Tag: Colby Casey

Houston Takes Silver Glove Series with 8-2 Win

Brandon Burckel bats in the second inning against Rice on Wednesday

Houston captured the Silver Glove Series against Rice with a 6-2 victory over the Owls at Schroeder Park on Tuesday night.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning, Ryan Hernandez (3-for-4) and Ian McMillan (3-for-3) hit back-to-back singles to reach base . . . Brandon Burckel (2-for-3) delivered a two-out single into left to score Hernandez and tie the game.

Still tied in the bottom of the third, Anthony Tulimero grounded to third base for what should have been the final out of the inning, but the throw was low and the first baseman could not make a clean catch, so Tulimero reached on the error . . . Cameron Nickens with a single to center and Tulimero reached third base to put runners on the corners . . . Hernandez followed with a double into left field that drove in both runners to give the Cougars a 3-1 lead.

Ian McMillan then hit a home run to left field, his seventh of the season, and Houston led 5-1 going to the fourth inning.

Colby Casey replaced Houston starter Logan Clayton in the sixth inning . . . Casey was followed by Cameron Prayer and Maddux Miller over the next two innings.

Houston added a run in the sixth inning after Burckel led off the frame with a double and moved to third base on a wild pitch . . . One out later, Zach Arnold grounded out to shortstop and scored Burckel.

McMillan doubled to lead off the bottom of the eighth, his third hit of the night . . . The straight walks followed and a single to right by Arnold scored two more runs and the Cougars led 8-2.

Jose Torrealba pitched a scoreless ninth inning, retiring all three batters he faced, to close out the win which gave the Cougars the Silver Glove Series for the first time since 2018 . . . Clayton improved to 3-3 this year with the win. 

Houston (30-15) packs up and hits the road for another weekend road trip . . . The Cougars will resume conference action on Friday at Wichita State against the Shockers . . . First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6pm.

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Lamar Quiets Houston Offense, Takes Midweek Game

Houston faced Lamar in Beaumont on Tuesday

Houston traveled down I-10 to Beaumont to face the Lamar Cardinals on Tuesday, and fell by a final score of 4-1 in a game that took just over two hours.

This was the second midweek matchup of the season with Lamar, the last occurring on March 1st at Schroeder Park, a game the Cougars rallied late to win.

Derrick Cherry got the Tuesday start and was good over the first three innings, getting a double play to end both the second and third innings . . . Still scoreless going into the bottom of the fourth, the Cardinals scored three runs to take the lead and Houston went to the bullpen.

Houston was until the top of the sixth inning when Brandon Burckel hit a two-out single into right field, he was only the second baserunner of the game for the Cougars, but Houston failed to capitalize and they still trailed 3-0.

Maddux Miller out of the bullpen was very good, going 2 2/3 innings pitched with three strike outs and helping to carry the game through the middle innings.

Zach Arnold led off the seventh inning by hitting a home run the opposite way, over the wall in right field to plate Houston’s first run of the game . . . Arnold’s seventh home run of the season made it 4-1 Lamar.

Colby Casey pitched a scoreless seventh inning and Jackson Dannelley tossed a scoreless eighth inning out of the Houston bullpen.

The Cougars never got anything going offensively and they went quietly in the ninth as Lamar held on to win 4-1 . . . Houston only collected three hits in the contest, which lasted just six minutes over the two-hour mark . . . The Cougars lost only their second midweek game of the season.

The Cougars (26-15) have a couple of off days, and the team will be traveling to Florida to take on the University of South Florida this weekend in a three game conference series . . . First pitch from Tampa Bay is scheduled for 5:30pm on Friday.

Cougars Lose to UTRGV, Get Ready for Tulane

Nathan Medrano throws the first pitch against UTRGV Tuesday

It was a night where few things went right for the Cougars at Schroeder Park on Tuesday night as they lost to UTRGV 9-1.

The Vaqueros used five pitchers to limit the Cougars to just eight base hits in the game, and no Houston hitter had multiple hits . . . Meanwhile, Houston used nine pitchers in the defeat . . . The Cougars got scoreless innings from Jackson Dannelley, Jose Torrealba, and Colby Casey.

The sole Houston run came in the sixth inning when Cameron Nickens grounded out to shortstop and scored Alex Lopez from third base.

