Cougars Outlast Minnesota 8-7 to Claim Series

Aaron Lugo bats Sunday against Minnesota. Lugo was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI.

After a disappointing start to the 2025 season on Friday night, the Houston Cougars won the next two games to take the series from Minnesota, winning the Sunday afternoon finale 8-7 at Schroeder Park.

Houston starter Graysen Drezek took a scoreless game into the third inning before surrendering a pair of runs . . . Drezek allowed three runs over four innings, his longest outing as a Cougar.

Tyler Cox, batting in the nine spot, led off the bottom of the third inning by earning a walk . . . Tre Broussard followed with a bloop single into left field before a two out walk to Xavier Perez loaded the bases . . . A wild pitch plated Cox and moved runners to second and third base before Aaron Lugo (3-for-4) hammered a double off of the left field wall and the Cougars led 3-2 going to the fourth inning.

With the game tied at three in the bottom of the fourth inning, Jackson LaLima (2-for-4) doubled into left field to get the inning started for Houston . . . Catcher Riley Jackson moved LaLima to third base with a sacrifice bunt that he almost legged out at first base before Minnesota went to the bullpen . . . Cox brought LaLima across the plate on a groundout RBI to second base and Houston led again, 4-3.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Connor McGinnis walked with one out and then stole second base . . . With two outs, Lugo launched a ball to the warning track in right field for a run-scoring triple, it was his second extra-base hit in as many at-bats and Houston led 5-3.

After a three-run home run gave Minnesota a 6-5 lead in the top of the sixth inning, the Cougars would rally back in the bottom of the seventh inning . . . Perez walked with one out and was moved along to third base on a single by Lugo . . . Jake Tatom then singled through the left side of the infield to drive in the game tying run . . . LaLima followed with a single on the infield to load the bases . . . Jackson worked a walk to force in the go ahead run, and Cox lifted a sacrifice fly deep to left field to plate what proved to be the winning run, Houston took an 8-6 lead into the eighth inning.

Antoine Jean took the mound in the top of the seventh inning with two runners on base as a result of walks, and only one out . . . Jean struck out the only two batters he faced to keep the Golden Gophers off the board.

Richie Roman took the mound in the eighth inning, his second outing in as many days . . . After facing the minimum in the eighth inning, Roman struck out the side in the top of the ninth inning, although Minnesota scratched across an unearned run cutting the Houston lead to 8-7 . . . Roman (2) earned the save, his second in as many games, and Jean (1-0) earned the win, his first of the season.

The Cougars are off on Monday before they hit the road for their next five games . . . First up. Houston will be in Austin on Tuesday night to face the Texas Longhorns for a midweek game . . . The game at Disch-Falk Field is set to get underway at 6:30pm.

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Schmitz, McGinnis Lead Houston to First Win of 2025

Paul Schmitz made the start against Minnesota on Saturday night.

Houston got solid pitching and timely hitting in a 4-2 victory over Minnesota to even their season record at Schroeder Park on Saturday night.

Cade Climie reached second base with one out when a fly ball off his bat was not caught in right field . . . Houston second baseman Connor McGinnis then drove a double to the wall in right-center field scoring Climie on the play to give Houston its first lead of the season, 1-0.

The Golden Gophers got to Houston starter Paul Schmitz for two runs in the top of the third inning when a leadoff walk was on base for a two-out home run to right field . . . Schmitz then retired the next 10 batters he faced as he got Houston through six innings . . . Schmitz left the game having struck out six batters and allowing just two hits, all on 94 pitches.

Climie doubled in the bottom of the fifth inning  with one out to reach base . . . McGinnis (2-for-3) followed with a home run to center field, just to the right of the batter’s eye to give the Cougars a 3-2 lead.

The Cougars added a run in the bottom of the sixth inning when a wild pitch plated Irvin Weems from third base and extended their lead to 4-2.

Schmitz (1-0) has had great success against Minnesota, his best outing in a Houston uniform was back in 2023 when he made a Saturday start in Minneapolis . . . Schmitz allowed just two runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings in that road victory almost two years ago.

Right-hander Richie Roman pitched a scoreless ninth inning, working around a walk and a single to strike out two and end the game, earning the save in the process . . . Roman, a projected starter in the Cougars rotation, has been recovering from a January appendectomy . . . The Saturday night outing by Roman seems like a positive step in his attempt to come back at full strength.

