a walk and stole second base to put two runners in scoring position . . . Jonathan French (2-for-4) then drove a ball the opposite way over the right field wall for a three-run home run.

The Ragin’ Cajuns got a run back in the bottom of the second inning when two errors on one stolen base attempt led to a runner scoring all the way from first base.

Still 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Louisiana got a leadoff home run to get within a run.

The Cougars got a run back in the top of the fifth inning when Ace Reese tripled into the right field corner . . . Justin Murray (4-for-6) followed with his second double of the game, this one a low liner to the right field wall, plating Reese.

Louisiana struck for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a two-run lead into the seventh inning.

Coby DeJesus led off the top of the seventh inning with a walk . . . One out later, pinch-hitter Alex Lopez reached base on a single . . . After the runners moved up a base on a balk, Reese walked to load the bases . . . Murray lined his third double of the game into right-center field that rolled to the warning track to clear the bases and give Houston a 7-6 lead.

Coll reached base for the third time in the game when he walked to lead off the top of the eighth inning . . . Coll then stole second base, his third stolen base of the game, which set a new record for stolen bases in a single game at the Astros Foundation College Classic.

French then lined a single which deflected off of the pitcher and into shallow right-center field to plate Coll and give the Cougars an 8-7 lead on his fourth RBI of the game . . . Despite a Lopez double off the scoreboard under the Crawford Boxes, the Cougars could not add any extra runs.

Down to their final out in the game, Louisiana scratched across a run in the bottom of the ninth inning and threatened for more before Murray induced a groundout to Lopez third base.

After a scoreless tenth inning for both teams, Houston put together a five-run top of the eleventh inning . . . Murray’s fourth hit of the game brought home the first run, it was his fifth RBI in the game . . . That was followed by RBI singles by both Trey Jones and Cary Arbolida . . . Coby DeJesus delivered the dagger, with a two-run single to put Houston in front by five, 13-8.

The Ragin’ Cajuns would get two in the bottom of the eleventh on a two-run home run, but left-handed reliever Tim Williamson entered the game and struck out the side to end the game . . . Williamson earned the Save, his first of the season, while Diego Luzardo was the winner, his first of the season, for his scoreless inning in which he struck out two Louisiana batters.

The 13-10 victory ended Houston’s four game losing skid.

Houston used ten pitchers in the game, which ran just two minutes shy of four and a half hours . . . The Cougars staff compiled sixteen strikeouts and walked only four batters in eleven innings as the strikeout to walk ratio continues to be an interesting metric to watch . . . Sunday starter Duncan Howard allowed just two runs over four innings and was relieved by Owen Woodward at the start of the fifth inning.

Murray and French accounted for six of the thirteen Houston base hits and were the only two Cougars with multiple hits in the game.

Houston, which improved to 7-4 with the win, is off Monday and will return to action on Tuesday night when they welcome Sam Houston to town for the Cougars only midweek game of the week . . . Things get underway against the Bearkats at 6:30pm.

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Houston Falls to Vanderbilt 3-1 Saturday at Astros Classic

Houston always had a chance against No. 11 Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon at Minute Maid Park, but Commodores pitchers combined to limit the Cougars to five hits and one run in a 3-1 defeat.

Houston starter Antoine Jean took the game into the fourth inning before departing with two outs in favor of second-year right-hander Paul Schmitz trailing 1-0 . . . Jean allowed just one run in the outing and only threw 44 pitches . . . Schmitz was making his first appearance of the season, and not unexpectedly he was a bit wild, walking three in 2/3 of an inning and leading to a Vanderbilt run.

Cameron Nickens finally got the Cougars on the board with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning when he homered into the Crawford Boxes to cut the Vanderbilt lead in half 2-1.

The Commodores wasted no time getting the run right back in the top of the sixth inning to regain a two-run lead.

Vanderbilt went to the bullpen with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning with Houston threatening . . . A strikeout ended the threat, but the Cougars offense still had its chances.

