Duncan Howard made the start against Texas Saturday
Texas edged out Houston 6-5 on Saturday night at Schroeder Park to even the weekend series and set up a deciding game on Sunday afternoon.
Texas got a run in the game’s opening frame when a fly ball to center field was allowed to drop in for a base hit, scoring one and giving the Longhorns the early . . . Texas added two more runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-0 lead.
Cameron Nickens led off the bottom of the third inning with a single into right-center field and Coby DeJesus followed with a single into left field . . . One out later, Anthony Tulimero (3-for-4) got Houston on the board with a run-scoring single . . . Harold Coll was walked to load the bases . . . Ace Reese (2-for-4) drove a fly ball deep into the left field corner near the foul line and it dropped just fair as it was mis-played by the Texas left fielder allowing two-runs to score on the single.
The Cougars trailed 5-3 after the seventh inning stretch, DeJesus got the inning started with a line drive home run over the left field fence . . . With one out, Tulimero hit a drive in nearly the same place, though a little further and with less doubt, and the game was tied at five on his third home run of the season.
A leadoff home run for Texas in the top of the ninth inning proved to be the difference in the ballgame as the Longhorns escaped with a 6-5 victory to even the series.
Alex Solis took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with runners at first and second base and only one out . . . Solis got a swinging strikeout and another one looking to end the threat, striking out the only two batters he faced . . . Michael Benzor pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the eighth inning, working around a dropped fly ball in left field that resulted in a runner on third base with no outs.
Houston and Texas will conclude their series Sunday afternoon with a rubber match at Schroder Park . . . First pitch is set for 1pm.
Owen Woodward got the start Friday night and was perfect for 4 1/3 innings.
Pitching and power-hitting led the way as Houston ended an 11-game losing skid in Big 12 play with a 9-1 win over Texas at Schroeder Park on Friday night.
Harold Coll singled up the middle to lead off the bottom of the second inning . . . Ace Reese was hit by a pitch and Cary Arbolida (2-for-3) followed with a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position while becoming the first out of the inning . . . A wild pitch with two outs scored Coll and gave Houston a 1-0 lead.
Anthony Tulimero (3-for-4) was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning with Houston still leading by a run . . . Coll singled into left field before being erased on a double play which moved Tulimero to third base . . . Arbolida got a chance to swing the bat with two outs and he delivered . . . Arbolida hit a drive 411 feet over the wall in center field to the right of the batter’s eye and the Cougars led 3-0.
Houston starter Owen Woodward, making his first start of the season, was perfect through 4 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts . . . A solo home run with one out in the top of the fifth inning broke things up and Woodward struck out the following batter with noticeable discomfort on the strikeout pitch . . . Woodward’s first pitch to the next batter was his last of the night as he was in visible pain after he released the pitch and he tossed his glove to the ground.
Woodward exited the game at 72 pitches and in an interesting twist, Saturday’s scheduled starter Cade Citelli took the mound to record the final out of the top of the fifth inning.
Jonathan French led off the bottom of the inning with a sole home run to left field . . . Justin Murray put down a surprise bunt and he beat the throw to first base for a one-out single . . . After an attempted double-steal resulted in an out at home plate, Murray was second base when Tulimero singled into shallow center field to give Houston a 5-1 advantage.
Reese led off the bottom of the sixth inning by slicing a single into left-center field . . . Arbolida demolished a 1-1 pitch that disappeared into the night as it traveled toward Elgin Street and Houston led 7-1.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Coby DeJesus singled to left field reaching base for the first time in the game . . . Tulimero homered to left field with two outs, a two-run blast to give Houston an eight-run advantage heading to the ninth inning.
Citelli dominated over the final 4 1/3 innings allowing Texas just one base runner on a seventh inning single . . . Citelli faced the minimum in three different innings and finished with six strikeouts and no walks and improved to 2-0 on the year with the win.
“I had everything working. In the pen I had to warm up fast, you know. It’s unfortunate what happened to Woody,” Citelli said after the game. “I had all my pitches working and I pounded the strike zone.”
