Tag: Anthony Tulimero

Houston Wins at McNeese 9-6, Plays at Home Wednesday

Cameron Nickens homered in the first inning at McNeese on Tuesday

After their three-game sweep in Minnesota, the Cougars returned home late Sunday before traveling to Lake Charles to face McNeese on Tuesday night . . . The Cougars topped the Cowboys 9-6 to make it four victories in a row.

The Cougars got on the board early on Tuesday night and staked starter Cade Citelli to a nice early lead, something Citellie has not been accustomed to in his earlier starts this season.

The second batter in the Houston lineup, Alex Lopez (2-for-3), drew a one-out walk in the top of the first inning . . . Cameron Nickens immediately followed with a home run to left-center field for a 2-0 Houston lead.

Still leading 2-0 in the top of the third inning, Lopez and Nickens hit back-to-back one out singles . . . Catcher Anthony Tulimero (3-for-5) hit a blast off the scoreboard in left-field for a three-run home run to give Citelli a five-run cushion.

In the top of the fifth inning, Justin Murray drove in two runs on a double into the left field corner and Ian McMillan brought him home on a sacrifice fly ball to center field and the Cougars led 8-0.

Citelli was cruising for the most part, striking out eight Cowboys batters over five innings, departing in the top of the sixth inning as he reached 90 pitches in his midweek outing.

The Cowboys got back into the game against the Houston bullpen cutting the Cougars lead to 8-6 late.

Back-to-back one-out singles by Tulimero and Nick Collins in the top of the ninth inning led to a sacrifice fly to right field by McMillan plating Tulimero and the Cougars led 9-6.

Murray took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning and struck out three Cowboys batters to preserve the Houston victory and pick up the save . . . Citelli earned the victory with his excellent start, his first win as a Houston Cougar.

The Cougars (9-11) return home tomorrow to face Southern at Schroeder Park for their final midweek game this week . . . Malachi Lott, who left Tuesday’s game after his at-bat in the first inning due to a possible illness, is likely to start if his health is right . . . First pitch Tuesday will take place at 6:30pm.

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Cougars Edged 7-6 as Sooners Sweep

Malachi Lott started Sunday’s finale against Oklahoma

A closer contest on Sunday yielded a familiar result from the weekend as Oklahoma swept Houston with a 7-6 victory at Schroeder Park.

Malachi Lott got the Sunday start for the second straight week and worked 3 1/3 innings where he allowed just one run before being lifted for right-hander Josh Ekness.

Houston tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning when a Zach Arnold (4-for-5) lead-off single was followed by a slicing double to left field by Alex Lopez . . . One out later, Cameron Nickens scored Arnold from third base on a deep sacrifice fly ball to center field.

The Cougars took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Ian McMillan went the opposite way and drove a single into right field to plate Brandon Burckel from second base.

Oklahoma added three runs in the top of the sixth inning on double and a single and with the help of three walks, a batter hit by a pitch, and a throwing error at first base to take a 4-2 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, two singles and a catcher’s interference loaded the bases for Houston before Brandon Uhse singled on the infield to score a run . . . One out and one walk later, Anthony Tulimero hit a bases loaded double to right field to plate two runs but the potential tying run was thrown out at the plate on a relay and the Cougars went to the ninth inning trailing 7-6.

A last gasp effort in the ninth inning fell short with Burckel on second base as the potential tying run as Oklahoma completed the sweep.

Houston is off on Monday and will be back on the field at home on Tuesday when they welcome Texas A&M to town for a midweek matchup . . . First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.

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’s Season Ends in Clearwater in Championship Final

Maddux Miller pitches against ECU in Clearwater on Sunday (Photo credit: American Athletic Conference/Mary Holt)

The Houston Cougars saw their season come to end on Sunday afternoon in Clearwater as they fell 6-1 to East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference Championship final.

While East Carolina was able to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, the Cougars found no such luck with the Pirates pitching staff.

Freshman Cameron Nickens was 3-for-3 on Sunday afternoon and drove in the only Cougars run on a single in the top of the seventh inning . . . Nickens accounted for half of the Cougars six base hits in the contest.

