Cougars Defeat Texas Southern 8-5

Malachi Lott delivers the first pitch Tuesday night against Texas Southern

For the fourth time in their first eight games to open 2023, the Houston Cougars scored eight runs on Tuesday night in a 8-5 defeat of Texas Southern at Schroeder Park.

Third baseman Zach Arnold (2-for-3) got the scoring started with a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the first inning.

The Houston offense then erupted for five runs in the bottom of the second inning . . . Three hits, a dropped pop-up, a hit batter, and two walks added up to a 6-2 run after two complete innings.

In the bottom of the fourth inning a ground out and an Anthony Tulimero sacrifice fly padded the Cougars lead at 8-3.

The Cougars bullpen put on a power display against the Tigers with Travis Phelps touching 92-94mph in the fourth and fifth innings, and Josh Ekness topping out at 96-97mph in the seventh and eighth innings . . . Phelps struck out five Tigers in earning his first win of the season while Ekness also struck out five and earned his first save of the season.

Despite a ninth inning solo home run, the Cougars closed out Texas Southern to take the 8-5 victory.

Houston has two days off before hitting the road for the second straight weekend . . . The Cougars will open with UT Rio Grande Valley on Friday at 6:30pm.

Cougars Dominate Utes 14-5

Anthony Tulimero is greeted at home plate by teammates after a fourth inning home run on Friday

The Houston Cougars opened the 2023 Kleburg Bank Classic in Corpus Christi with an offensive explosion at Whataburger Field defeating the Utah Utes 14-5 on Friday afternoon.

After an Alex Lopez single gave Houston a 1-0 first inning lead, catcher Anthony Tulimero tripled to drive him in and the Cougars took a two-run lead before the Utes had even been up to bat.

The Cougars added two runs in the second inning and led 4-2 going into the fourth inning.

Lopez doubled to get the fourth inning scoring started, his third hit in three at-bats at that point . . . One out later, Tulimero followed with a two-run home run to left field and the Cougars took an 8-2 lead . . . It was Tulimero’s first home run of the season.

Brandon Burckel hit a two-out solo home run in the fifth inning . . . Cary Arbolida got a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning when Utah went to the bullpen in the middle of a Malachi Lott at-bat . . . Arbolida hit the first pitch he saw for a run-scoring double and the lead was extended to 10-2, the first time this season Houston scored double-digit runs.

Houston starter Cade Citelli was removed from the game during his third inning having allowed two runs and was hampered with five walks in 2 2/3 innings pitched . . . Maddux Miller took the ball to end the inning and stayed in to record 3 1/3 scoreless innings where he also did not allow a hit.

With the Cougars leading 10-5 in the top of the ninth inning, Drew Bianco got  his first hit in a Houston uniform, a three-run home run to left field . . . Justin Murray added an RBI and the Cougars took a 14-5 into the bottom of the frame where Owen Woodward closed out the game.

Tulimero went 3-for-4 with a walk in the contest and finished just a double shy of hitting for the cycle . . . Burckel tripled in the ninth inning, the Cougars second three-bagger of the game . . . Houston had hit just one home run in their previous four games, a Brandon Uhse solo home run last weekend against Cal, but the offense accounted for three of them in Friday’s victory

The Cougars return to action Saturday night when they face Texas A&M Corpus Christi . . . Expect to see left-hander Kyle LaCalameto make his second straight Saturday start in the game . . . First pitch in Corpus Christi is scheduled for 7pm.

Houston Stumped at UTSA

Few things went right for Houston in San Antonio on Wednesday as UTSA run-ruled the Cougars in seven innings, 12-2.

Among the positive takeaways against the Roadrunners is the fact that many Cougars pitchers got their first action of the season, and many pitchers made their debut in Houston uniforms . . . Eleven pitchers were used in the midweek contest.

The Cougars now head south to Corpus Christi to take part in the Kleberg Bank Classis where they will be opposed by Utah, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Incarnate Word . . . First pitch against Utah from Whataburger Field on Friday will be at 2pm.

Cougars Grab 8-6 Win, First of 2023

Tommy Egan delivers the first pitch of Sunday’s game at Schroeder Park

Houston picked up its first win of the 2023 season with an 8-6 victory over the Cal Golden Bears at Schroeder Park on Sunday afternoon.Cal got in on the act immediately when their first two batters hit their way on base to open up the contest, and both scored quickly as the Golden Bears took a 2-0 lead.

Brandon Burckel (3-for-3) got the Cougars on the board in the second inning with a two-run double to the wall in left-center which tied the game at two . . . Batting with two outs in the fourth inning, Burkel drove his second double in as many at-bats down the left field line to score Justin Murray all the way from first base to tie the game at three . . . Cameron Nickens (2-for-4) drove home Burckel with a single to center to put the Cougars in front for the first time on the weekend, 4-3.

Alex Lopez (2-for-3) singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning . . . Brandon Uhse doubled into the left field corner to score Lopez from first base . . . A sacrifice fly to center field by Murray plated Uhse from third base and the Cougars took a 6-5 lead.

Tied at six in the bottom of the eighth inning, Malachi Lott walked and stole second before Burckel followed with an infield single, his third hit of the game, putting runners on the corners with no one out . . . One out later, Zach Arnold dropped a looping single into shallow right-field to give the Cougars a one run lead . . . Lopez gave Houston an 8-6 lead on a sacrifice fly to left field.

Left-hander Jose Torrealba closed out the win in the ninth by retiring the Golden Bears in order . . . Torrealba struck out two in the ninth inning and picked up the win for his effort over 1 1/3 innings.