Asked about the difference for a pitcher between being a regular starter last year and being used out of the bullpen this season, Citelli keeps it simple.
“Nothing changes. I mean, it’s all routine, staying with it every day,” Citelli said. “That’s all it takes. I know I have the stuff, just getting ahead early, that’s a big difference from last year.”
After the game, Arbolida laughed when asked about putting down a sacrifice bunt in the second inning before hitting two home runs later in the game.
“I mean, it helped. It got me to see the ball a little bit better,” Arbolida said. “I was just working on trying to hit the ball hard.”
“I just saw a fastball up a little bit and then took it that way, up and out, and took it over right-center,” Arbolida said of his first home run. In describing his second home run, Arbolida said, “I just missed his hanging slider, and then he threw another one, and I just took it over the left field fence.”
Arbolida described how not overthinking has been key to his recent success at the plate. Like Citelli, the simple approach is the one that is working right now.
“Just trying not to think too much, because when I think too much, that’s when it goes downhill,” Arbolida said. “So I just try not to overthink and just trust what Kiv’s teaching us and tee it up and just go with that.”
Woodward ended his outing with ten strikeouts and he allowed just the one hit in a nearly perfect outing . . . Neither Houston pitcher walked a batter and the two combined for 16 strikeouts.
The Cougars and the Longhorns get back to it on Saturday evening at Schroeder Park . . . Citelli was scheduled to make his first weekend start of the season in the middle game, but his surprise appearance after Woodward’s departure means a change in plans, it is unknown as of now who will make the start Saturday . . . A 6:30pm first pitch is scheduled.
Sam Houston evened the Don Sanders Cup series with an 8-5 win over Houston in Huntsville on Tuesday night to set up a winner-take-all game on May 14 in Sugar Land.
Anthony Tulimero hit a home run off of the left field foul pole with two outs in the top of the first inning for an early 1-0 Houston lead.
The lead was erased in the bottom half of the inning as the Bearkats plated two runs to take their own one-run lead.
Ace Reese tripled to get the top of the second inning started . . . Jonathan French brought Reese across the plate on a ground out RBI to first base to tie the game.
But once again, the Bearkats took the lead back in the bottom of the inning one a two-run home run.
Trailing 7-2 in the top of the fifth inning, Justin Murray got a run back with a one-out solo home run to left-center field.
French walked one inning later with one out and scored on a double to right-center field off the bat of Jacob Schoenvogel (3-for-4) . . . With two outs, Coby DeJesus singled up the middle to score Schoenvogel from third base . . . The two-run sixth inning was the final time the Cougars would score in the game as they fell by a final score of 8-5.
Harold Coll was 3-for-4 in the game hitting in the cleanup spot, joining Schoenvogel as the only two Houston batters with multiple hits Tuesday night.
Ryan Dollar had a nice outing for Houston, pitching the final two innings of the game and allowing just one base hit while striking out three Bearkats batters . . . Overall, the Cougars pitching staff allowed seven free passes and struck out six batters.
The Sam Houston victory means that the neutral site meeting between the two teams on May 14 will be the deciding game of the 2024 Don Sanders Cup series . . . The annual neutral site game will take place at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.
Houston will next be in action on Friday when the Texas Longhorns will visit Schroeder Park for a Big 12 weekend series . . . Friday’s game will open the first and only Big 12 matchup between the former Southwest Conference foes . . . Game one gets underway at 6:30pm.
Houston went 1-3 last week . . . The Cougars are now 16-15 overall and 4-11 in Big 12 play.
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Houston beat Rice 4-3 last Tuesday night to sweep the 2024 Silver Glove Series.
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The Cougars were swept in Lubbock over the weekend despite scoring 9, 12, and 8 runs.
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Harold Coll had five hits over the weekend, three of them home runs, including two on Friday night . . . Cary Arbolida and Jonathan French each scattered five hits over the weekend and hit two home runs apiece.
