Houston’s troubles in Big 12 play continued on Friday night when Baylor came to Schroeder Park and claimed a 6-2 victory.
As the Cougars continue to look for a workable solution to the starting rotation, they chose right-handed freshman Connor Udland.
Udland pitched well, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing just two runs on five hits, and he added three strikeouts.
The Houston offense struggled against Baylor starter Lucas Davenport who pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed just one run.
A Blake Fields RBI single in the sixth inning was followed by Jackson LaLima’s sixth home run of the season in the seventh inning, a solo shot to deep left-center field, and that was the extent of the Cougars’ run production.
Right-hander Harrison Boushele pitched for the second game in a row, and just as he was dominant against Texas on Tuesday night, he was equally brilliant in shutting down the Baylor offense . . . Boushele allowed the Bears nothing over the final 2 1/3 innings, with a lone base runner reaching on a fielding error at third base which was of no consequence.
Boushele also struck out four batters for the second straight game.
Houston only had five hits in the game, and only one of them was for extra bases.
The Cougars and the Bears return to action Saturday at 1pm at Schroeder Park.
Eric Van Valkenburg was great out of the Houston bullpen Friday night.
Houston dropped the weekend opener against West Virginia 9-2 Friday night at Schroeder Park.
After being retired in order through the first three innings, the Houston offense showed signs of life to start the bottom of the fourth inning . . . Aaron Lugo led off the inning with a liner just inside the third base bag for a double . . . Two outs later, designated hitter Kenneth Jimenez lined a double between the shortstop and the second base bag into center field to score Lugo from second base to cut the Houston deficit to 5-1.
After the Mountaineers added a run in the top half of the fifth inning, the Cougars got a run back in the bottom half when Cade Climie went the opposite way and hit a home run over the right field wall with one out, but Houston still trailed 6-2.
West Virginia added a run in the sixth inning and two more runs in the eighth inning on their way to a 9-2 victory.
Three defensive errors by the Cougars made five of the West Virginia runs unearned . . . The three errors hurt three of the four Houston pitchers in Friday’s game.
Malachi Lott took the mound with two runners on base and no outs in the top of the sixth inning, he retired the only three batters he faced in the frame, striking out two of them . . . Lott retired the first six batters he faced before two singles and an error cost him a run in the eighth inning . . . Right-hander Eric Van Valkenburg was solid over 1 2/3 innings to close out the game without allowing a base hit or any runs, he faced five batters and recorded five outs.
The Houston offense recorded five base hits in the game, each of them by a different player.
The Cougars and the Mountaineers resume the weekend series on Saturday night at Schroeder Park . . . Richie Roman will start the game for Houston and he will deliver the first pitch at 6:35pm.
Houston completed its weekend series at Baylor on Sunday.
Houston topped Baylor 4-2 on Sunday at Baylor Ballpark in Waco to win the Big 12 road series as they continue a stretch of eight games in ten days.
The Cougars went with a new lineup of sorts for the Sunday afternoon game and the changes paid immediate dividends when Coby DeJesus, batting in the leadoff spot, singled up the middle to get the first inning started . . . An error down the third base line on a liner by Xavier Perez allowed the ball to roll into foul territory up the line as DeJesus moved all the way to third base and Perez stopped at second base . . . Tre Broussard (2-for-4) singled home DeJesus before Aaron Lugo grounded out to bring Perez across the plate for a 2-0 early Houston lead.
Broussard stole second base before the first inning came to a close, he improved his perfect stolen base streak to 21-for-21.
After Tyler Cox led off the top of the second inning with a single, Baylor went to the bullpen, after which Riley Jackson sacrificed Cox to second base . . . DeJesus (2-for-5) followed with his second single in as many innings, this one after a solid at-bat in which he saw seven pitches from the new Baylor pitcher . . . With Cox at third base and DeJesus at second base having taken an extra base on his single, Perez drilled a single into right-center field to drive in two runs for a 4-1 Cougars lead.
The Cougars had to rely on their pitching staff after the second inning as the offense was stymied the rest of the way.