Coll (2-for-4) led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double off the left field wall and he would advance to third base on a fly out to right field by Nickens . . . But Coll was stranded at third base when the inning ended . . . Coll was one of only four Houston batters with a base hit in the game and the only batter with multiple hits . . . Commodore pitchers struck out eleven Houston batters and walked just two.

Houston pitching was quite good by any measure against a highly ranked team from the SEC . . . Cougar pitchers struck out six Commodores batters and while they walked four total batters, three of those belonged to Schmitz, who can be excused . . . Kyle LaCalameto and Alex Solis pitched the final 4 2/3 innings of the game, going 2 2/3 and 2 innings, respectively and neither allowed a walk . . . Solis struck out three Vanderbilt batters in his two scoreless frames.

The Cougars were playing their second game of the Astros Foundation College Classic and the loss Saturday was their fourth in a row.

Houston (6-4) will close out the weekend on Sunday night against Louisiana at Minute Maid Park . . . First pitch is scheduled for 7pm, but could be later depending on the earlier games . . . When the game does get underway, right-hander Duncan Howard will be on the mound trying to pitch the Cougars into the win column for the only time this weekend.

(The ranking used in this poll are from College Baseball Nation)

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Cougars Get Walked-Off by Bobcats in 10 at Astros Classic

Two chances to close out a day one victory in the Astros Foundation College Classic eluded the Houston Cougars Friday at Minute Maid Park as they dropped the first game of the weekend 8-7 to Texas State in ten innings.

Houston grabbed an early lead when Jake Rainess (2-for-5) got the first inning started Friday morning with a leadoff single . . . Justin Murray followed with a double to the wall in right-center field . . . Tre Jones (2-for-5) singled home Rainess and Murray for a quick 2-0 Cougars advantage.

The Cougars would not score another run until the eighth inning.

As the final hour of morning gave way to a sunny afternoon Houston was holding onto a 2-0 lead.

Texas State finally got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the Houston lead in half . . . Cougars starter Jaxon Jelkin took the game into the sixth inning, departing with one out and by the time the inning was over, the Bobcats held a 3-2 lead.

Texas State took a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning and added two runs in the seventh inning for a three-run lead heading to the eighth inning.

Jones hit a solo home run into the right field seats to lead off the top of the eighth inning . . . After loading the bases via three consecutive walks by Texas State pitchers, an Alex Lopez sacrifice fly RBI preceded Cameron Nickens punching a two-run single through the left side of the infield and the Cougars took a 6-5 lead.

The Bobcats tied the game at six with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning which eventually sent the game into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth inning, Nickens brought home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly ball to score Anthony Tulimero.

Texas State responded in the bottom of the tenth inning and eventually a two-run home run into the Crawford Boxes dealt the Cougars an 8-7 defeat in walk-off fashion.

Jelkin’s eight strikeouts was a career high for the right-hander and he only walked one Bobcat batter in his 5 1/3 innings pitched . . . Left-handed reliever Jose Torrealba had a nice rebound effort after a tough outing on Tuesday night against UTSA throwing a scoreless inning with striking out one . . . Overall, Cougars pitching compiled thirteen strikeouts and walked just three batters . . . Rainess and Jones were the only Cougars with multiple hits in the Friday contest and they accounted for four of the nine Houston hits.

The Cougars are back to work again early on Saturday when they will face No. 11 Vanderbilt at 11am at Minute Maid Park . . . Left-hander Antoine Jean will get the start against one of the great SEC teams atop all national rankings.

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UTSA Rallies, Takes Midweek From Houston 8-7

Dan Wright got the midweek start against UTSA Tuesday

Houston dropped its second straight game on Tuesday afternoon as UTSA came to town and took an 8-7 midweek victory.

Dan Wright made the midweek start for the second consecutive week, and as he did last Tuesday against Prairie View A&M, he threw two scoreless frames to open the game and gave way to the bullpen.