The Cougars are off only one day this week before weekend action begins . . . Houston will welcome Tulane to town on Thursday to begin the third week of conference action . . . The weekend schedule this week is different because of Easter Sunday, and will continue Friday and conclude on Saturday . . . First pitch on Thursday will take place at 6:30pm.

Cougars Tame Panthers 13-1 Ahead of Conference Play

Logan Clayton gets the game started against the Panthers Tuesday at Schroeder Park

The Houston Cougars remained a perfect 7-0 in midweek games this season as they won 13-1 against Prairie View A&M on Tuesday before opening conference play this weekend.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Alex Lopez led off the inning with a double to the wall in left-center field . . . Anthony Tulimero then hit the first pitch he saw over the left field wall to put the Cougars in front by a run . . . Ryan Hernandez followed with a double to left field two pitches later . . . One out later, Ian McMillan flied out to center field and scored Hernandez to extend the Houston lead to 3-1.

Houston added a run in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI single by Zach Arnold and another run in the seventh to take a 5-1 lead . . . The Cougars put the game away in an eight run eighth inning where the Cougars collected eights hits, the big blow was a two out 416 foot home run to left by Hernandez, who was 3-for-4 in the game.

Logan Clayton started for the Cougars and handled the first two innings and allowed the only Panthers run of the game . . . The Houston bullpen sent six pitchers to the mound after Clayton, and no one surrendered a run . . . Taylor Parrett was impressive over two innings in which he struck out four of the six outs he recorded . . . Colby Casey, Jackson Dannelley, Cameron Prayer, Derrick Cherry, and Malachi Lott all pitched one inning in relief and 

Lott, batting lead off on Tuesday night, was 3-for-4 and reached base when he was hit by a pitch . . . Lott was part of the eighth inning onslaught when he doubled to the wall in center to drive in two runs . . . Another freshman in the lineup, Brandon Buckel, has improved quite a bit over the last couple of weeks after some early season struggles, he was 2-for-4 on Tuesday night and is now hitting .235 . . . Dylan Post was behind the plate on Tuesday, with Tulimero batting cleanup, and Post picked up his first two base hits of the season in a 2-for-5d effort.

Houston won 13-1 and knocked out nineteen hits against Panther pitching which sets a new high for the season, passing by two hits their previous season high from their game against UTRGV in February.

Houston’s pitching was a point of pride after the game for head coach Todd Whitting. “Very excited about the continued progress of our pitching staff,” Whitting said. “I feel like we have five solid starters fighting for three spots on the weekend. The back end of the bullpen led by Ben Sears has been outstanding.” Whitting added, “It’s great to see that unit come together under Coach Bunn”

The Cougars (17-8) have a couple of days off before they start conference play on Friday when they host the Wichita State Shockers for a weekend series, the first of six games against the Shockers this season . . . That first pitch at Schroeder Park is set for 6:30pm.

Houston Rolls to 13-3 Opening Win Over Catamounts

Malachi Lott bats in the 2nd inning Friday night at Schroeder Park

Houston opened its weekend series with the Western Carolina Catamounts with a convincing 13-3 win on Friday night at Schroeder Park . . . The Cougars scored ten runs over the sixth and seventh innings to help cruise to victory.

Jaycob Deese started on Friday night, having started last Sunday against Columbia . . . An error in the field led to the Catamounts taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

With two outs in the bottom of the first, Alex Lopez was hit by a pitch to reach base . . . Anthony Tulimero doubled to right field and the throw home was not in time to catch Lopez for the tying run, and Tulimero stopped at third base . . . Tulimero was 4-for-5 Friday night and is now hitting .402.

Tied at one in the second, Malachi Lott hit his first collegiate home run over the right field wall to give Houston a 2-1 lead . . . After Brandon Burckel reached base on a two-out single, Brandon Uhse doubled off the right field wall to extend the lead to 3-1 . . . For Uhse, it was his second hit in the game, in as many innings, and he extended his consecutive hit game streak to eighteen games.

Deese exited after five innings having allowed just two earned runs.