Chris Scinta took the mound in the bottom of the third inning in relief of Houston starter Kendall Hoffman protecting a 4-2 lead . . . Scinta immediately induced a double play ball to erase an inherited runner before ending the inning without allowing a run.
Scinta took the game through the sixth inning without allowing Baylor to get closer than the two-run margin . . . Over four scoreless innings, Scinta allowed just two base hits, recorded six outs on fly balls, and faced the minimum in the fifth inning setting the side down in order.
Antoine Jean, who has shined in previous weeks in a Friday night long relief role, took the mound after the seventh inning stretch . . . Despite a walk and single in the seventh inning, Jean worked around both and struck out three Baylor batters . . . Jean struck out two more batters in the eighth inning, working around a two-out single to get an inning-ending groundout.
Jean struck out the only three batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth inning to close out the 4-2 victory and secure the series win . . . Jean struck out eight of the nine outs he recorded in his Sunday appearance, bringing his weekend total to 13 strikeouts over five innings pitched.
Scinta earned the win with his four scoreless innings and improved to 4-1 this season . . . Jean earned his second save of the weekend and brought his total for the season to three.
The Cougars have won both of their Big 12 road series this season, first at UCF and now at Baylor . . . Neither team hit a home run in the three games this weekend, strong winds and damp weather were keeping the baseball in the ballpark, though the sun did begin to peek out during the sixth inning Sunday through the rest of the game, the temperature remained below 50 degrees for the entire game.
The Cougars return home for their next five games, including a busy midweek with games on Tuesday and Wednesday . . . Houston will first host Rice at Schroeder Park on Tuesday night holding a 1-0 advantage in the Silver Glove Series with two games left this season . . . First pitch Tuesday night is set for 6:35pm.
Houston continued its weekend series at Baylor on Saturday.
Houston had the bats go cold like the weather in Waco Saturday afternoon as they fell to Baylor 4-3 at Baylor Ballpark to even the Big 12 weekend series.
For the second day in a row, neither team hit a home run as the cold and wet conditions were keeping baseballs in the ballpark, and for the second straight day the game was decided in the eighth inning.
Baylor scored a run in their half of the opening inning when a leadoff double eventually came around to score . . . The Bears added another run in the bottom of the third inning when a batter who was hit by a pitch with one out later scored on a double for a 2-0 lead.
A wild and somewhat fortuitous top of the fourth inning started with Tre Broussard and Aaron Lugo both reaching base on one-out singles followed by a walk to Kenneth Jimenez to load the bases.
Evan Haeger came to the plate with two outs and took a full swing at a 2-2 pitch . . . The ball was chopped to the first base side of the pitcher’s mound, the Baylor starter dropped to the ground to get a hold of the ball, and once he had the ball in his hand, he was laying on the right side of his body . . . The left-hander attempted to toss the ball toward first base, but the ball was well out of reach of the diving first baseman and as the ball rolled all the way to the wall up the line in foul territory the Cougars cleared the bases and Haeger stopped at third base on the throwing error as Houston took a 3-2 lead.
Those would be the only runs Houston could score on Saturday afternoon.
Houston starter Richie Roman left the game after five innings of work in the line for the win . . . After Houston went to the bullpen, two consecutive one out walks on eight pitches were followed by a double to tie the game at three when the Cougars went to the bullpen with two on and one out.
Graysen Drezek took the mound for the second straight day and he got a line-out and a ground ball to retire the side and keep the game tied going to the seventh inning.
Baylor scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a two out single and held on to win the game 4-3.
The Cougars only had three hits in the contest with Lugo accounting for two of them
Houston and Baylor will decide the series tomorrow afternoon in Waco with a first pitch scheduled for 1pm . . . No official starter has been named at this time, but expect to see Kendall Hoffman make the start as he has in past weeks . . . It is also likely that Antoine Jean could be available if needed after only throwing 29 pitches in his outing on Friday night.
Houston prepped for Baylor in Waco ahead of Friday’s opener.