Alex Solis pitched for the second night in a row . . . On Friday night Solis faced just one batter, but on Saturday night he pitched two solid innings, both scoreless, before giving the ball to Roman to close it out.

Minnesota pitching limited the Houston offense to just four hits in the game, with McGinnis accounting for two of them, the only Cougars hitter with multiple hits . . . The Minnesota defense committed four errors.

Houston and Minnesota conclude their series on Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1pm . . . Right-hander Graysen Drezek will make his first appearance of the season for the Cougars.

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Cougars Fall on Opening Night of 2025 Season

The Houston Cougars opened the 2025 season at Schroeder Park on Friday night with a lot of new faces after graduation and the MLB Draft raided the ball club of a season ago . . . The Minnesota Golden Gophers took the season opener in dominant fashion, running away 14-3 winners. 

After a hit batter to lead off the game, Minnesota was in business offensively . . . Four hits and a walk led to a four-run first inning and the Golden Gophers never looked back.

Antoine Jean took the mound with two outs in the first inning and retired the first five batters he faced . . . Consecutive one-out walks posed a threat to Jean in the top of the third inning, then Tre Broussard caught a fly ball to center field for the second out when the runner on second base tagged-up and took off for third base . . . Broussard threw a laser to Cade Climie at the third base bag where he seemingly tagged the runner sliding into third base.

The runner slid well past the bag and into foul territory, before umpire Trent Petrie could make a call on the timeliness of Climie’s first tag, Climie tagged the runner as he attempted to crawl back to the bag . . . The inning was the second straight scoreless frame for Jean before the Golden Gophers chased him in the fourth inning.

Newcomer Carsten Sabathia hit a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, the no-doubter was his first home run of the season and capped a three-run inning for Houston.

Broussard went 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot and was the only Houston hitter with multiple hits in the game.

Kendall Hoffman and Chris Perez each turned in a scoreless inning, each facing the minimum in their respective inning . . . Second year Cougar pitcher Alex Solis faced one batter in relief of Jean in the fourth inning and earned a strike out on five pitches.

The Cougars and the Golden Gophers will continue the opening weekend series on Saturday night . . . Right-hander Paul Schmitz will be in the mound for Houston . . . First pitch at Schroeder Park is scheduled for 6:30pm.

Houston Season Ends in Doubleheader Loss Saturday

Kyle LaCalameto started Friday’s game, which was postponed until Saturday

There was a bevy of odd numbers on Saturday at Schroeder Park, but none of them favored Houston as Oklahoma State took both games of a doubleheader by scores of 20-3 and 9-2.

The first game of the day started under ominous skies on Friday night and lasted all of three outs . . . After Kyle LaCalameto pitched the top of the first inning, lightning in the area triggered a series of delays and ultimately pushed the postponement of the rest of the game to Saturday.

Saturday afternoon, roughly 18 hours after the delay began, the first pitch was thrown to Alex Lopez to lead off the bottom of the first inning.

Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Lopez drove a two-run home run over the right field wall, that would account for most of Houston’s run-scoring in the game.

There was a 12-minute delay just as the fourth inning was about to begin . . . The home plate umpire was suffering from signs of heat exhaustion over the previous couple of half innings under the unrelenting heat and humidity . . . The umpire was advised by the two training staffs to leave the game, thus causing a delay.

Oklahoma State scored 10 runs in the sixth inning and the game was all but over.

Houston had only four base hits in the game with Justin Murray driving in the only other Cougars run . . . Houston pitching walked 14 Cowboys batters . . . Left-hander Brendan O’Donnell retired seven batters over parts of three different frames, five of them were strikeouts.

Oklahoma State scored two runs in the first and third inning of game two and led 4-0 very quickly.

Houston started the bottom of the fourth inning with three straight singles, breaking up a perfect game to that point . . . Kenneth Jimenez picked up the first single and Murray followed with one of his own . . . Anthony Tulimero (2-for-4) singled to right field to score Jimenez, it was the only run the Cougars would score until the eighth inning . . . Tulimero accounted for two of Houston’s six base hits in the game, the only Cougars hitter with multiple hits.

Jacob Schoenvogel led off the bottom of the eighth with a double . . . Three-straight groundouts followed, one by Murray to third base brought Schoenvogel across the plate for the second and final Cougars run of the game, and the final run of the season.

Trailing by seven runs, Harold Coll doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, but the next three Cougars batters went in order to close out the season.