A two-out walk put Ace Reese on first base in the bottom of the second inning . . . Harold Coll hit a laser to straight away center field that just cleared the wall and gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead.

The lead did not last long as the Roadrunners quickly tied the game on a two-run home run with one out in the top of the third inning.

Jake Rainess led off the bottom of the third inning with a solid single to left field and he moved to second base on a balk . . . Alex Lopez was then walked for the second time in as many trips to the plate . . . Justin Murray loaded the bases with no one out when he was hit by a pitch.

One out later, Anthony Tulimero grounded to the third baseman who stepped on third for one out but his throw to first was late allowing Rainess to be the go ahead run when he crossed the plate . . . A wild pitch moved Murray to third base and Tulimero to second base . . . A balk plated the second run of the inning and Houston once again led by two, 4-2, going to the fourth inning.

Rainess doubled off the wall in left-center field to get the bottom of the fifth inning started . . . Lopez singled into right-center field and while Rainess stopped at third base, the high throw to the plate allowed Lopez to advance to second base . . . Murray then picked up an RBI on a groundout to third base.

Lopez was at second base when Tre Jones (2-for-4) put down a bunt in the direction of third base, about 20-25 feet away from the plate . . . As the UTSA pitcher ran toward the ball near the third base line, Jones was flying down the line and beat the throw to first base for a single . . . With two runners in scoring position Ace Reese drove a single into right field to score both runners and extend the Houston lead to 7-2.

Three consecutive UTSA solo home runs in the top of the sixth inning quickly got the Roadrunners back into the game and they trailed only 7-5 . . . Owen Woodward entered the game and retired the first three batters he faced to keep the Cougars in the lead by two runs.

UTSA mounted a two-out rally in the top of the seventh inning and eventually took a 8-7 lead after back-to-back three-run innings.

The Houston offense was held in check over the final four frames . . . The Cougars were limited to seven hits in the game, with Rainess and Jones the only two Houston batters with multiple hits, they each had two . . . Murray pitched the final 2 1/3 innings and did not allow a run, giving his offense a chance to rally.

Houston is now 6-2 and has a couple of days off before they open play this Friday in The Astros Foundation College Classic at Minute Maid Park . . . The Cougars will first face Texas State on Friday morning, first pitch is set for 11am.

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Houston Drops Sunday Finale to St. John’s

Justin Murray bats against St. John’s on Sunday afternoon at Schroeder Park

A promising start was not enough for Houston on Sunday afternoon at Schroeder Park as they lost their first game of the season 11-6 to St. John’s.

With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Justin Murray hit a solo home run over the wall in left field . . . Tre Jones then worked a full count before being walked to reach base . . . Catcher Anthony Tulimero singled which moved Jones to third base . . . Ace Reese then delivered an RBI single up the middle on the shortstop side of second base into center field to score Jones for a 2-0 Cougars lead.

Houston starter Duncan Howard retired the first eight batters he faced before a two-out single in the top of the third inning ended the string, though Howard would get out of the inning with no damage.

Murray singled on the infield to lead off the bottom of the third inning and then stole second base . . . Jones followed with a single into right field to score Murray . . . Jones proceeded to steal second base before advancing on a sacrifice fly ball to the left field warning track off the bat of Anthony Tulimero . . . Moments later the speedy Jones scored on a wild pitch to give Houston a 4-0 lead.

Things unraveled on Howard in the top of the fourth inning, he was not hit hard, but some soft contact gave the Red Storm several baserunners and before the frame was done, Chris Stuart had taken the mound in relief of Howard and the game was tied at four.

A three run eighth inning for the Red Storm provided them a six run lead, 11-5.

Harold Coll in the sixth inning and Coby DeJesus in the eighth inning each provided RBI singles and that was the extent of the run scoring for the Cougars on Sunday . . . After leading 4-0 in the third inning, the Cougars were outscored 11-2 over the final six innings.