Houston won its third straight Big 12 series opener on Friday night in Waco, defeating Baylor 7-4 thanks to a late rally and another dominant relief effort out of the bullpen.
The Cougars fell behind early as Baylor took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, all three runs were unearned against Houston starter Paul Schmitz as the result of a throwing error at third base.
Evan Haeger singled to lead off the top of the fifth inning and then stole second base to reach scoring position . . . Haeger reached third base on an infield groundout before Riley Jackson bunted for an infield single to get the Cougars on the board, but they still trailed 3-1.
Schmitz departed the game with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and seemed destined to be the hard-luck loser on the road . . . Schmitz allowed just one earned run over 6 1/3 innings and struck out six Bears batters . . . Schmitz faced the minimum in the sixth inning as he got two swinging strikeouts and looked to be getting stronger as he approached the 90 pitch mark, he finished with 98 pitches an inning later.
Xavier Perez (2-for-4) singled to lead off the top of the eighth inning with Baylor leading 4-1 . . . One out later, an error at third base allowed Aaron Lugo to reach base before Kenneth Jimenez walked to load the bases . . . Cade Climie earned a walk to bring in the first Houston run of the game, and of the inning, for Houston . . . With two outs, Tyler Cox was hit by a pitch and the free base forced in another run and the Cougars only trailed by a run.
Coby DeJesus entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the nine-spot for catcher Jackson when a wild pitch tied the game at four . . . DeJesus then cleared the bases by dropping a two RBI single into left field and Houston had its first lead of the night, 6-4.
Just as he had done in the top of the eighth inning, Perez singled to lead off the top of the ninth inning and a wild pitch moved him to second base . . . Tre Broussard drove a fly ball deep into left-center field where the catch was made by the Baylor left fielder, with his momentum taking him away from the infield . . . Perez tagged-up on the play and made it all the way home on the rare two-base sacrifice fly ball and the insurance run game Houston a 7-4 lead.
Left-hander Antoine Jean took the mound to start the eighth inning looking to record the final six outs . . . Over the next two innings, Jean threw 29 pitches and got five strikeouts, four of them swinging, and one groundout to close out the game in dominant fashion . . . Jean earned his second save of the season and Graysen Drezek, who recorded the final two outs of the seventh inning, both of them strikeouts, earned the win and improved to 3-2 this season.
The road victory was Houston’s second straight Big 12 road win dating back to the final game in Orlando two weekends ago against UCF.
The Cougars and the Bears get back to work Saturday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark . . . First pitch is scheduled for 2pm and Houston will send Richie Roman to the mound seeking the series win.
Houston is now 11-4 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12 after this past week . . . The Cougars have won five games in a row.
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Houston celebrates Tuesday night after a walk-off victory
4-0 last week with a 2-1 walk-off win over Sam Houston and a sweep of Baylor to open Big 12 conference play. After Sunday’s victory, head coach Todd Whitting noted that each week he stresses to the team to go week to week, to go 4-0 or 3-1 each week.
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Continuing to track the strikeout to walk ration of the Houston pitching staff, this weekend in the three games against Baylor, the staff racked up 32 strikeouts and walked just 7 batters.
Antoine Jean struck out 11 in his start on Saturday when he pitched 5 1/3 innings.
Duncan Hunter was perfect through 4 1/3 innings on Sunday, retiring the first 13 batters he faced . . . Hunter induced ground outs for 8 of his first 12 recorded outs and did not strike out a batter until the fifth inning . . . In the fifth and sixth innings, Hunter struck out 5 batters . . . Hunter did not allow a walk in his six innings pitched.
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Ryan Dollar and Michael Benzor were both clutch on Sunday afternoon in getting out of a jam while Houston protected a one-run lead in the top of the eighth inning.
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After catcher Jonathan French hit a home run on Saturday night, he had four home runs on the year, and seven total base hits . . . French singled on Sunday for his eighth hit of the season, half of his hits have been home runs.