With a 3-3 score in the sixth, the Cougars put up four runs in the bottom of the inning . . . After singles by Cameron Nickens and Lott were followed by a double steal, Houston added runs on a wild pitch and a suicide squeeze bunt by Burckel . . . Uhse (3-for-4) hit a two-out double to left and scored from second a few pitches later on a wild pitch . . . Zach Arnold then capped the scoring with a solo home run deep to left.

Houston added six runs in the seventh as things began to fall apart for the Catamounts . . . The Cougars took advantage of two errors and four base hits to extend their advantage to 13-3 going to the eighth.

Cameron Prayer (2-0) picked up the win with his two scoreless innings of work after Deese left the game . . . Logan Clayton and Colby Casey both handled an inning to close out Western Carolina and preserve the 13-3 victory.

The Cougars and the Catamounts meet again on Saturday when they continue the weekend series . . . Nathan Medrano will be on the mound for Houston, first pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.

Houston Win Streak Ends in 13-8 Defeat

Malachi Lott pitches in the ninth inning Friday at Schroeder Park

The Cougars six game winning streak came to an end Saturday night at Schroeder Park as they fell to the UIW Cardinals 13-8 . . . The loss was the Cougars first at home this season.

Cougars pitching was in trouble most of the night as the Cardinals roughed up most of the eights pitchers that Houston sent to the mound.

The Cougars fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first on a two-run home run . . . Later in the frame, a single drive in one run before a double to the left field wall scored two more and Houston trailed 5-0 before they had even come to bat.

But the Cougars got back in the game quickly . . . Brandon Uhse led off the bottom of the inning with a single . . . A walk put two in for Ryan Hernandez who hammered a ball that hit off the wall in left-center and was good for two bases . . . A sacrifice fly to center by Samuel Tormos made the score 5-3 going to the second inning.

Trailing 6-3 in the second, Malachi Lott reached first after he struck out but was able to race down to first on the wild pitch . . . Hernandez (3-for-4) picked up his third RBI of the game with a single that scored Uhse.

Lott doubled to lead off the fourth and he scored on a Uhse (2-for-4) double . . . Zach Arnold drove in Uhse as part of a 2-for-4 night and the Cougars only trailed 8-7 . . . Colby Casey pitched a valuable 1 2/3 innings over the fourth and fifth innings to help the bullpen attempt to save arms.

The Cardinals got to the Houston bullpen for five runs in the sixth . . . Taylor Parrett made his Cougars debut in the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning while he struck out two.

Lott took the mound for the eighth and ninth innings and was terrific over two scoreless frames where he did not allow a hit and struck out two while retiring all six batters he faced.

Freshman Cameron Nickens led off the ninth inning for the Cougars by hitting the first pitch of the inning over the wall in left-center for his first collegiate home run, but the Cougars went down in order after that and the 13-8 loss evened the weekend series with Incarnate Word.

The Cougars and the Cardinals will compete for the series win on Sunday at 1pm at Schroeder Park when Nathan Medrano will take the hill for Houston.

Cougars Open First Homestand with 11-4 Win Over TSU

Skyler Trevino apllies a tag on an attempted steal of second base Friday night

Houston was able to play the long game better than Texas Southern on Friday evening at Schroeder Park as the Cougars scored in each of their final four at-bats, nine runs in total after the fifth inning to take the 11-4 victory on opening night of their home schedule.

Kerry Wright was on the mound Friday afternoon for Houston after a disappointing opening start for him last Sunday in Scottsdale . . . After a scoreless first inning, Texas Southern scored in the second inning on a play that was close enough at the plate that it needed to be reviewed before it was confirmed.

The Cougars added two runs in the bottom of the second when Zach Arnold (2-for-4) singled with the bases loaded to put Houston in front 2-1.

The Tigers tied the game in the third . . . Wright gave way to Colby Casey in the fourth inning having struck out four in his three innings and allowing just the two earned runs . . . Casey went two scoreless innings in which he also did not allow a hit.

Houston catcher Anthony Tulimero, who is swinging a hot bat to start the season, is doing his part behind the plate as well, on Friday he had thrown out two base runners trying to steal, including speedy former Cougar Jonathan Thomas, by the end of the fifth inning.