Houston used eight pitchers in the game and allowed 17 base hits to a hungry St. John’s offense . . . The Cougars staff allowed three walks, two of them intentional, and struck out nine Red Storm batters.

Houston (6-1) is off on Monday and will welcome UTSA to Schroeder Park on Tuesday afternoon for their only midweek game this week . . . The Cougars and the Roadrunners will get underway at 3pm on Tuesday.

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Houston Claims Series Against St. John’s Led By Jean, Jones

Tre Jones bats against St. John’s on Saturday night at Schroeder Park

Houston took the middle game of the weekend series from St. John’s on Saturday night at Schroeder Park 7-2 to notch the series win and open the season 6-0.

Left-hander Antoine Jean (1-0) took the mound for his second straight Saturday night and led the way for the Cougars.

Tre Jones (3-for-3) led off the bottom of the second inning with a home run blast to center field, a ball that landed to the left of the batter’s eye and the television camera tower and traveled 407 feet.

Still leading 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Anthony Tulimero walked to lead off the frame . . . Justin Murray singled on the infield to put two runners on base with no outs . . . For Murray, the single extended his hitting streak to 21 straight games . . . Jones then slapped a single the opposite way into left field to score Tulimero and move Murray to third base . . . Cameron Nickens then smashed a single into left field to plate Murray and Houston had a 3-0 advantage.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, Jonathan French singled through the right side to reach base . . . Ace Reese singled to right-center field in a pinch-hitting appearance to put two runners on base . . . Shortstop Jake Rainess followed with a one out RBI single to center field.

Still leading 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Murray was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame . . . Jones then singled to left field for his third hit of the game . . . A walk to Nickens loaded the bases with no outs and the Red Storm went to the bullpen . . . Alex Lopez (2-for-3) was hit by a pitch after the pitching change to bring home the fifth run for Houston . . . Harold Coll lifted a sacrifice fly ball to deep right field and the RBI extended the Cougars lead to 6-0.

Jean pitched out of a couple of jams, but also faced the minimum of three batters in three of his six innings pitched on his way to his first win of the season . . . Jean allowed just four hits in six scoreless innings to go with six strikeouts.

Graysen Drezek relieved Jean to start the top of the seventh inning . . . A batter hit by a pitch and a fielding error led to two runs for St. John’s heading to the seventh inning stretch . . . Left-hander Jose Torrealba was next out of the bullpen for Houston and pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth inning retiring all six batters he faced, striking out three of them.

With runners on second and third base with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Reese was intentionally walked to load the bases, a significant show of respect for the freshman . . . Rainess was then hit by a pitch to allow the final Houston run of the night to cross the plate.

Jones reached base in all four trips to the plate and following Saturday’s win, head coach Todd Whitting reiterated what he said on opening weekend about Jones, “Tre has emerged as a force in the four hole. He can get you with speed and power.”

Whitting was also pleased with his pitching trio on Saturday night, “Another great performance by the pitching staff,” he said. “Jean with a quality start, pounded the zone. Drezek overcame an error to get out of a jam, proud of him for working through that. And Torrealba is a strike-throwing machine out of the pen again.”

The Cougars and the Red Storm close out the weekend with a series finale on Sunday at Schroeder Park . . . The game is scheduled to get underway at 1pm.

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Cougars Score Early, Often in 12-6 Win Over St. John’s

Jaxon Jelkin made his second start of the season against St. John’s on Friday night.

The Houston Cougars built an early lead and continually added to it on Friday night at Schroeder Park as they welcomed the St. John’s Red Storm to town for a weekend set with a 12-6 win.

Jaxon Jelkin gave up a leadoff single was the first of two singles in the frame, but three strikeouts in the same frame made the singles a moot point . . . Jelkin would then retire twelve straight batters before an infield single in the top of the fifth inning would break up the string.

