Cougars End Skid, Defeat Army 6-3

Friday night baseball vs. Army at Schroeder Park. Photo by @5_Coogs via Twitter.
Friday night baseball vs. Army at Schroeder Park.
Photo by @5_Coogs via Twitter.

The Army Black Knights arrived at Schroeder Park Friday afternoon to face a Houston Cougars team that had lost five straight games dating back two weekends ago when they lost the series finale to Arizona.

Friday night starter Tyler Bielamowicz was scratched from his usual start day due to illness, and Lael Lockhart Jr. would take the hill instead.

The Cougars led off each of the first three innings with a base hit . . . It is no coincidence that the Cougars would also score runs in each of those three innings . . . When the Cougars stopped getting the leadoff batter on base, they also stopped scoring runs.

Lockhart was very effective in his outing as he allowed just one earned run in 5 1/3 innings, exiting in the sixth with his team ahead 4-1 . . . The bullpen would allow the Black Knights to score two runs before Nolan Bond would come in from the bullpen to end the inning with the Cougars lead down to a run, 4-3.

Joe Davis would immediately get a run back, sending the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth inning over the left field wall . . . For Davis it was career homerun number 40 at the University of Houston . . . It was also another leadoff hit leading to runs scoring in the inning, the Coogs would manufacture another run in the inning, taking a 6-3 lead.

Devon Roedahl entered the game to pitch in the seventh and was immediately greeted by a leadoff triple by Army center fielder Jacob Hurtubise . . . Roedahl remained calm, made his pitches, and three outs later had left Hurtubise on third . . . Roedahl would get Army down in order in the eighth.

Roedahl would face a little adversity in the ninth, but he was able to shut down the Black Knights and get the final three outs to end the Cougars five game losing streak . . . Cougars pitching allowed only four hits on the night, two each by two hitters . . . This was a solid team win for the Coogs, and while Lael Lockhart Jr. got the official win, the entire team played a part in the Friday night victory.

The Cougars and the Black Knights continue their series Saturday evening at 6:30pm at Schroeder Park. –

 

Newspaper column version of this recap

Rice Tops Cougars 5-3

Houston Cougars scorecard by Cougars Beat vs. Rice 3-5-2019
Houston Cougars vs. Rice. Scorecard by Cougars Beat.

The Houston Cougars hosted the Rice Owls Tuesday afternoon at Schroeder Park . . . A brilliant sky was marred only by a first pitch temperature of 48 degrees.

The Cougars sent left-hander Spencer Hynes to the mound for the mid-week start . . . Hynes would struggle with command and would allow three runs in the second inning before the Cougars called on Nolan Bond out of the bullpen . . . Bond came in to stop the bleeding and stranded two Rice Owls on base to end the second.

The bottom of the order would help the Cougars manufacture two runs in the third . . . Tyler Bielamowicz would highlight the inning with a triple, and he would score on a Grayson Padgett sacrifice bunt as the Cougars clawed closer making the score 3-2.

Bond continued to made quick work of the Owls going four innings, striking out three, and walking none . . . Fred Villarreal came in to relieve Bond and after and infield hit, he would strike out Rice shortstop Trei Cruz looking to end the sixth inning.

The Cougars had a chance to do more scoring damage in the sixth with Bielamowicz and Jared Triolo reaching base for the middle of the order, but Joe Davis and Lael Lockhart Jr. would make quiet outs and the threat was snuffed out.

In the top of the seventh, the Owls would get two singles and a walk to load the bases with no one out . . . The Owls would score two runs and after a fielders choice, extending their lead to 5-2. Villarreal would strike out the final two batters before the fans on hand enjoyed a chance to warm up a bit during the seventh inning stretch. 

Rey Fuentes would get the Cougars eighth started with a leadoff triple. He would be brought home on a Bielamowicz single . . . Three outs later Bielamowicz was still on first base as the Owls took their 5-3 lead into the ninth and closed out the game.

The Cougars could only muster five hits on the afternoon, and they would leave five runners on base.

The Cougars are off until Friday when Army comes to Schroeder Park for a three game weekend series . . . Stay tuned for weather updates as the forecasts look very questionable. –

 

Newspaper column version of this recap

Cougars Hang Close, Lose 3-2 to Texas A&M

Lael Lockhart, Jr. throws the first pitch against Texas A&M on Sunday. Photo by Cougars Beat
Lael Lockhart, Jr. throws the first pitch against Texas A&M on Sunday.
Photo by Cougars Beat

The Houston Cougars will be glad to wake up tomorrow morning knowing they do not have any more games at Minute Maid Park this year . . . The Cougars took on the Texas A&M Aggies on Sunday afternoon in their final game of the 2019 Shriners College Classic.