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After Friday night’s series opening loss, Baylor head coach Mitch Thompson talked about the 4-3 loss, and referenced Houston starter Jaxon Jelkin while talking about life in the Big 12 on Friday nights:
“It’s a Friday night in the Big 12, a well-pitched ballgame. Their guy was really good early and Mason [Marriott] matched him early and we just came up a run short.”
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There will not be a midweek game this week as the Cougars open their next Big 12 series on Thursday, in Provo, Utah, instead of the customary Friday opener.
The series against BYU begins on Thursday at 7pm CT, with game two on Friday again at 7pm, and the weekend finale on Saturday at 12:30pm CT.
BYU (7-7, 1-2) opened Big 12 conference play all the way across the country in West Virginia where they lost 2 of 3 games to the Mountaineers and this will be their first conference home series . . . BYU will play a midweek game this week against Utah in Salt Lake City on Tuesday before facing Houston on Thursday.
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After the win on Sunday, Coach Whitting offered some thoughts on the matchup with BYU.
“It’s going to be kind of tough conditions up there, it’s not going to be hot,” Whitting said, “so we’ve got to be really ready to go in there and keep chasing this Big 12 title.”
To Whtting’s point about the weather, the forecast in Provo this weekend calls for highs/lows of 48/25, 54/29, and 54/30.
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The atmosphere at Schroeder Park this weekend was great, especially on Sunday afternoon, and Cougars fans significantly outnumbered Bears fans . . . Coach Whitting thanked the fans in his postgame remarks on Sunday, “Our crowds this weekend were awesome. The environment out here today was second to none, so I appreciate all of our fans coming out here and all of our supporters.”
Duncan Hunter pitched six innings strong innings Sunday against Baylor
Houston put an exclamation point on opening weekend in Big 12 play with a three-game sweep of Baylor after a 3-2 victory on Sunday at Schroeder Park.
Houston starter Duncan Howard was perfect through the first three innings with six ground outs.
The game was still scoreless in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jonathan French walked with one out . . . French then moved up a base on a wild pitch . . . Alex Lopez doubled down the first base line to score French from second and Houston scored the first run of the ballgame and took a 1-0 lead.
The Bears got the run right back with the aid of a single and a triple to tie the game.
With the game still tied in the bottom of the sixth inning, Cameron Nickens got his first at-bat in the game after the third inning ejection of Houston designated hitter Kenneth Jimenez . . . Nickens drove a ball through the right side for a single against a shift playing for him to hit the ball up the middle . . . Cary Arbolida then hit a no-doubter over the wall in left-center field at the 375 marker for a two-run home run and a 3-1 Houston lead.
Chris Stuart took the mound to start the seventh inning and retired the side in order . . . Baylor plated a run in the top of the eighth inning and Ryan Dollar entered the game and retired both batters he faced before Michael Benzor entered the game to record the final out of the inning with the Cougars holding a one run lead.
Hunter struck out five and did not walk any batters in his six innings where he allowed just the one earned run.
Murray took the mound for the ninth inning and worked around a one out single to earn his first save of the season . . . Murray induced two swinging strikeouts, including the final out of the ball game to cement the victory.
“I was throwing strikes early, that was kind of the goal coming into the game,” said Hunter after the win, “just pound the zone with all my pitches and get ahead and let them get themselves out.”
Hunter also gave credit to his defense behind him, “Shout out to my team for making all the plays behind me, I don’t think I had a strikeout until the fourth or fifth inning, all of them were making plays behind me.”
In fact Hunter did not pick up his first strikeout until the fifth inning when he struck out two, and then he struck out the side in his sixth and final inning . . . Eight of Hunter’s first twelve recorded outs were on ground outs.
Head coach Todd Whitting acknowledged the work on the mound this weekend by the entire team.
“I think the story of the weekend was our pitching staff,” said Whitting. “Coach Kenny, that staff, has done a good job with those pitchers minimizing opportunities for others to score. We were really good out of the bullpen this weekend.”
Whitting added, “We had a 4-0 week, I talk to the team all the time about going week to week, we always want to go 4-0 or 3-1 and we accomplished that this week.”