Shotstop Jake Rainess led off the Cougars half of the first inning with a walk before stealing second base . . . Alex Lopez then walked . . . Justin Murray lined a single into center field to plate Rainess . . . Tre Jones (2-for-4) then tripled to the wall in the right field corner driving in two more Houston runs . . . With Jones on third base, Tulimero grounded out on the infield but the RBI made it 4-0 Houston going to the second inning.

Ace Reese drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the third inning . . . Reese stole second base, his first collegiate stolen base, and then advanced to third base on a wild pitch . . . Harold Coll followed with a walk on a pitch clock violation, awarding him first base on ball four . . . Cameron Nickens then hit a ball to the third baseman that was fielded cleanly but the throw to first base was in the ground and the error allowed Reese to be the fifth run for the Cougars.

Leading 5-0, Jelkin had things unravel on him when a weakly hit infield single ended his streak of twelves straight batters retired . . . A bases loaded double cut the Cougars lead to 5-2 and Houston went to the bullpen with runners on first and second base . . . Owen Woodward’s first pitch was bounced over the mound to second base where Coll fielded the ball, stepped on second base, and fired to first base to complete the inning-ending one pitch double play.

St. John’s went to the bullpen to open the bottom of the fifth inning . . . A single, a walk, and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with no outs . . . Thomas Lyssy hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Anthony Tulimero , , , Rainess was then hit by a pitch to load the bases once again, this time with two outs . . . Kenneth Jiminez got his first at-bat of the game as a pinch hitter and lined a single up the middle, fielded in deep short and the throw to first base was late while two runners crossed the plate.

After Rainess and Jiminez stole third base and second base respectively, Murray hit a deep fly to right field that cleared the wall for a three-run blast and an 11-2 Houston lead.

Reese led off the bottom of the sixth inning by clobbering a 2-1 pitch over the wall in right-center field that measured 436 feet when it landed.

Freshman Diego Luzardo entered the game in the top of the eighth inning, inheriting runners at second and third base with no outs . . . Luzardo induced a liner to Rainess at shortstop, confusing the runners . . . Rainess fired to first base for one out, and Murray alertly threw back to Rainess at second base to catch a retreating runner for an inning-ending double play.

Two runs for the Red Storm in the top of the ninth inning were not enough to make the game close again as Luzardo closed things out and secured the 12-6 win and pushing the Cougars to 5-0 to start the season . . . Woodward (1-0) earned the win for his work in the middle innings.

“Jelkin and Woodward were outstanding tonight,” head coach Todd Whitting said after the win. “Both had great command of multiple pitches and executed at big moments to get us back in the dugout.”

Whitting added, “The offense was stellar tonight. I thought we did a great job of pressure offense on the bases. We scored with team at-bats and power from start to finish.”

Murray is off to a great start to open 2024, he was 4-for-5 with four RBI on Friday night and is now batting .474 . . . Reese was 2-for-3 in the game and is batting .429.

Houston and St. John’s will play the middle game of the series on Saturday at Schroeder Park with first pitch scheduled for 6:30pm.

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Houston Shuts Out Binghamton, Completes Opening Weekend Sweep

Duncan Howard got the start Sunday against Binghamton at Schroeder Park

The Houston Cougars completed a sweep of the Binghamton Bearcats on Sunday at Schroeder Park as four pitchers combined on a 7-0 shutout to open the season 3-0.

Shortstop Jake Rainess, batting leadoff for the third straight game, led off the bottom of the first inning getting hit by a pitch . . . After stealing second base, a wild pitch put Rainess at third base with one out . . . Justin Murray then powered a double to the wall in right-center field to extend his hitting streak to eighteen games and giving the Cougars an early 1-0 lead.

Cary Arbolida led off the bottom of the third inning with a walk and advanced to second base on a balk . . . With two outs, Murray drove a sharp single to left field, scoring Arbolida and giving Houston a 2-0 with his second RBI of the game.

Still leading by two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Alex Lopez hit a towering one-out home run that just cleared the wall in right field . . . One out later, Tre Jones scorched a ball on the ground toward the Bearcats shortstop and reached base on a fielding error.