Houston finished the season 26-28 overall and 7-21 in their first season in the Big 12 . . . Thirteen Cougars seniors were recognized throughout Saturday’s first game, their departures from the program, along with possible transfer portal action, and an incoming transfer class mean a lot of changes ahead for next year’s roster.

Tulimero and Murray departed at the same point in Saturday’s second game, marking the end of their Houston careers . . . Murray took the mound to open the ninth inning and fittingly struck out the only two batters he faced before head coach Todd Whitting made the trip to the mound to let both Murray and Tulimero have their one final moment together as Cougars teammates.

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Roman, Drezek Stifle Bearkats; Arbolida’s 17th Leads to Don Sanders Cup Victory

Houston used two home runs and a wild pitch to win their final midweek game of the season 4-3 over Sam Houston Tuesday night in Sugar Land and retained the Don Sanders Cup in the process.

Harold Coll led off the top of the second inning by getting ahead in the count 2-0 before reaching base on a single . . . Cary Arbolida hit the next pitch the opposite way over the right field wall for his 17th home run of the season and his third-straight game with a home run.

Richie Roman tossed four scoreless innings as Houston’s starter, he struck out six and stranded seven Sam Houston runners on base, all of them in scoring position.

Still 2-0 in the top of the sixth inning, Justin Murray found himself in a favorable 2-0 count with two outs before driving a ball over the wall in right-center field, a solo home run good for a 3-0 Houston lead.

Anthony Avalos singled to center field with two outs on the first pitch he saw in the top eighth inning . . . A wild pitch allowed Avalos to take second base easily and he took the opportunity to advance to third base on the play as well . . . A throw to third base was off, winding up on the ground, allowing Avalos to scamper home on the throwing error for a 4-0 Cougars advantage.

Graysen Drezek took the mound in relief of Roman after his four scoreless innings pitched and delivered three scoreless innings of his own, striking out five batters.

The Bearkats got to the Cougars bullpen for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Murray was eventually able to get out the inning while retaining the Houston lead, 4-3 . . . Murray pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning retiring the three batters he faced to preserve the win and secure the Don Sanders Cup for Houston for another year.

Houston only had five base hits in the victory, all coming from five different batters . . . Cougars pitching stranded 11 Sam Houston runners on base . . . Drezek got the win for his effort and improved to 2-0 this season . . . Murray recorded his fifth save of the season.

The Cougars are off for a day before the final Big 12 weekend series of the season gets underway on Thursday night at Schroeder Park against Oklahoma State . . . The first game of the weekend is set to get underway at 6:30pm.

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Arbolida Hits 16th Homer; Cougars Drop Road Series

Justin Murray bats in the 3rd inning Sunday with runners on the corners

Houston fell 9-6 in Lawrence on Sunday afternoon as Kansas rallied after the game one loss on Friday to win the Big 12 series on their home turf.

Anthony Avaolos (2-for-4) singled to center field with two outs in the top of the third inning to get the Houston offense started . . . A single to left field by Kenneth Jimenez moved Avalos to third base . . . Justin Murray then bounced a ball through the infield and into center field to score Avalos and tie the game at one . . . Murray’s single was the third-straight base hit with two outs.

Cary Arbolida (2-for-3) walked on six pitches to lead off the top of the fourth inning and one out later Jonathan French followed with a single to center field . . . Jacob Schoenvogel then walked on 10 pitches as he fouled off four of them in a great at-bat with Avalos on deck and Kansas’ starter tiring around the 80 pitch mark.

Avalos then drove an 0-2 pitch into the left field corner to tie the game as Arbolida and French both crossed the plate . . . Jimenez singled into center field and Schoenvogel scored to give Houston the 4-3 lead.

The lead evaporated quickly as the Jayhawks plated five runs in the bottom half of the inning to take an 8-4 lead.

Arbolida led off the top of the eighth inning by hitting his team-leading 16th home run of the season to center field 

Anthony Tulimero doubled home a run in the top of the ninth inning to get the Cougars to within three runs, but Houston fell 9-6 when the smoke settled.

Avalos, Tulimero, Jimenez, and Arbolida each had two base hits in the game, accounting for eight of the ten Houston hits.

The Cougars got some solid relief work out of the bullpen with Michael Benzor throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings without allowing a hit, though he walked three batters . . . Chris Stuart closed out the game with two scoreless innings allowing just one base hit.

The Cougars will return home on Sunday and will have Monday off . . . Houston will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Sugar Land to decide the 2024 Don Sanders Cup series with Sam Houston at Constellation Field . . . First pitch is set for 6:30pm.