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Cade Citelli turned in quite possibly the best outing on the mound over the weekend . . . Citelli pitched 3 1/3 innings perfect innings striking out six Red Raiders along the way . . . When Citelli took the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning, not only were the bases loaded, but there was an 0-2 count on the batter that Cade inherited . . . Citelli not only came from way behind to get the strikeout, but he struck out the first four batters he faced . . . When he inherited the 0-2 count, Citelli needed four pitches to get the strikeout, all four were strikes (one was fouled off).
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Houston will welcome the Texas Longhorns to town this weekend for the one and only Big 12 matchup between the two teams . . . Texas is coming off a Big 12 series loss in Austin against BYU.
The series will run Friday to Sunday and will have the usual start times, 6:30pm Friday and Saturday and 1pm on Sunday at Schroeder Park.
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Right-hander Duncan Hunter made his return to the rotation on Sunday having not appeared in a game in exactly three weeks and one day . . . Hunter struggled through three innings, to be expected after such a long layoff, and it is tough to make a return to action in Lubbock of all places . . . Either way, it was good to see Hunter back out there for the Cougars, if Houston is going to rally and make a go of it the rest of the way, having Hunter in the rotation will be key.
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Jared Triolo has a base hit in six-straight games and in seven of his eight games played so far this season . . . Triolo hit a home run against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday afternoon at PNC Park, it was his first home run of the season.
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Left-handed John King made his second appearance of the season on Sunday in St. Louis against the Miami Marlins . . . King tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out two Marlins batters.
Jonathan French connects on a fifth inning home run Sunday in Lubbock
The winds of west Texas once again blew the way of Texas Tech as they completed the three-game sweep of Houston 12-8 in Lubbock on Sunday.
In the opening frame, Houston batters were doing a nice job of working deep counts and they drew two walks early, though one of the walks was erased on a caught-stealing . . . The other walked batter, Anthony Tulimero, was at first base when Harold Coll hit the second pitch of his at-bat over the wall in left-center field for a 2-0 Houston lead.
After the Red Raiders got a run back in the bottom of the first inning, Jacob Schoenvogel, a left-handed batter, bit a high floater the opposite way that looked destined for foul territory, but the carry of the ball led it to hit the left field foul pole for a leadoff home run and a 3-1 Houston lead.
For the second day in a row, Texas Tech plated three runs in the bottom of the third inning, with a grand slam as part of the mix on both days, and the Red Raiders took an 8-3 lead.
Trailing 11-3, Cary Arbolida was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the fifth inning when led Texas Tech to go to their bullpen for the first time in the game . . . Ace Reese then doubled into right-center field to score Arbolida all the way from first base . . . Jonathan French (3-for-5) then drove a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run home run on his team-leading eighth home run of the season and his second of the series.
Kenneth Jimenez came off the bench to deliver a run-scoring single in the seventh inning.
Texas Tech led 12-7 going to the top of the ninth inning . . . Arbolida led off with his second home run of the series, and fourth of the season, to right-center field . . . It was the start of what looked like another ninth inning rally, but like Saturday, the Red Raiders were able to close out the game and complete the series sweep.
Right-hander Cade Citelli was tremendous out of the bullpen for Houston on Sunday . . . Citelli inherited the bases loaded and a 2-0 count on a batter when he entered the game in the bottom of the fifth inning . . . Despite being behind in the count, Citelli got the strikeout, the first of four-straight strikeouts and six total . . . Citelli pitched the final 3 1/3 innings without allowing a hit or a walk.
Houston had 10 hits on the day, with seven different hitters reaching base . . . Tulimero was 2-for-3 Sunday, the only other Cougars hitter besides French to have multiple hits in the game.
The Red Raiders offense scored double-digit runs in all three games in the series.
Houston returns home tonight and will be off Monday before traveling to Huntsville for a midweek against Sam Houston on Tuesday night . . . Houston leads this year’s Don Sanders Cup series 1-0 after winning game one at Schroeder Park back on March 5 . . . First pitch in Huntsville is scheduled for 6:30pm.
Coby DeJesus was 4-for-6 against Texas Tech Saturday
Baseball in Lubbock was wild again on Saturday afternoon as Texas Tech claimed the weekend series over Houston with a 15-10 victory.