Maddux Miller pitched 2 2/3 innings out of the bullpen at a critical point in the game and he was outstanding, striking out five Pirates batters . . . Ben Sears followed Miller and was equally great, also over 2 2/3 innings where he did not allow a hit and struck out three batters.

Where Houston saw its season end on the second day of the AAC Championship in each of their last two appearances, the Cougars made it to the final game in 2022 and the very young Cougars team experienced what it takes to play big time, competitive baseball.

Ryan Hernandez played his final game as a Houston Cougar on Sunday, and just as he has been the epitome of class and hard work during his three years with the program, he was just as classy and prideful in his postgame comments.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Hernandez said. “I love being a Houston Cougar. When I first committed here, I committed as soon as I got the opportunity to commit here.”

Head coach Todd Whitting was still hopeful and positive about both the season and the future after the loss Sunday.

“This is still one of my favorite teams I’ve ever had,” Whitting said. “Coming off a tough year last year, just the unbelievable commitments to the program, to the University of Houston, and to what we were trying to do.”

“We got a couple of holes to fill going in to next year, I feel good about it. We start three freshmen every day, we got a ton of guys coming back. The future is bright at the University of Houston,” Whitting said.

Reflecting on some of the great times during his career at Houston, Hernandez said, “I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve had a great time here and I’m really appreciative of that.”

Hernandez was selected to the All-Tournament Team after Sunday’s game, along with teammates Jose Torrealba, Santiago Garcia, and Anthony Tulimero.

The Cougars finish the season 37-24. The 2022 offseason begins now.

Houston Advances to American Championship on Late Tulimero Home Run

Anthony Tulimero rounds third base after his ninth inning home run Saturday in Clearwater. (Photo credit: American Athletic Conference/Mary Holt)

Houston had two chances to advance to the American Athletic Conference Championship final on Sunday and they capitalized on the second one with a 9-6 victory over UCF on Saturday night in Clearwater.

In the opening frame of game one, Santiago Garcia singled into right-center, scoring Alex Lopez from second base and the Cougars led 1-0.

Brandon Burckel hit a one-out double off of the wall in left field in the top of the fourth inning, forcing the Knights to go to the bullpen . . . One out later, Lopez hit the first pitch of his at-bat over the wall in right-center field and the Cougars lead was increased to 3-0.

The Knights rallied and scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 4-3 lead.

Ian McMillan tied the game in the top of the fifth inning with a two-out solo home run to right field . . . With the Cougars trailing 7-4 in the top of the seventh inning, McMillan hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left field to get the Cougars to within a run.

Garcia led off the top of the ninth inning with a single into right field . . . Ryan Hernandez sent the next pitch over the wall in left field to tie the game at eight.

The Knights had an answer in the bottom of the tenth inning as they manufactured a run to walk-off as 9-8 winners, forcing a second game of the day to settle matters.

Houston jumped out to another early lead, this time with a three-spot in the opening frame . . . But the Knights answered right back with three runs in their half of the first inning.

Brandon Uhse stole second in the fifth inning and Tulimero drove him home on a two-out single to right-center field as Houston regained the lead 4-3.

After tying the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, UCF plated two runs in the sixth inning to take a 6-4 lead.

Houston tied the game in the top of the eighth inning when a one-out single by McMillian into left-center scored two.

Still tied in the top of the ninth, Tulimero hit a two-out three-run home run over the left field wall to give the Cougars a 9-6 lead going to the bottom of the ninth.

Jose Torrealba returned to the mound for the second time in the day to close out the victory that would send the Cougars to the Sunday championship game, and he retired all three batters he faced in the ninth after the hard luck loss in the first game walk-off loss.

Houston used seven pitchers in game two . . . Maddux Miller, Jackson Dannelley, Logan Clayton, and Torrealba all pitched a scoreless inning or more . . . Cameron Prayer went three innings at a crucial point and really helped stabilize things after a rough opening frame.

“You know, obviously any win is momentum,” Tulimero said after the game. “But we have a saying on this team, ‘if you sleep on the win, you’ll wake up to a loss.’ We’re gonna get in the clubhouse, celebrate a bit, flush it, come back tomorrow looking to win the championship.”