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Arbolida Homers Twice; Cougars Early Lead Falls Short

A seven-run Houston lead in the third inning was not enough to claim victory on Saturday in Lawrence as Kansas battled back to win 11-9 to even the Big 12 series.

Cary Arbolida (3-for-4) hit the first pitch of his first inning at-bat over the left field wall for a three-run home run and a 4-0 Houston lead.

Arbolida delivered again in the third inning, hitting a one-out home run over the left field wall, the start of a second four-run inning in the first three innings of the game on the way to an 8-1 Houston lead . . . The home run was the 15th of the season for Arbolida and his fourth multi-home run game of the season.

Leadoff hitter Kenneth Jimenez hit a home run in the fifth inning, it was the final run the Cougars scored on Saturday.

Left-hander Kyle LaCalameto was pretty solid out of the bullpen after the lead had been surrendered, throwing four innings and allowing just one run while striking out four Jayhawks batters.

Despite picking up 14 hits in the ballgame, the Cougars did not score another run after the fifth inning.

Houston and Kansas will settle the weekend Big 12 series on Sunday at noon . . . As of now, neither team has announced a starting pitcher for the game.

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Memories Abound as Robert Gasser Makes His MLB Debut

Robert Gasser Made His MLB Debut Friday in Milwaukee

By Steve Parkhurst

Life comes full circle sometimes; we all know that.

Baseball life often sees those circles form a lot sooner, just by the nature of the sport.

Just over three years ago, March 5, 2021, to be exact, I watched in person from the press box, what I consider to be the finest pitcher’s duel I have ever seen in person in all my baseball days at any level of baseball.

Power versus power, lefty versus righty, experienced veteran versus relative newcomer.

I was there on the campus of the University of Houston on that Friday night when the Texas Longhorns came to town sporting a No. 19 national ranking on their way to a College World Series appearance in Omaha.

Texas ace Ty Madden was on the mound that night and he was opposed by Houston left-hander Robert Gasser in his only full season with the Cougars, he was on the 2020 roster when the season was brought to an end in early March because of the pandemic.

Madden pitched a complete game two-hit shutout and Texas won the game 1-0. Madden also added 14 strikeouts. Gasser pitched seven scoreless innings for Houston and struck out five batters. The game was lost the inning after Gasser departed, the sole run in the game scored on a bases loaded walk in the eighth inning.

That summer, Madden was drafted by the Detroit Tigers at the end of the first round with the 32nd overall pick. Gasser was drafted the next day by the San Diego Padres in the second round of the draft with the 71st overall pick.

On August 1, 2022, Gasser was traded to Milwaukee as part of the deal that sent All-Star pitcher Josh Hader to the Padres. Gasser fundamentally did nothing but impress in the Brewers minor league system and his promotion to the big club seemed imminent. An injury sidelined Gasser for the beginning of the 2024 season, but he started in three games with the first coming on April 24.

Friday night in Milwaukee, nearly three years since he threw his last pitch for Houston on May 25, 2021, Gasser made his Major League Baseball debut for the Brewers against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The memories came flooding back last night. Not just of that Friday night in 2021, but of that season overall with all the challenges of the pandemic precautions and the long season that was the 2021 season.

Gasser pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and struck out four Cardinals batters while not allowing any walks. Gasser threw 79 pitches, 55 of them for strikes. And perhaps the best stat of all, Gasser is 1-0 on the year as a result of the Brewers 11-2 victory.

After the game, Gasser was asked about preparing for his debut and how he handled the day leading up to the game. His response was as cool as six innings of work on the mound.

“Early in the day it was tough. A lot of sitting around, not doing a whole lot, just thinking, but once I was in my routine and finding the flow it came natural, Gasser said. “I don’t want to say it was another game, but that was the mindset I was trying to have: get the first couple of pitches out of the way and just get going from there.”

“That was pretty impressive how he just went out there and executed what he wanted to do. Seemed like he had his emotions and everything under control,” Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich said after the game. “It was six really big innings for us.”

“He’s a big strike thrower, he goes right after every batter,” Brewers teammate Sal Frelick said after the game when asked about Gasser’s makeup as a pitcher. “When he was out there he didn’t see names on the back of jerseys as maybe a lot of guys would. It was just another game for him, I think, and that’s just how he goes about his business. So to see him execute out there was really cool.”

Madden has not appeared in a MLB game as of yet, and this is not a fair comparison of these two pitchers as different teams have different needs and whatnot.