Jonathan French (2-for-4) led off the top of the second inning with a ground-rule double to left-center field . . . After a sacrifice bunt by Jacob Schoenvogel moved French to third base, Jake Rainess singled to left field to score French for an early one-run lead.
Rainess then stole second base on a delayed steal and the throw from the Red Raiders catcher went into center field allowing Rainess to move to third base where he was when a Coby DeJesus (4-for-6) ground out resulted in a RBI and a 2-0 Houston lead.
Texas Tech tied the game at two in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run home run and then took a one-run lead on a RBI single . . . A grand slam gave Texas Tech a seven-run frame and a 7-2 lead.
Trailing 12-2 in the top of the fifth inning, Harold Coll doubled into the left field corner to reach base with two outs . . . Coll was at third base after a wild pitch and Cary Arbolida singled on the infield to plate the run . . . Ace Reese (2-for-4) hit a home run over the left field wall, going the opposite way, a two-run shot . . . French added an opposite field home run of his own, going back-to-back with Reese, and Houston trailed 12-6 after the four-run inning.
The Cougars sent nine batters to the plate in the top of the sixth inning on four base hits and two walks . . . Houston plated four runs for the second-straight inning and only trailed by two-runs, 12-10.
Right-hander Owen Woodward had a terrific outing out of the Cougars bullpen . . . Woodward handled the final three innings of work and allowed just one run . . .Houston pitching allowed thirteen walks in the game.
Houston put together a mini rally in the top of the ninth inning when Jacob Schoenvogel doubled to lead off the inning . . . Alex Lopez singled in only his second at-bat of the game after pinch hitting in the seventh inning . . . DeJesus picked up his fourth hit of the game with a run-scoring single on his sixth hit of the weekend . . . The would-be rally fizzled out after one more run scored on an Anthony Tulimero sacrifice fly ball for his second RBI of the game, while Houston fell by a 15-12 final score.
The Cougars offense was consistent, and on many days scoring 12 runs should be enough for a win, but this series is being played in Lubbock . . . All nine batters in the starting lineup had at least one hit in the ballgame, including four Cougars with multiple hits.
The Cougars and the Red Raiders will conclude their series on Sunday afternoon . . . Right-hander Duncan Howard makes his return after not seeing action for three weeks . . . A 1pm first pitch is scheduled.
Harold Coll homered in the fourth inning Friday night.
Wild games in Lubbock are not new and Friday night was another one for the books as Houston fell to Texas Tech 12-9 to open the weekend series.
Texas Tech struck first and took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Cougars offense got the top of the second started with a walk by Kenneth Jimenez in a six pitch at-bat . . . Jimenez was erased on a ground ball by Jonathan French after a seven pitch at-bat and he advanced to second base on a wild pitch.
With one out, Cary Arbolida (3-for-4) lined a ball into left field for a run-scoring double . . . Cameron Nickens then rolled a triple to the wall in right-center field to score Arbolida and the Cougars trailed by only a run . . . With Nickens moving down the line from third base, Texas Tech’s catcher attempted a back-pick and the ball went off of a diving Nickens and rolled down the left field line allowing Nickens to easily cross the plate as the tying run and it was a brand new ballgame.
Still tied in the top of the fourth inning, Arbolida led off the frame with his second double in as many plate appearances . . . One out later, Coby DeJesus singled up the middle to put runners on the corners . . . After a Red Raiders pitching change, DeJesus stole second base as Justin Murray walked on four pitches to load the bases . . . Anthony Tulimero followed with a sacrifice fly to left-center field that plated Arbolida as the go-ahead run.
Harold Coll (3-for-5) then deposited a 1-0 pitch over the wall in center field for a three-run blast and a 7-3 Houston lead.
Texas Tech got two of the runs back in the bottom of the inning and the Cougars only led by two runs.
Arbolida hit the first pitch he saw in the top of the fifth inning over the left field wall for a one-out solo home run and an 8-5 Houston lead.