Houston will face East Carolina on Sunday morning, at 11am CT . . . A win on Sunday means a trip to a Regional next weekend, while a loss means the end of the season.

Houston Walks-Off Memphis; Advances to Saturday at the AAC

The Cougars celebrate the walk-off win in shallow right field on Thursday in Clearwater (Photo credit: American Athletic Conference/Mary Holt)

Houston kept their season going by defeating Memphis 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth inning in Clearwater on Thursday night in the American Athletic Conference Championship.

Brandon Uhse (4-for-5) hit the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning over the wall in deep left-center . . . Alex Lopez (4-for-6) doubled down the left field line in front of Anthony Tulimero who hit a monster home run to left-center and the Cougars led 3-0 before an out had been recorded in the inning.

The Cougars added a run in the second inning when Lopez, attempting to steal second base, was caught in a rundown allowing Uhse to score from third base.

After the Tigers scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning, Uhse and Lopez led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single and a double, respectively . . . Tulimero then delivered a double into left-center field to push the Cougars lead back up to four runs, 6-2.

A four-run top of the sixth inning tied the game at six as the Cougars used three different pitchers to get through the frame . . . Memphis then took a 7-6 lead in the top of the sixth inning.

The Cougars tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning when a throwing error at third base allowed Brandon Burckel to score when the ball bounced into the Houston dugout.

Still tied at seven in the bottom of the ninth inning, Burckel led off with a single into center field and then he stole second base on a pitch that was up-and-in and delayed the Tiger catcher from making a throw to second base . . . Uhse was intentionally walked before a Lopez sacrifice fly to right field moved Burkcel to third base . . . Tulimero was the second intentional walk of the inning, which loaded the bases . . . Santiago Garcia laced a one-out single down the third base line to drive in Burckel from third base for the winning run as the Cougars walked it off 8-7.

The Cougars used six pitchers in the victory. Logan Clayton, Cameron Prayer, and Jose Torrealba all pitched scoreless relief . . . Houston out-hit Memphis nineteen to twelve in the game, and eight different Cougars had base hits . . . Houston continues to play solid defensively and did not commit an error on Thursday, while Memphis committed two errors.

“In that moment, it’s just going back to being a little kid,” Garcia said after the game. “Getting in situations like that, it’s fun. It’s really just taking a deep breath, enjoying the moment, trying to put a good swing on a ball, and whatever happens, happens.”

Head coach Todd Whitting has continued to reiterate that there are no roles right now, he and his staff are simply choosing players who they think can get the job done in certain situations, which is another way of saying it’s all hands on deck right now.

The Cougars now have a day off on Friday and will play their next game on early Saturday afternoon when they will face the winner of a late Friday afternoon matchup between Memphis and UCF . . . If Houston stumbles at any point, they know right now they have the luxury of needing to be defeated twice to be eliminated.

Houston Loses to East Carolina, Clinches Third Spot in AAC

Houston faced East Carolina in Greenville, NC on Saturday night

Houston lost 5-3 to East Carolina on Saturday night, and while the Cougars now know their place in next week’s American Athletic Conference tournament in Clearwater, they do not know who their first opponent will be once they get there.

The Pirates plated a pair of runs in each of the first two innings on Saturday and held a 4-0 lead through four innings.

Anthony Tulimero (2-for-4) led off the top of the fifth inning with a single that squeezed between the shortstop and third baseman and rolled into left field . . . One out later, Ryan Hernandez hit his twelfth home run of the season over the wall in right-center field to cut the East Carolina lead in half, 4-2.

Zach Arnold (2-for-4) added a one-out RBI single in the top of the sixth inning, driving in Samuel Tormos who had reached on a throwing error, and Houston only trailed 4-3.

The Cougars got no closer than that, with the Pirates adding a run in the eighth inning and taking a 5-3 lead, which would be the final score . . . The Cougars got in some work for six pitchers in the game, in the next-to-last preparation before play begins in Clearwater on Tuesday . . . The Houston offense only collected five hits on Saturday, by just three players.

A loss by UCF earlier on Saturday opened up an opportunity for the Cougars to make things more interesting if they could win their final two games, but with the loss to East Carolina, Houston clinched the third spot in the standings as they wait to find out who they will face in their first game in Clearwater, though it will be a contest between either Memphis or Wichita State in the late game on Tuesday night.