This whole event has me wondering about the status of the Houston players drafted in the last couple of years, or what players might I be watching play their final games with Houston this weekend and next that might be making their own MLB debut in three years, or maybe four or five.

I cannot stop and think about that right now though, the next full circle is taking shape.

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Houston Thumps Kansas 13-5; Murray Homers Twice

Cade Citelli pitches with a Kansas runner on first base Friday in Lawrence

Houston opened their next-to-last Big 12 series of the season in Kansas on Friday night with a 13-5 victory in a game that was not as close as the final score indicates.

Justin Murray (4-for-6) led off the bottom of the third inning with a home run to right-center field, his fifth home run of the season, for the first score of the game.

The Cougars offense added five more runs in the top of the fourth inning . . . Coby DeJesus walked to lead off the frame . . . With one out, Jacob Schoenvogel lined a ball all the way to the wall in left-center field to score DeJesus from first base.

Murray launched his second home run in as many innings with a towering blast to right-center field, his sixth homer of the season was good for two more Houston runs . . . Anthony Tulimero then reached base on an error at third base . . . Harold Coll made the Jayhawks pay for the defensive mistake by hitting a towering home run that just cleared the left field wall and Houston led 6-0.

Kansas went to the bullpen to start the fifth inning and Tre Jones (2-for-4) met the new pitcher with a seven-pitch at-bat which ended in a leadoff single . . . Walks to DeJesus and Jonathan French loaded the bases with no outs . . . Schoenvogel walked, and after another Jayhawks pitching change, Kenneth Jimenez was hit by a pitch, each drove in a run and the bases continued to be loaded with no outs.

Murray grounded into a fielder’s choice which drove in the third run of the inning and his fourth of the game and the Cougars led 9-0.

A second consecutive three-run inning, aided by Murray’s fifth RBI of the game, gave Houston a 12-0 lead halfway through the sixth inning.

Houston starter Cade Citelli pitched six innings before his day was complete, he allowed three runs in his final frame but struck out seven in his outing . . . The Cougars bullpen gave up two more runs in the seventh inning before Graysen Drezek took the mound and pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

DeJesus added a run to the Houston ledger with a groundout RBI in the top of the ninth inning to give Houston a 13-5 lead, which stood as the final score.

Citelli improved to 4-2 this season with the win . . . Nine Houston batters had a hit in the Friday contest with Murray and Jones the only two Cougars with multiple hits . . . Jones also walked twice in the game and reached base four times . . . Cary Arbolida tripled off the batter’s eyes in center field and was hit by a pitch twice to reach base three times.

The Cougars and the Jayhawks return to action Saturday afternoon at 2pm . . . Antoine Jean will make the start on Saturday with a chance for Houston to claim the series.

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Bennett, Reese Homer; Arbolida Delivers Walk-off Winner

For the second time in less than a week in a row some midweek magic late in the game helped Houston to a 5-4 walk-off win over Nicholls on Tuesday night at Schroder Park.

The Cougars were trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning before getting their first hit of the game . . . Catcher Conner Bennett (2-for-4), making just his sixth start of the season, hit a solo home run over the left field wall to lead off the frame for Houston’s first hit of the night.

The Houston half of the bottom of the sixth inning started with Anthony Tulimero (2-for-3) being hit by a pitch and Harold Coll followed suit, being hit by the eighth pitch of his at-bat . . . Ace Reese followed with a home run to center field off the batter’s eye and Houston led for the first time in the game, 4-3.

A solo home run for the Colonels tied the game at four in the top of the ninth inning.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Houston offense put together a rally . . . Tulimero doubled down the right field line and Coll followed with a walk . . . Jonathan French made a pinch-hit appearance and was walked to load the bases and the Colonels went to the bullpen.

Cary Arbolida (2-for-3) hit a towering fly ball to shallow center field . . . The center fielder raced in toward the infield at full speed to attempt a catch . . . The ball hit the fielder’s glove and fell to the ground allowing Houston to walk-off 5-4 winners.

Houston walked-off McNeese last Wednesday in 10 innings on a wild pitch.

The Cougars had seven runs in the ballgame and only four players accounted for them.

Diego Luzardo and Jose Torrealba each pitched two scoreless innings and Ryan Dollar contributed one inning of his own.

Houston has the next two days off before opening a Big 12 weekend series in Lawrence, Kansas against the Jayhawks . . . First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30pm.

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