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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Cougars Notebook – March 11, 2024

Houston is now 11-4 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12 after this past week . . . The Cougars have won five games in a row.

. . .

Houston celebrates Tuesday night after a walk-off victory

4-0 last week with a 2-1 walk-off win over Sam Houston and a sweep of Baylor to open Big 12 conference play. After Sunday’s victory, head coach Todd Whitting noted that each week he stresses to the team to go week to week, to go 4-0 or 3-1 each week.

. . .

Continuing to track the strikeout to walk ration of the Houston pitching staff, this weekend in the three games against Baylor, the staff racked up 32 strikeouts and walked just 7 batters.

Antoine Jean struck out 11 in his start on Saturday when he pitched 5 1/3 innings.

Duncan Hunter was perfect through 4 1/3 innings on Sunday, retiring the first 13 batters he faced . . . Hunter induced ground outs for 8 of his first 12 recorded outs and did not strike out a batter until the fifth inning . . . In the fifth and sixth innings, Hunter struck out 5 batters . . . Hunter did not allow a walk in his six innings pitched.

. . .

Ryan Dollar and Michael Benzor were both clutch on Sunday afternoon in getting out of a jam while Houston protected a one-run lead in the top of the eighth inning.

. . .

After catcher Jonathan French hit a home run on Saturday night, he had four home runs on the year, and seven total base hits . . . French singled on Sunday for his eighth hit of the season, half of his hits have been home runs.

. . .

After Friday night’s series opening loss, Baylor head coach Mitch Thompson talked about the 4-3 loss, and referenced Houston starter Jaxon Jelkin while talking about life in the Big 12 on Friday nights:

“It’s a Friday night in the Big 12, a well-pitched ballgame. Their guy was really good early and Mason [Marriott] matched him early and we just came up a run short.”

. . .

There will not be a midweek game this week as the Cougars open their next Big 12 series on Thursday, in Provo, Utah, instead of the customary Friday opener.

The series against BYU begins on Thursday at 7pm CT, with game two on Friday again at 7pm, and the weekend finale on Saturday at 12:30pm CT.

BYU (7-7, 1-2) opened Big 12 conference play all the way across the country in West Virginia where they lost 2 of 3 games to the Mountaineers and this will be their first conference home series . . . BYU will play a midweek game this week against Utah in Salt Lake City on Tuesday before facing Houston on Thursday.

. . .

After the win on Sunday, Coach Whitting offered some thoughts on the matchup with BYU.

“It’s going to be kind of tough conditions up there, it’s not going to be hot,” Whitting said, “so we’ve got to be really ready to go in there and keep chasing this Big 12 title.”

To Whtting’s point about the weather, the forecast in Provo this weekend calls for highs/lows of 48/25, 54/29, and 54/30.

. . .

The atmosphere at Schroeder Park this weekend was great, especially on Sunday afternoon, and Cougars fans significantly outnumbered Bears fans . . . Coach Whitting thanked the fans in his postgame remarks on Sunday, “Our crowds this weekend were awesome. The environment out here today was second to none, so I appreciate all of our fans coming out here and all of our supporters.”

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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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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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Cougars Notebook – March 4, 2024

Houston went 1-3 over the last week and is 7-4 this season.

. . .

Houston got some work in at Minute Maid Park on Thursday

The Cougars lost to Texas State on Friday in 10 innings . . . The Bobcats followed that by defeating then No. 12 Texas 11-10 on Saturday in the day’s middle game . . . Texas State scored 11 runs against the Longhorns pitching staff and took a late-inning 11-10 victory on a home run in the top of the ninth inning . . . Texas State ran out of gas on Sunday though and lost to No. 2 LSU 10-3.

Houston lost to No. 11 Vanderbilt 3-1 on Saturday in a well played contest . . . Cameron Nickens provided all of the offense for the Cougars with a solo home run into the Crawford Boxes . . . Vanderbilt went on to defeat Texas on Sunday 14-11 after trailing 11-3.

The Cougars picked up their sole victory of the weekend with a 13-10 win over the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in a game that lasted 11 innings and actually ended early Monday morning . . . The game lasted 4:28 after starting late at 8:05pm . . . The win over Louisiana snapped a four-game losing skid by the Cougars after they started the season 6-0.

. . .

Harold Coll stole three bases on Sunday and set a new stolen base record for a single game in the Astros Foundation College Classic.

. . .

Right-hander Jaxon Jelkin was the only Houston player named to the All-Tournament Team for his Friday outing against Texas State . . . Jelkin pitched 5 1/3 innings and struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing just four hits and two earned runs before exiting.

. . .

This week the Cougars host Sam Houston, which will see the return of former Cougar Malachi Lott for the first time since he transferred after last season . . . This will be the first of three games this season against the Bearkats as part of the Don Sanders Cup series . . . The first pitch on Tuesday at Schroeder Park is set for 6:30pm.

. . . 

Houston will host Baylor for their first Big 12 series ever . . . The Bears are coming off a weekend sweep of Oral Roberts in Waco to improve to 4-7 this season . . . Baylor will only play one game during their midweek, against No. 17 Dallas Baptist.

The Friday and Saturday games will begin at 6:30pm and the Sunday game will open at 1pm.

. . .

The Cougars will play a Big 12 team every weekend for the rest of the season, with the exception of April 26-28 when Houston will host UT Arlington.

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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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