The Cougars had a nice crowd on hand to see left-hander Lael Lockhart, Jr. take the mound for the third time this season . . . The Aggies would counter with a lefty of their own, Jonathan Childress.

The Aggies would open the scoring in the fourth inning on a line-drive double down the third base line that brought home one run.

Childress for his part went three scoreless, hitless innings . . . During his warmup tosses in the fourth inning, Childress felt something he did not like in his arm, and after bringing the Aggies head coach and trainer to the mound, Childress would depart the game . . . Chandler Jozwiak would replace Childress, and second baseman Brad Burckel would promptly get the first base hit for the Cougars.

Lockhart would exit the game in the fifth inning with two outs and two runners on base . . . Right-hander Devon Roedahl would enter the game and he would induce an inning-ending ground ball . . . Roedahl was solid out of the bullpen. He ran into trouble in the eighth when he loaded the bases with no outs, but he got a double-play and a strikeout to work out of the jam only allowing one run.

The Cougars were still in the game when Lockhart exited, down only 2-0 . . . But the offense was struggling . . . Joe Davis was 0-for-9 entering Sunday’s action . . . Davis would get his first base hit of the weekend, a towering blast to deep right-center field that the Aggie center-fielder would get his glove on but not reel in . . . One batter later the Cougars had the bases loaded with one out and would score one run on a fielders choice by Grayson Padgett to cut the Aggie lead to 2-1.

Down 3-1 in the eighth Jared Triolo reached base on a walk, and Joe Davis followed that with his second consecutive double, this one off the out-of-town scoreboard in front of the Crawford Boxes, and he had the Cougars back within a run at 3-2.

Devon Roedahl would leave the game in the ninth after a leadoff single, he threw 56 pitches in his 3 1/3 innings of solid relief work . . . Spencer Hynes would inherit a runner and get three outs to get out of the inning by throwing seven pitches, all of them for strikes.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Cougars were not able to get anything going and went down in order . . . The offense left seven runners on base in the game, a glaring number in the eyes of a one-run defeat . . . The Cougars have now lost their last nine games at Minute Maid Park.

The Cougars return to action on Tuesday when they will host Rice at Schroeder Park . . . The weather will be on the chilly side, so dress warm and get to the ballpark and root for the Coogs. –

 

Newspaper column version of this recap

Cougars Fall to Texas State 9-4

Joe Davis bats in the 7th with Jared Triolo on 2nd on Saturday. Photo by Cougars Beat.
Joe Davis bats in the 7th with Jared Triolo on 2nd on Saturday.
Photo by Cougars Beat.

The Houston Cougars continued their participation in the 2019 Shriners College Classic at Minute Maid Park on Saturday facing the Texas State Bobcats . . . The Bobcats were fresh off of a 1-0 shutout against Rice on Friday, so it was a positive sign when the Cougars jumped out to an early lead.

Houston catcher Blake Way, in only his third start behind the plate this season, got the Coogs on the scoreboard first in the second inning with a two-out line-drive homerun into the Crawford Boxes off of Bobcats starting pitcher Hunter McMahon.

Houston sent right-hander Ryan Randel to the mound for the second game of the weekend . . . Randel would face a little trouble in each of the first two innings, with runners getting to second base with no outs both times. In both innings however, Randel would rally to induce ground balls and get strikeouts to end both innings unscathed.

The Cougars allowed the Bobcats to tie the game in the third and then take the lead in the fourth . . . After allowing six hits and three runs on 78 pitches, Randel would hand the ball to Fred Villarreal with runners on first and second with just one out . . . The Bobcats would score four unearned runs in the inning to take a 6-2 lead into the fifth.

The Cougars would inch closer in their half of the fifth, but what could have been a downpour was only a light sprinkle . . . The Coogs would set the table, loading the bases with one out, for the 2-3-4 hitters, and would score just one run on a Jared Triolo infield single with Triolo hustling to beat the throw to first base.

Blake Way had few problems with McMahon on Saturday . . . Way would follow his homerun with a walk in the fifth and then a majestic two-out double off the wall just to the right of the Crawford Boxes in the sixth inning.

The Bobcats would finally go to the bullpen in the seventh . . . The only blemish for the bullpen was a monster homerun by Rey Fuentes in the bottom of the ninth, but by that point the game had largely been decided . . . The Bobcats would defeat the Cougars 9-4 . . . A bright spot was the bottom of the Cougars order accounting for 3 of their 4 runs and 5 of their 8 hits . . . For the first time this year, the Cougars are under .500 as they fall to 4-5.