Houston is off for two days before hitting the road for the next four games . . . The Cougars will play UTSA in San Antonio on Wednesday at 6:00pm before heading to Corpus Christi for a weekend tournament where they will face Utah, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Incarnate Word.

Houston Drops Second Straight to Open Season

Kyle LaCalameto made his first start of the season Saturday night at Schroeder Park

The Cougars dropped their second straight game to open the season with a 5-3 loss to the Cal Bears on Saturday night at Schroeder Park.

Kyle LaCalameto made his first start of the 2023 season and was impressive over 5 2/3 innings allowing just one run on three hits . . . The sole run allowed by LaCalameto came in the sixth inning, his last inning of work.

Brandon Uhse launched a towering home run to left field that just cleared the fence to tie the game at a run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Maddux Miller saw his first game action of the season and threw a flawless 1 2/3 innings striking out one to get the Cougars from the seventh to the ninth inning.

Cal was leading 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning after scoring two runs in the seventh inning . . . Ian McMillan hit a two-out double to left field to tie the game at three heading to the ninth inning . . . The two runs were the biggest offensive inning for Houston in the first two games of the season.

The Bears added two runs off of Houston pitching in their half of the ninth inning to take a 5-3 lead which stood as the final score.

In the loss, Zach Arnold went 2-for-5, the only Cougar with multiple hits . . . Whereas in game one just two Cougars hit Cal pitching, eight Houston hitters earned hits on Saturday night.

Houston and Cal conclude their opening weekend series with a Sunday finale, first pitch is at noon . . . At this point the Cougars have not named their starting pitcher for the game.

Houston Shut Out in 2023 Opener

Cade Citelli delivers the first pitch to open the 2023 season against Cal

The Houston Cougars opened the 2023 campaign with a 7-0 loss at the hands of the Cal Bears at Schroeder Park.

Cade Citelli marched through the Cal lineup in smooth fashion to open the season while also making his Houston debut . . . Citelli retired the first nine batters he faced and was perfect through three innings before things fell apart for him in a three-run fourth inning.

Cal left-hander Ian May went eight strong innings allowing just three hits to the Cougars and striking out seven along the way.

Alex Lopez hit May twice, the only Houston hitter with multiple hits in the game, and just one of two Cougars with hits against the Bears.

In addition to Citelli, Paul Schmitz, Travis Phelps, Owen Woodward and Graysen Dezek also made their Houston debuts.

Former Cougar Joe Davis, the all-time home run hitter in program history, was on hand Friday night to throw out the honorary first pitch prior to the game . . . Davis retired from baseball back in December after three seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization . . . Davis is back in Texas now, having returned to his hometown of Austin.

The Cougars and the Bears resume their opening weekend series on Saturday when the Cougars will send left-hander Kyle LaCalameto to the mound . . . First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.

Joe Davis Retires From Baseball

On the Minor League Baseball website a short blurb announced that Joe Davis has retired from professional baseball.

Davis, the all-time Houston home run leader, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2019 and remained in their system thru the 2022 season. There was no minor league baseball in 2020, so after being drafted and getting initiated in a brief 2019 stint, Davis did not play again until the 2021 season.

Davis hit 42 home runs and drove in 150 runs while batting .274 over his three professional seasons.

Joe was on Cougars Beat Podcast in 2020:

National Signing Day 2022

Wednesday was National Signing Day across our great land, and the University of Houston baseball team inked numerous high school seniors to letters of intent. The signees include: Ace Reese, Landon Bowden, Diego Luzardo, Larry Drake, Riley Pechacek, Logan Simmons, Tristan Russell, Conner Bennett, and Braylen Collins.

2023 Houston Cougars Baseball Schedule

Feb 17-19 vs Cal

Feb 22 at UTSA

Feb 24-26 vs Utah, A&M Corpus Christi, UIW

Feb 28 vs Texas Southern

Mar 3-5 at UTRGV

Mar 7 vs Prairie View A&M

Mar 10-12 vs Oklahoma

Mar 14 vs Texas A&M

Mar 17-19 at Minnesota

Mar 21 at McNeese

Mar 22 vs Southern

Mar 24-26 Northwestern State

Mar 28 at Sam Houston State

Mar 31-Apr 2 vs East Carolina

Apr 4 vs Rice

Apr 6-8 at Wichita State

April 11 vs Sam Houston State

Apr 14-16 vs South Florida

April 18 vs Houston Christian University

Apr 21-23 at Memphis

Apr 25 at Lamar

Apr 28-30 at UCF

May 3 at Rice

May 5-7 vs Wichita State

May 10 at Rice

May 12-14 at Tulane

May 16 vs Sam Houston State (at Constellation Field in Sugar Land)

May 18-20 vs Cincinnati

May 23-28 American Athletic Conference Championship (in Clearwater, Florida)

2022 MLB Draft Recap

Three Houston Cougars from the 2022 squad heard their names called during the final day of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday afternoon, along with one former Cougar and two Houston commits.

Ben Sears was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 14th Round.

Logan Clayton, who had transferred away from Houston after the season ended, was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 17th Round.

Jaycob Deese was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th Round.

Samuel (Sammy) Hernandez, a catcher at Lakeland High School in Florida, was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 14th Round.

Kevin Kilpatrick, a college transfer who was committed to Houston, was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 17th Round.

Jonathan Thomas, a former Cougar who played for Texas Southern in 2022, was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 19th Round.

Players, whether drafted or undrafted, have until August 1st to sign a contract with the team that drafted them or as a free agent if they were not drafted.