With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fifth, Samuel Tormos hit a drive deep the left that in normal conditions would have landed on Elgin . . . Instead, the drive off of Tormos’s bat was caught up against the left field wall and the ball was fired in to second base . . . Chaos ensued as the umpires gathered and tried to figure out what had just happened . . . Eventually, a run was counted as it crossed the plate before the runner was apparently called out at second for having left early trying to tag up . . . The inning came to an end on the double-play with the Cougars once again in the lead, 3-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Cougars added a run on a single by Ian McMillan (3-for-4) . . . Brandon Uhse keyed a three-run seventh inning with a two-out double off the right field wall to push the Cougar lead to 7-2 . . . Tulimero (3-for-5) drove in two more in the eighth with a double to right-center . . . An error on a fly to right field allowing another run was followed by a McMillan RBI single to left.

Jaycob Deese took the mound to start the sixth inning and his stuff was electric, despite the conditions outside . . . Deese struck out a career-high nine batters, of the twelve outs he recorded, in many cases he simply overpowered guys.

Head coach Todd Whitting was ecstatic about the performance from his right-hander out of the bullpen, “Difference in the game was Deese coming in and shutting down TSU.” Whitting added, “In those conditions tonight it took a tough competitor to come off the bench and give his team a great performance like he did.”

“Tuli has been exactly what we thought he would be coming into the season,” said head coach Todd Whitting after the game, “a great receiver and the ability to deliver at home plate in the clutch.” Of the runners Tulimero caught trying to steal Friday night, Whitting added. “His performance to shut down TSU’s running game was huge tonight.”

Casey (1-0) was the pitcher of record, so he picked up the win with Deese earning the save, his first of the season, with his four inning performance to finish the game . . . Ryan Hernandez was 3-for-5 in Friday’s game, and while the power numbers are not there yet, he is going to the gaps and hitting the ball hard.

Houston has won two straight games now and returns to action on Saturday afternoon against UT Rio Grande Valley, first pitch is at 4pm at Schroeder Park, with Nathan Medrano making his second start of the season.

Houston Swept; Heads for Conference Tournament

The Houston Cougars and the Central Florida Knights closed out the regular season on Saturday with a briskly played, 2-1 game that the Knights won on their home field in Orlando.

Matt Lazzaro got the start for Houston for the second week in a row, his third start of the season . . . Lazzaro had everything working and he was cruising early.

With the game scoreless in the fourth, Tyler Bielamowicz hit a one-out single . . . Designated hitter Derrick Cherry then hit a liner toward the hole at second base into right field, Bielamowicz moved easily to third, but carelessness by the Knights defense allowed Bielamowicz to race home from third and just barely beat a throw home to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

The Knights tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when a double to left-center allowed a runner on second to score . . . Central Florida took a 2-1 lead on a grounder to short that plated a runner on third.

Matt Lazzaro’s day was complete after six innings, another great outing for the lefty . . . Maddux Miller replaced Lazzaro, and after two quick outs to start the frame, he was hit on his pitching hand by a liner off a batted ball . . . Miller tried to stay in the game, but he threw one pitch which sailed high and away, and he was immediately replaced.

Colby Casey had another nice outing for the Cougars out of the bullpen, he recorded the final four outs.

The Cougars offense never threatened further after the run-scoring fourth, the team mustered just four hits, two on them by Dylan Post who was 2-for-4 in the loss.

The Cougars head to Clearwater now and will play their first game of the American Athletic Conference tournament at 3pm on Tuesday . . . Look for Robert Gasser to start the game for Houston in the double-elimination tournament.

Cougars, Gasser Take Game One; Split in Memphis

A classic, well-pitched game was followed by a lopsided affair as the Memphis Tigers hosted the Houston Cougars for a Friday doubleheader at FedEx Park . . . Houston took game one 2-1, while Memphis ran away with game two 13-7.

Robert Gasser had the ball for the Cougars and he worked his way the Tigers lineup with relative ease through the first three innings.

The Cougars scored their first run in the fourth when a single to right field by Steven Rivas scored Tyler Bielamowicz from second base for a 1-0 lead.

Memphis tied the game in their half of the fourth when a fielding error at short allowed the tying run to score.

Still tied in the seventh, after one-out singles by Rivas (3-for-4) and Will Pendergrass (2-for-3), Ian McMillan (2-for-3) doubled off the wall in left to score Rivas from second and put the Cougars in front 2-1.