The Cougars will conclude the weekend against Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon at 3pm . . . Get on out to Minute Paid Park and support the Coogs. –

 

Newspaper column version of this recap

Cougars Late Inning Effort Not Enough Against TCU

Friday's first pitch from Nick Lodolo to Brad Burckel. Photo by @CougarsBeat
Friday’s first pitch from Nick Lodolo to Brad Burckel.
Photo by @CougarsBeat

Minute Maid Park played host to the “visiting” Houston Cougars and the TCU Horned Frogs in the Shriners College Classic on Friday afternoon . . . USA Today has TCU ranked at #17 and Baseball America has TCU ranked #24 in the nation entering into the weekend . . . With the ballpark roof closed, all that was left was the action on field, once it got underway.

The game got off to an awkward beginning . . . After the initial warmup pitches and catchers toss down to second base, the umpires did not want to start the game earlier than the 3:05 announced start time, so the Frogs had to stand around on the field and wait for about three minutes for first pitch . . . The Frogs heated up very quickly after that.

The Cougars sent lefty Tyler Bielamowicz to the mound on Friday . . . The Frogs would strike first on a two-out three-run homerun off of Bielamowicz in a 24 pitch first inning.

TCU left-hander, Nick Lodolo, who measures 6’6″ tall, was dominant all day . . . Lodolo needed only 34 pitches to get through the first nine of the Cougars order for a perfect opening three innings . . . Lodolo would be perfect thru four innings, retiring the first fourteen batters he faced before Cougars shortstop Kobe Hyland would reach base on a single in the fifth . . . Lodolo offered a lethal mix of power and movement against the Cougars to get through seven innings of nearly perfect baseball, striking out thirteen along the way.

Tyler Bielamowicz would exit in the fourth after continued trouble, including a second three-run homerun, and sitting at 73 pitches . . . Nolan Bond would enter the game at that point, and he was one of the bright spots for the Cougars on the day . . . Bond went three innings when his team really needed him, and while he gave up two runs, which scored with the help of some defensive miscues and a runner left on base allowed to score by Bond’s successor, his outing was solid even if the box score appears not to reflect that.

Jared Triolo hit his first homerun of the season into the Crawford boxes in the seventh inning . . . The first run of the day for the Coogs . . . Once Nick Lodolo left the game after seven innings pitched, the Cougars were able to piece together some offense against the Frogs bullpen . . . The Cougars plated three in the ninth and had the bases loaded for Joe Davis with two outs . . . Davis hit a drive to left-center that made Coogs fans hold their breath for a moment, but TCU’s center fielder would catch the final out on the warning track . . . In the end a 9-1 deficit was too much to make up as the Coogs evened their record at 4-4 on the season in the 10-6 loss.

The Cougars return to action tomorrow morning at Minute Maid Park, first pitch is at 11am against the Texas State Bobcats.

 

Newspaper column version of this recap

Joe Davis Makes AAC Honor Week for the Week

Breaking News 1,800 miles from Houston in Providence, Rhode Island . . . Joe Davis after a spectacular week has earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference (AAC) weekly baseball honors list for the week ending February 24 . . . This is what the official release had to say about the Cougar first baseman:

. . .

Joe Davis * Sr. * 1B * Houston 
Davis hit three home runs and had seven RBIs, as Houston took two of three in a series against No. 24 Arizona. The senior finished 6-for-17 (.352) with five of his hits going for extra bases. He began the week with a 3-for-6 performance and four RBIs against McNeese State Wednesday. Davis hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning Friday night in Houston’s 2-1 win over the Wildcats in the series opener. He ended his week with a double, home run and two RBIs Sunday.

. . .

This note does not include the fact that in Saturday evenings affair at Schroeder Park, the Arizona Wildcats wanted no part of Joe Davis, and in his first three plate appearances he was intentionally walked twice and hit by a pitch once . . . Kudos to Joe Davis, well deserved.

Cougars Drop Finale to Arizona, Win Series

Houston Cougars @PRayRay 2-24-2019
A gorgeous afternoon for baseball at Schroeder Park.
Photo courtesy of @PRayRay via Twitter.

For the second day in a row the Arizona Wildcats would strike in the first inning . . . But the Cougars would respond differently on Sunday at Schroeder Park in the finale of their three game series win . . . Rather than a quick and furious comeback as we saw Saturday night, the Cougars would be stymied by some odd baseball and some solid opposing pitching.

Starting pitcher Lael Lockhart Jr. would allow two runs in the first, but would get 1-2-3 innings in the second and third and he would work out of a little trouble in the fourth . . . But the fifth inning would be end of the road for Sunday’s starter . . . Lockhart would exit as his pitch count had reached 84 and he had labored as Arizona manufactured baserunners, and runs as a result . . . Relievers Carter Henry and Brayson Hurdsman would enter the game, but the result was no different as some odd plays would help the Wildcats build up a 9-1 lead by the end of the inning.