A four-run bottom of the fifth inning gave Texas Tech a 9-8 lead.
Coll hit his second home run in as many at-bats with one-out in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at nine.
The Red Raiders broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh inning with a three-run frame with three base hits and a walk.
Houston could add nothing over the final three innings and fell for the ninth straight time in Big 12 play . . . Cougars pitching struck out ten batters but also walked six on Friday . . . Five Houston hitters accounted for all eleven hits in the loss.
Houston and Texas Tech will continue the weekend series on Saturday with a 2pm scheduled first pitch . . . Left-hander Kyle LaCalameto will get the start for Houston, his third straight weekend start.
Houston completed a sweep of the 2024 Silver Glove Series with a 4-3 win over Rice at Schroeder Park on Tuesday night.
Ace Reese reached base with two outs in the bottom of the first inning on a throwing error by the Rice shortstop . . . After Reese stole second base, Anthony Tulimero (3-for-4) lined a single into left-center field to score Reese and give Houston an early 1-0 advantage.
Rice got the run right back in the top of the second inning to tie the game and took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning.
Tristan Moore homered to right field with one right in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game . . . The home run was Moore’s first hit of the season, but also his first hit as a Cougar.
Still tied in the bottom of the fifth inning, Tulimero doubled to the wall in right-center field with two outs, his third hit of the game . . . Harold Coll (2-for-4) doubled into the left field corner and Tulimero crossed home plate as the go-ahead run . . . Jonathan French then singled to right field to drive in Coll and Houston led 4-2.
Rice responded and got a run back in the top of the sixth inning to make it a one run game.
Houston left-hander Michael Benzor pitched 2 2/3 innings out of the Houston bullpen to move the game from the third inning to the sixth inning, it was Benzor’s longest outing of the season . . . Benzor pitched parts of four key innings while allowing just one unearned run.
Ryan Dollar, Chris Stuart, and Alex Solis each pitched one inning without allowing Rice to score any runs . . . Solis threw nine pitches while retiring all three batters he faced . . . Owen Woodward pitched the ninth inning and retired all three batters he faced.
Benzor earned the win for his efforts and is now 1-0 on the year.
After the game Benzor spoke about what allowed him to be effective and stay in the game Tuesday night to achieve season highs in both innings pitched and total pitches.
“The main thing, just getting ahead, creating the fastball, establishing the fastball and then come back with the breaker,” Benzor said. “Just causing a lot of weak contact and letting my fielders work is really what helped me get through the innings.”
Benzor also talked about where he is at this point in the season and what the outing Tuesday night meant for him long term.
“Definitely, keep building off of this one. It’s good to keep building up the body as the season goes on, especially late season when you know things start to get deeper into the pens and everything, so I felt like it was a great experience to get out there and really build my body.”
“The main thing is trusting my stuff,” Benzor said, “No matter the count, I feel like if I attack the batter I’ll be able to get him out or find success doing that.”
Moore was asked about his game-tying home run in the fourth inning after the game and he was all smiles.
“There’s no better feeling than hitting a home run, especially my first hit as a Cougar,” Moore said. “He threw me a slider. I knew it was coming. I just did what I had to do.”
Asked if he knew the ball was gone as soon as he made contact, Moore responded, “Yeah, I did. I definitely did, I felt like I got all of it.”
Houston scored four runs in each of the three games of the Silver Glove Series this season, while the pitching staff allowed one, two, and three runs – – six total runs over three games.
Houston is off until Friday when the Cougars will be in Lubbock to face Texas Tech in a Big 12 weekend series, the first of four straight games away from home before hosting Texas April 12-14 . . . Friday’s first pitch at Dan Law Field is scheduled for 6:30pm.
Houston was 1-3 last week and is now 15-12 overall and 4-8 in the Big 12.
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The Cougars topped Lamar 6-4 in their only midweek game last week . . . The victory was the 2,000th in the history of the Houston baseball program and also ended Lamar’s nation-leading 12 game winning streak.
Lamar then traveled north to Oklahoma and swept the Sooners in Norman to start a new streak.