Houston (11-4, 3-0) is next in action on Thursday when they open their first road trip of the season at BYU (7-7, 1-2) riding a five-game win streak . . .The Cougars will not play a midweek this week as they begin their weekend series on a Thursday instead of a Friday.
Antoine Jean struck out 11 against Baylor on Saturday night
Houston pitched a shutout on Saturday night behind a dominant outing by Antoine Jean to take their opening series in the Big 12 against Baylor 8-0 at Schroeder Park.
Jean set a tone early when he struck out two in the opening frame and erased a leadoff walk with pick off-caught stealing to face the minimum.
In Houston’s half of the first inning, Kenneth Jimenez was hit by a pitch to reach base with one out . . . Justin Murray (3-for-4) doubled to the wall in right-center field to score Jimenez from first base for a 1-0 lead.
Still leading by a run in the bottom of the third inning, Jonathan French took a leadoff walk which was followed by a single into right field by Alex Lopez . . . One out later a walk to Murray loaded the bases for Tre Jones . . . Jones hit a sacrifice fly ball to left field to score French making the score 2-0.
Ace Reese walked to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning . . . With one out in the inning, Jacob Schoenvogel, making his first start for Houston this season, hit a two-run home run over the right field wall to extend the Cougars lead to 4-0 . . . The home run was the first hit by Houston in Big 12 play and also came against Scheonvogel’s former team for whom he played for two seasons.
Jean took the ballgame into the top of the sixth inning and departed with one out and two runners on base . . . Of the sixteen outs he recorded on Saturday, Jean struck out eleven and walked two batters without allowing a run.
Paul Schmitz relieved Jean and retired the first two batters he faced to get out of the jam . . . Schmitz induced a pop-up to his shortstop and then ended the frame with a swinging strikeout to preserve the four run lead . . . Schmitz set down the Bears in order in the top of the seventh inning . . . Schmitz, making just his second appearance of the week, did not allow a hit over 1 2/3 innings and struck out one.
After the seventh inning stretch, French led off with a home run to right-center field near the video board to give Houston a 5-0 lead.
The Houston offense still had work to do.
A walk and a hit by pitch preceded a Murray RBI single . . . Two outs later Harold Coll lined a single into right-center field to plate two more Cougars and the lead was 8-0 going to the top of the eighth inning.
Alex Solis took the mound in the eighth inning and retired the side in order, striking out two Baylor batters . . . In the top of the ninth inning, Solis worked around a one-out walk to retire the side and secure the shutout.
The shutout was the second of the young season for Houston pitching . . . The Cougars allowed just five hits to Baylor, but none in the final three innings . . . Left-hander Jean improved to 2-1 with the series-clinching victory . . . The Cougars continue to impress with the strikeout to walk ratio, on Saturday night the staff struck out fifteen batters and walked just three.
The Houston offense only collected seven hits in the game, three of them by Murray, including two doubles.
Houston (10-4, 2-0) and Baylor (4-10, 0-2) conclude their conference opening weekend series on Sunday . . . Duncan Howard will be on the mound for the Cougars as they go for the sweep having already taken the series . . . First pitch at Schroeder Park is scheduled for 1pm.
Jaxon Jelkin delivers the first pitch of the Big 12 at Schroeder Park on Friday night
A new era got underway at exactly 6:35pm at Houston’s Schroeder Park on Friday night when the first pitch by Jaxon Jelkin against Baylor’s Ty Johnson got Big 12 play underway in Houston for the first time.
After the Cougars fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning, Alex Lopez slashed a one-out opposite field single between third base and shortstop for Houston’s first base hit as members of the Big 12.
Still 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Houston accomplished a few other firsts . . . Justin Murray (2-for-2) walked with one out and wound up on second base after a wild pitch . . . A two out walk to Kenneth Jiminez kept the inning alive.
Tuesday night hero Ace Reese dropped a single into left field going the opposite way scoring Murray from second base to tie the game . . . After a walk to Harold Coll loaded the bases, Jake Rainess singled into left field plating two and giving the Cougars a 3-1 lead going to the fifth inning.