Despite minor threats the rest of the way, including a bases loaded no-outs situation for the Cougars in the top of the ninth, no more runs would cross the plate.

Derrick Cherry took over on the mound to begin the eighth and he got the final six outs, despite a couple of deep flies (one foul, one caught in left) to save the game for Gasser and pick up his fourth save of the season as the Cougars took game one . . . Cherry struck out two batters in the ninth.

Gasser improved to 6-5 with his seven innings pitched, allowing no earned runs and only three hits with ten strikeouts.

Before Ben Sears even took the mound for the Cougars in game two, he was spotted with a 2-0 after a two-RBI triple in the top of the first with two outs by Rivas.

But a home run by Hunter Goodman tied the game at two in the bottom of the first and it was a brand new ballgame.

A one-out double in the second put the Tigers in front 4-2.

Rivas (10) led off the fourth with a two-run home run to get the Cougars to within 4-3 . . . Pendergrass immediately followed with a double and he was brought home when Dylan Post doubled off the wall in right to tie the game at four.

Sears loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth without recording an out, aided by a fielding error behind him . . . Sears would exit at that point and Colby Casey would take the mound in a difficult situation . . . Casey induced a fly-out to right in which one unearned run crossed the plate, and then we would retire the next two batters to escape the inning and with the Tigers leading 5-4.

Brad Burckel led off the fifth with a single down the right field line and then he stole second base to get into scoring position . . . Ryan Hernandez (9) hit a one out two-run home run to left to give the Cougars a 6-5 lead.

Colby Casey helped the game along with two solid innings pitched in his fifth appearance of the season for Houston . . . Casey did not allow a run and his ERA on the year remains 0.00 . . . Skyler Trevino collected his first collegiate hit in the sixth inning when he connected on a one-out double.

The Tigers wrestled the lead back in the seventh on a walk, a triple, and a wild pitch as they took the 7-6 lead . . . At that point the Tigers broke the game open, scoring a total of eight runs in the frame taking a 13-6 lead into the eighth inning.

Patrick Dunn took the mound for the eighth and pitched a three up, three down frame, striking out two . . . It was Dunn’s first appearance since March 13 at Texas State.

The Cougars plated one more run on an innocent ground out to first base in the top of the ninth, but that was all they would get as they fell 13-7 in game two.

The Cougars and the Tigers will do it all over again tomorrow at 2pm in Memphis . . . Carter Henry will take the mound for Houston. –

Houston Swept in Seven Inning Finale

The Houston Cougars continued to have few answers to the Wichita State offense on Sunday as the Shockers took the final of eight straight conference games in a run-rule shortened 13-2 victory.

The Shockers scored four in the first inning and added one more in the second to take a 5-0 lead while the Houston offense was scuffling.

Houston starter Ben Sears got the game into the third inning before giving way to Derrick Cherry with one out . . . Cherry stranded a runner at second to end the frame.

Adam Becker hit his first home run as a Cougar, a two-run shot in the fourth on an 0-2 pitch to cut the Wichita State lead to 5-2 . . . Cherry added a scoreless fourth, but Wichita State took advantage of some defensive miscues in the fifth and scored four runs, two of those unearned . . . Cameron Prayer replaced Cherry and ended the inning with the Shockers leading 9-2.

A Grand slam by Shockers third baseman Derek Shaver in the sixth made the score 13-2 . . . With runners on base and Prayer unable to end the inning, Colby Casey made his season debut and got a double play to end the sixth.

The Cougars were put down in order in the seventh and the run-rule ended the weekend road trip with a 13-2 loss . . . The Cougars only had five hits in the seven inning contest, Ryan Hernandez had two of those as he went 2-for-3 . . . The bottom four of the Houston order only had one batter reach base at all on Sunday, Ian McMillan, who singled in the third . . . Steven Rivas did not play on Sunday, he was out of the starting lineup against the lefty Spencer Hynes who got the start for Wichita State and went five complete innings . . . The run-rule shortened game is the second of the season for the Cougars, the rule also ended the final game in Norman against the Sooners three weeks ago.

The Cougars head back to Houston now to host East Carolina for a four-game weekend series starting with a double-header on Friday . . . First pitch in game one at Schroeder Park will be at 2pm. –