Freshman Ace Reese stepped to the plate with two outs for his first at-bat of the game in a pinch hit appearance . . . Reese hammered the first pitch he saw over the wall in right-center field, the two-run home run traveled 395 feet, his first collegiate home run.

Cameron Nickens followed with a single into right field . . . Harold Coll then delivered the third Houston home run of the inning, this one to left field, and pushed the Cougars lead to 7-0 . . . The Cougars sent ten batters to the plate and scored five runs in the inning.

Right-hander Duncan Howard got the start on the mound for the Cougars and was impressive over five innings . . . Howard allowed only three hits and struck out six Bearcats batters while walking none . . . In fact, the Houston staff did not allow a walk in the game, bookending the weekend in games without allowing a walk.

Brendan O’Donnell pitched the sixth and seventh innings and retired all six batters he faced, striking out two . . . Cade Citelli then joined O’Donnell in making their 2024 debuts, pitching a scoreless inning of his own . . . Freshman Diego Luzardo entered the game in the top of the ninth inning and promptly struck out all three batters he faced to close out the 7-0 win and the opening weekend sweep.

Howard’s five inning outing was the longest of the weekend, where the two previous starters pitched just four innings.

“Great effort by Coach Kenny’s staff this weekend,” head coach Todd Whitting said after the game. “Two games allowing no walks and a shutout in game three was a tremendous start for us.”

“I thought we performed well all weekend in pressure situations by making plays or executing pitches,” Whitting added.

The Cougars are off for a day before playing host to Prairie View A&M on Tuesday for Houston’s only midweek game next week . . . First pitch at Schroeder Park on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:30pm.

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Cougars Plate Eight Again, Open Season 2-0

Antoine Jean started against Binghamton Saturday afternoon at Schroeder Park

With temperatures in the upper 40s most of the afternoon, the Houston Cougars kept warm by running the bases in an 8-2 victory over the Binghamton Bearcats on Saturday at Schroeder Park.

Binghamton took a 1-0 in the second inning after a leadoff triple led to a run on a groundout by the next batter in the frame.

Second baseman Harold Coll led off the bottom of the third inning with a double to the left field wall and he advanced to third base on a wild pitch . . . Ace Reese then tied the game at one with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Justin Murray lined a double into left field . . . Tre Jones followed with a RBI single into right-center field, Jones then proceeded to steal second and third base before being thrown out at home plate on a fielder’s choice . . . With Cameron Nickens on first base with two outs, Coll lifted a high fly ball into shallow right-center field which eventually fell in for a single that scored Nickens from first base to give the Cougars a 3-1 lead.

Graysen Drezek took the mound in relief of starter Antoine Jean to start the top of the fifth inning . . . After retiring all three batters he faced in the fifth inning, Drezek worked around two base hits and a hit batter to strike out the side in the sixth inning while protecting the two-run Houston lead.

The Bearcats got a run back in the top of the seventh inning to close the Houston lead to a run at 3-2.

After the seventh inning stretch, Jake Rainess lifted a fly ball the opposite way to right field and the ball eventually drifted over the right field wall just inside the foul pole for a two-run home run to extend the Houston lead to 5-2.

Things unraveled further for the Bearcats pitching staff in the bottom of the eighth inning as three walks, a hit batter, and three wild pitches allowed the Cougars to add three runs to tally.

Jose Torrealba handled the eighth and ninth innings for the Cougars in dominant fashion . . . Torrealba retired all six batters he faced, striking out three of them and earning the save with the 8-2 victory.

The Cougars scored eight runs for the second straight game to open the season . . . With his fourth inning double, Murray extended his hitting streak to 17 games . . . Jones has two stolen bases in each of the first two games and is a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts to begin the season . . . Drezek earned his first win of the season with his two scoreless innings of work.

Houston and Binghamton close out the opening weekend series with an 11am first pitch on Sunday at Schroeder Park.

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