Baylor tied the game in the top of the fifth inning, but Houston wasted no time reclaiming the lead.
Murray got things started with a two-out single before a wild pitch and an attempted pick-off throw at second base that rolled into center field landed him at third base . . . Tre Jones singled up the middle for his first hit and RBI in the Big 12 to give Houston a 4-3 lead.
Kyle LaCalameto took the mound in relief of Jaxon Jelkin with one out in the top of the fifth inning . . . LaCalameto was dominant out of the bullpen and his 3 2/3 innings pitched was his longest outing of the season . . . LaCalameto faced 13 batters and retired 11 of them and allowed just one hit, struck out four and did not walk any batters on 53 total pitches (he did hit a batter with a pitch).
Left-hander Jose Torrealba took the mound in the top of the ninth to protect the one-run lead, and he retired all three batters he faced, getting the final out on a strikeout looking to close out the victory . . . It was the second save of the season for Torrealba.
LaCalameto earned the win, his first of the season, he is now 1-0 . . . Asked about getting the first Houston win in the Big 12, he grinned and said, “Feels great, feels great.”
“Fastball command was there, basically all my pitches were there. I didn’t throw many curveballs but the slider was working very well today,” LaCalameto said. “The last ten months have been pretty hard, but they’ve been good, and I’ve clearly come back a little bit better, throwing a little bit harder. I think that whole ten months of rehab really helped me out.”
“I’m proud of LaCalameto,” said head coach Todd Whitting after the game. “He had a tough break having surgery last year, but he has grinded his way back to being one of the top lefties in the country.”
Houston improves to 9-4 on the year and has won three games in a row now . . . The Cougars collected eight base hits in the game, Murray was the only batter with multiple hits
The Cougars and the Bears continue their series on Saturday at Schroeder Park . . . Antoine Jean (1-1) will be on the mound for Houston, first pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.
Houston went 1-3 over the last week and is 7-4 this season.
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Houston got some work in at Minute Maid Park on Thursday
The Cougars lost to Texas State on Friday in 10 innings . . . The Bobcats followed that by defeating then No. 12 Texas 11-10 on Saturday in the day’s middle game . . . Texas State scored 11 runs against the Longhorns pitching staff and took a late-inning 11-10 victory on a home run in the top of the ninth inning . . . Texas State ran out of gas on Sunday though and lost to No. 2 LSU 10-3.
Houston lost to No. 11 Vanderbilt 3-1 on Saturday in a well played contest . . . Cameron Nickens provided all of the offense for the Cougars with a solo home run into the Crawford Boxes . . . Vanderbilt went on to defeat Texas on Sunday 14-11 after trailing 11-3.
The Cougars picked up their sole victory of the weekend with a 13-10 win over the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in a game that lasted 11 innings and actually ended early Monday morning . . . The game lasted 4:28 after starting late at 8:05pm . . . The win over Louisiana snapped a four-game losing skid by the Cougars after they started the season 6-0.
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Harold Coll stole three bases on Sunday and set a new stolen base record for a single game in the Astros Foundation College Classic.
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Right-hander Jaxon Jelkin was the only Houston player named to the All-Tournament Team for his Friday outing against Texas State . . . Jelkin pitched 5 1/3 innings and struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing just four hits and two earned runs before exiting.
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This week the Cougars host Sam Houston, which will see the return of former Cougar Malachi Lott for the first time since he transferred after last season . . . This will be the first of three games this season against the Bearkats as part of the Don Sanders Cup series . . . The first pitch on Tuesday at Schroeder Park is set for 6:30pm.
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Houston will host Baylor for their first Big 12 series ever . . . The Bears are coming off a weekend sweep of Oral Roberts in Waco to improve to 4-7 this season . . . Baylor will only play one game during their midweek, against No. 17 Dallas Baptist.
The Friday and Saturday games will begin at 6:30pm and the Sunday game will open at 1pm.
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The Cougars will play a Big 12 team every weekend for the rest of the season, with the exception of April 26-28 when Houston will host UT Arlington.
Houston Cougars Baseball Beat 