Joe Davis would get the first hit for the Cougars in the fourth inning on a leadoff homerun . . . The Coogs would get two consecutive singles after the Davis homerun and Arizona would go to the bullpen . . . The Wildcats bullpen would keep down the trailing Cougars, limiting them to a two-run seventh inning and not much else . . . Arizona would use five pitchers to defeat the Cougars 9-4.

The Wildcats came to town ranked #24 in the country, they will not be ranked after this weekend . . . The Cougars now have an off day before taking on Lamar over in Beaumont on Tuesday. –

 

Newspaper column version of this recap

Potent Cougars Offense Too Much For Wildcats

The Cougars take on the Arizona Wildcats Saturday night. Photo courtesy of @kristin_deville via Twitter.
The Cougars take on the Arizona Wildcats Saturday night.
Photo courtesy of @kristin_deville via Twitter.

The Houston Cougars put on a variety of impressive displays on Saturday night at Schroeder as they hosted the Arizona Wildcats for the second straight night.

Ryan Randel gave up a run in the first, and he would scatter three hits over the next five innings . . . In the fifth Randel surrendered a two-out two-run homerun to cut the Cougar lead to 6-3 . . . After a long sixth inning which would push Randel’s pitch total to 90, his terrific outing would end as the Cougars went to the bullpen.

Arizona would get on the scoreboard first . . . But the Coogs would load the bases in the second with the help of two walks by Wildcats starting pitcher Andrew Nardi . . . Jared Triolo would clear the bases on a double to put the Coogs up 5-1.

Tyler Bielamowicz hit a homerun to leadoff the third inning and that would help to chase Nardi one batter later as he reached 60 pitches in the contest . . . Bielamowicz would also play a little “addition by subtraction” in the seventh by going up the left field wall on a long drive by Matthew Dyer to bring a would-be homerun down for a long out.

Devon Roedahl would take the mound in the top of the eighth and the Wildcats would crawl closer on three straight hits, capped off by a Cameron Cannon homerun to center . . . Cannon entered the series hitting .632 and had been kept at bay up to that point in the series . . . Roedahl would gather himself to get strikeouts for all three out to end the top of the eighth . . . A tense top of the ninth would yield a run before Roedahl closed out the Wildcats . . . The Cougars would win the game and the series with a final score of 9-7.

The Cougars and the Wildcats return to action on Sunday, thirty minutes later than a usual Sunday start, at 1:30pm . . . Bring your brooms and be loud.

66AB2EBD-E645-4FAE-ADA3-AE26C4198249

Newspaper column version of this recap

Cougars, Behind Bielamowicz, Stop #24 Arizona

UHCougarBB 2-22-2019
Tyler Bielamowicz exits the game after a brilliant six innings.
Photo courtesy of @UHCougarBB

The Houston Cougars played host to the 24th ranked Arizona Wildcats on Friday evening at Schroeder Park under a humid, foggy, bleak-looking sky . . . The Wildcats opened the weekend at 5-0 and with an offense that had scored 85 runs in their first five games.

The first three and a half innings went by extremely quickly. Then in the Cougars half of the fourth after two quick outs, the Coogs put the brakes on the game and slowed it down considerably . . . An infield single was followed by a walk, which was followed by a mound visit, then came a game-tying single by Kobe Hyland, and finally a strikeout to close out the inning . . . . Arizona starting pitcher Randy Labaut had been fairly efficient to that point, but by the time the inning was over he had thrown over twenty pitches to finish with 54 pitches thru four.

Tyler Bielamowicz was brilliant over six innings, allowing only a Blake Paugh solo homerun in the third, striking out five and throwing 94 pitches . . . Labaut was equally impressive as he would throw 107 pitches over 7 1/3 innings giving up six hits and the only two runs the Coogs would put on the board.

Joe Davis would go 1-for-4 on the night, but the one was a massive one . . . With one out and the scored tied at 1 in the bottom of the eighth, Davis hit a 2-2 pitch through the dense Houston air to left-center field and it would clear the fence to give the Cougars the lead going to the ninth.

Right-hander Fred Villarreal would close out the game in the ninth with eight pitches to the top of the Wildcats order, and that was that . . . The Wildcats had only two hits in the game as they lost for the first time this season to go to 5-1 in a game that did not last three hours.

The three game series resumes Saturday night at Schroeder Park, with a slightly later than usual start at 7:30pm to accommodate fans attending the men’s basketball game also on campus Saturday afternoon. –

 

Newspaper column version of this recap