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Houston then traveled to Ft. Worth to face TCU in Big 12 play . . . The Horned Frogs swept the weekend series thanks in part to dominant pitching efforts of 8 innings and 8 2/3 innings in the first two games . . . The Cougars got a great outing from Jaxon Jelkin in the final game, and TCU only had two base hits in the game, but Houston errors led to a late four-run inning in which the Horned Frogs took the lead and held on for the win.
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Houston will take on Rice at Schroeder Park on Tuesday to conclude the 2024 Silver Glove Series, which the Cougars have already claimed by winning the first two matchups last month . . . First pitch is set for 6:30pm as the Cougars look to sweep the Series this year.
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The Cougars will be in Lubbock this weekend to take on Texas Tech in Big 12 action . . . The Red Raiders are coming off a series loss on the road against UCF.
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The MLB season got underway on Thursday with Jared Triolo and Connor Wong the only two former Cougars on opening day rosters, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox, respectively.
Triolo was 1-for-6 on opening day in Miami and drove in the winning run in the top of the 12th inning on a single into right-center field for a 6-5 Pirates victory . . . Triolo went 2-for-3 in Sunday’s finale with the Marlins.
Wong was 2-for-4 with one RBI in Thursday’s opener in Seattle, a 6-4 Red Sox win, and he was 1-for-3 in Saturday’s third of four games in the series . . . Wong is batting .429 and has hit in both games played in to open the season.
Houston had their Big 12 woes continue on Saturday in Ft. Worth as TCU completed a weekend sweep of the Cougars 6-4 in the finale.
Leadoff batter Coby DeJesus saw a nine pitch at-bat to open up Saturday’s game, fouling off five pitches before lining out, but the at-bat gave Justin Murray plenty of pitches to look at from the on-deck circle . . . Murray then singled into right field . . . Ace Reese then worked an eleven pitch at-bat before he struck out looking . . . The Cougars did not score in the inning, but they forced TCU starter Kole Klecker to throw 28 pitches in the first inning.
Making TCU starters work high-pitch innings was something the Cougars did not do in the first two games of the series when both starters went at least eight innings . . . The Saturday approach would pay dividends later in the afternoon.
Right-hander Jaxon Jelkin made the Saturday start for Houston, his second straight start in the final game of a weekend after being scratched from his usual Friday night start last week against Kansas State . . . Jelkin allowed an unearned run in the second inning and a run in the third inning, and was impressive the rest of the way even though TCU took a 2-0 lead.
Designated Hitter Tre Jones was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the fifth inning . . . Harold Coll hit the first pitch he saw for a single to left field . . . Jonathan French followed with a double into left-center field to plate Jones . . . One out later, Jacob Schoenvogel dropped a single into right field that scored French and Jake Rainess to give Houston a 3-2 lead and TCU went to the bullpen.
A throwing error in the top of the sixth inning plated another Houston run and gave the Cougars a two-run lead.
Jelkin exited the game with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning after a single broke up a string of 13 straight batters retired . . . It was Jelkin’s longest outing of the season to this point, and arguably his best, striking out six along the way, but he would have to settle for a no-decision for his effort.
Few things went right after Houston went to the bullpen as two errors, including a throwing error on a made to order double-play ball back to the pitcher that was thrown into center field . . . Two walks in the inning hurt Houston’s cause as well while the Horned Frogs scored four times and took a 6-4 lead.
Houston loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth but it was to no avail as TCU closed out the game and the series sweep.
TCU scored six runs in the game, but only had two hits on the day, aided by three Houston defensive errors . . . The Cougars offense left nine runners on base . . . The four runs scored on Saturday was more runs than in the previous two games combined (three).
Houston returns home today and will next be in action on Tuesday against Rice at Schroeder Park . . . The third and final game of the Silver Glove Series gets underway at 6:30pm, with Houston in line for the sweep of the series this season . . . The Cougars will then hit the road for their next four games, first with a stop in Lubbock to face Texas Tech for another weekend of Big 12 play.
Houston Cougars Baseball Beat 