Houston and East Carolina close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 12 noon start time . . . Both teams will head to Clearwater after the series to prepare for the conference tournament which begins on Tuesday morning . . . The Cougars have not named a Saturday starter at this point.

Houston Takes Series in Wichita, Stands Alone in Second in American

Houston closed out their weekend series at Wichita State on Sunday

Houston took their second straight conference road series with an 11-8 win over Wichita State in Wichita on Sunday.

With two outs in the top of the first inning, Alez Lopez extended the inning when he singled to reach base . . . Anthony Tulimero then homered to left field to give the Cougars an early 2-0 lead.

Over the first two innings, the Shockers scored three runs to take a 3-2 lead into the third inning.

Brandon Burckel walked and Brandon Uhse singled to set the table in the top of the third inning for Houston . . . Lopez singled home a run before Tulimero was hit by a pitch to load the bases . . . Cameron Nickens and Ryan Hernandez each singled home a run . . . Ian McMillan doubled to the wall in left field to drive in another run.

A fielder’s choice on a batted ball by Santiago Garcia resulted in a rundown between third base and home plate, as Garcia made for second base, the throw to attempt to get him out was well wide of the base and a sixth and final run scored in the frame and Houston led 8-3.

Houston starter Nathan Medrano took the game into the third inning and gave way to Logan Clayton with two outs in the inning.

Still leading 8-7 in the sixth inning, a lead off walk to Hernandez got the inning started  . . . Two walks and a fielder’s choice put runners on base for Uhse who delivered a two RBI single . . . Arnold drove in the third run of the inning on a ground out to third base and Houston took an 11-7 lead.

Ben Sears entered the game in the fifth inning with two outs in relief of Clayton and pitched the final 4 1/3 innings of the game, only surrendering a run on a solo home run with two outs in the ninth inning . . . Sears improved to 7-2 on the year with the win.

In a reversal of what happened in 2021, where the Shockers took seven of eight against the Cougars, Houston won four of six contests this year . . . The Cougars are now alone in second place in the American Athletic Conference, behind only East Carolina, with two big weekend series remaining . . . The Cougars will face UCF at Schroeder Park next weekend, they lead the Knights by one game, and then Houston closes out the regular season the following weekend in Greenville against East Carolina.

The Cougars return home on Sunday evening and will face Sam Houston State on Tuesday at Constellation Field in Sugar Land in the third and final game of the 2022 Don Sanders Cup, which Houston won in April after taking the first two games of the series . . . First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:30pm in Sugar Land.

Houston Loses Middle Game at Wichita State

Houston faced Wichita State in Wichita on Saturday

Wichita State evened the weekend series with Houston on Saturday afternoon with a runaway 12-4 win in Wichita.

Brandon Burckel reached second base on a one out double in the top of the third inning . . . Zach Arnold delivered a two-out RBI single to give Houston the early lead . . . After Alex Lopez singled to extend the innings, Anthony Tulimero delivered a two-out RBI single of his own and the Cougars led 2-0.

After the Shockers tied the game in the third, Ryan Hernandez led off the fourth inning with a home run high off the scoreboard in left field and Houston re-took the lead by a run . . . The home run was the eighth of the season for Hernandez, and his second in as many days.

After two quick outs, Burckel worked a walk and then stole second base . . . Brandon Uhse doubled to score Burckel from second base and Houston led 4-2 . . . A walk to Arnold spelled the end of the day for Wichita State starter Cameron Bye as the Shockers went to the bullpen.

However, the rest of the ballgame was all Shockers as Wichita State scored ten unanswered runs to take a 12-4 lead which stood up as the final score.

The Cougars could only reach the Shockers pitching staff for three base hits after the fourth inning, all singles, and they went down in order twice in the final five frames.

Maddux Miller tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball and Bryson Walker threw one scoreless inning, the only two pitchers of the six Houston used in the contest who did not allow the Shockers to score.

Houston and Wichita State will play the deciding game of the weekend series on Sunday morning . . . First pitch is scheduled for 11am, expect to see Nathan Medrano on the mound for the Cougars.