Tag: Jackson LaLima

Houston Tops Arizona State to Even Series Ahead of Season Finale

Houston faced Arizona State Friday at Schroeder Park

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston evened the weekend series with Arizona State on Friday night winning 5-3 at Schroeder Park.

Back-to-back home runs opened the game as Arizona State took a quick and early 2-0 lead.

Blake Fields walked to lead off the bottom of the third inning . . . The Arizona State staff, likely noticing the drop in velocity by ace Cole Carlon, went to the mound and after a short conference the left-handed was removed from the game and a replacement was allowed time to get ready.

With one out, Tyler Cox tripled home Fields and Cox scored moments later on an infield single by Tre Broussard . . . After Broussard was replaced by pinch-runner Irvin Weems, Weems stole second base, and Cade Climie doubled to the right field corner to bring Weems across the plate to tie the game at three.

Houston starter Paul Schmitz gave up two early solo home runs, and then another solo home run in the third inning, but he gave his team four innings and struck out five batters, including striking out the side in the third inning.

After the seventh inning stretch, with the game still tied, Fields led off by sending a baseball high into the night toward Elgin over the wall in left-center field, it was his third home run of the season and it gave the Cougars their first lead of the night, 4-3.

An inning later, Climie led off by legging out a single to third base . . . With one out, Carsten Sabathia III walked before Antonelli Savattere singled into center field to load the bases . . . Riley Jackson was hit by a pitch to force Climie across the plate and Houston took the 5-3 lead.

Jackson, on a night when he had little luck at the plate (hit-by-pitch RBI aside), showed up on defense tracking down some tough ground balls at first base, one he tossed to Harrison Boushele for an out and the other he took himself to record the final out of the eighth inning.

Jackson LaLima made an incredible play to record the final out of the game at first base . . . LaLima, a late-inning substitution at third base fielded a bouncing ball as he moved toward the pitcher’s mound, he fielded the ball cleanly and whipped a throw in one motion to first base where Jackson stretched and scooped the ball, the play was close but the out call was upheld on review.

Boushele was superb in relief of Schmitz, pitching the final five innings in nearly perfect fashion . . . Boushele allowed just two hits and no runs . . . Boushele worked around a defensive error in the seventh inning and induced an inning-ending double play to face the minimum . . . Boushele also faced the minimum in top of the ninth inning to close out the 5-3 victory.

Houston and Arizona State will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Schroeder Park . . . First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm.

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Houston Outlasts Arizona in 13 Innings Saturday Night

By Steve Parkhurst

It took 13 innings, but Houston was able to claim its second Big 12 series win of the season with a 7-5 victory over Arizona in Tucson on Friday night.

Riley Jackson broke the scoreless tie when he led off the top of the second inning with a one-handed moonshot over the left field wall, his ninth home run of the season, giving Houston a 1-0 lead.

The score remained there until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Wildcats plated four runs, most by virtue of some small ball, but capped by a two-run home run.

Tyler Cox (4-for-6) reached first base on a bunt single to lead off the top of the seventh inning . . . Tre Broussard (4-for-7) followed with a single into shallow left field . . . Cade Climie then tied the game at four with a three-run drive to left-center field that travelled 413 feet, it was his 10th home run of the season.

Richie Roman was superb with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, striking out four Arizona batters before giving way to left-handed Ryne Rodriguez who pitched the final 2 1/3 innings and allowed just one run.

The game remained tied until the 12th inning when the Cougars finally broke through once again . . . Broussard singled to left field with one out to reach base before he stole second base . . . Climie then pounded a ball to the wall in left-center field, easily scoring Broussard for the 5-4 lead on Climie’s fourth RBI of the game on his third base hit of the night.

But Arizona tied the game once again in the bottom of the 12th inning.

In the top of the 13th inning, Jackson LaLima blooped a single into center field to put Houston in front once again . . . Leading by one run, Broussard hit a sacrifice fly and the RBI extended the Cougar advantage to 7-5.

Houston and Arizona will conclude the weekend series on Sunday in Tucson with a first pitch scheduled for 1pm CT.

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Houston Opens Trip to Arizona with 7-4 Win

By Steve Parkhurst

Behind the second consecutive strong start by Kendall Hoffman, Houston took game one of the weekend opener 7-4 against Arizona Friday night in Tucson.

With one out in the top of the first inning after Tre Broussard singled and stole second base, Xavier Perez dropped a single into right field with two outs to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead . . . The single for Broussard extended his current hitting streak to eight games.

Arizona tied the game in the bottom of the first inning, but Houston responded in the top of the second inning . . . With two outs, and Riley Jackson at second base after a leadoff double, a potential inning-ending pop up off the bat of Jackson LaLima was dropped by the Wildcats shortstop and Jackson scored from second on the error for a 2-1 Houston lead.

Leading 4-2 in the top of the sixth inning, the Cougars offense went about padding the lead behind Hoffman . . . Jackson LaLima singled home two runs chasing Arizona starter Owen Kramkowski . . . Tyler Cox (3-for-5) greeted the new pitcher with a two RBI double for a 7-2 advantage.

The three spot in the sixth inning proved to be the deciding margin of victory over Arizona in the opener.

After the third inning, Hoffman did not allow a hit until the eighth inning, with no Wildcat batters reaching base in three of those four innings.

The final line for Hoffman does not do justice to the quality of his outing on Friday night . . . Hoffman allowed just two runs through seven innings and took the mound for the eighth inning when three straight hits led to two more Arizona runs before Alex Solis was summoned from the bullpen to record the first out and then Ryne Rodriguez followed to get the final two outs.

A week ago, Hoffman pitched 8 1/3 innings against Cincinnati and was given no run support in the tough luck loss.

Houston and Arizona will resume the weekend series on Saturday evening with a first pitch scheduled for 8pm . . . Paul Schmitz will be on the mound for the Cougars look to win the road series.

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Cougars Fall to the Lumberjacks in Midweek Road Game

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston fell to Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches 5-2 on Tuesday afternoon to conclude their latest road trip.

The Lumberjacks used three singles and a walk to scratch across two runs in the bottom of the first inning for an early 2-0 lead.

Those two runs stood as the only score until the top of the fifth inning when the Cougars put together a two out rally . . . Antonelli Savattere and Dylan Maxcey set the table with back-to-back singles before Jackson LaLima took a pitch high and out of the zone and dumped it into left field for a run-scoring single . . . Tre Broussard was then walked on five pitches to load the bases and the Lumberjacks went to their bullpen for the second time in the game to get out of the jam leading 2-1.

SFA added three more runs to their tally in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 5-1 lead.

LaLima delivered again for the Cougars in the top of the seventh inning when, batting in the nine spot, he hit a one out solo home run over the left field wall to shrink the Lumberjack advantage to three, 5-2 . . . The home run was the eighth of the season for LaLima.

Alex Solis, Ryne Rodriguez, and Diego Luzardo all pitched scoreless relief to give the Cougar offense a chance to get back in the game . . . Luzardo took the bump for the bottom of the eighth inning and retired all three batters he faced, two of them by strikeout.

The Cougars are headed back home and will be in action Wednesday night against McNeese for a second game of the midweek . . . For Houston it will be the first game at Schroeder Park since April 11 when they closed out a series with BYU . . . First pitch Wednesday night is set for 6:30pm.

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Cougars Claim Another Silver Glove Series with 4-3 Victory at Rice

Houston played game two of the Silver Glove Series at Rice on Tuesday

By Steve Parkhurst

After a delay of one hour and fifteen minutes due to weather, Houston outlasted Rice 4-3 Tuesday night at Reckling Park to claim the Silver Glove Series for the fifth season in a row.

The Cougars took an early lead when Xavier Perez drove in the first run of the game in the top of the first inning with a double to the wall in right field . . . Houston added a run in the top of the second inning when a throwing error on a Jackson LaLima sacrifice bunt attempt gave Houston a 2-0 advantage.

Rice tied the game in the bottom of the second inning and forced Houston to the bullpen with two out in the bottom of the third inning.

Right-hander Alex Solis retired the next seven straight batters, including striking out the side in the fifth inning . . . Solis struck out six Owls and yielded just one run when a leadoff batter hit by a pitch eventually came around the bases to score.

Max McCraray took the mound in relief of Solis in the bottom of the seventh inning and retired the next three batters he faced into the eighth inning.

Cade Climie put Houston in front in the top of the fifth inning with a home run over the left field wall, it was his fifth home run of the season.

The Owls tied the game at three in the bottom of the seventh inning and after a scoreless eighth inning, the stage was set for drama and heartbreak in the ninth inning or beyond.

Richie Roman took the mound in the eighth inning with one out and retired the final two outs to keep the game knotted up at three.

After two quick outs in the top of the ninth inning, Riley Jackson willed a ball over the wall in left-center field to give the Cougars their final run, and the deciding one . . . The home run was the eighth home run of the season for Jackson.

After retiring the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth inning, Roman hit batters on consecutive pitchers to give the Owls two free baserunners . . . A fly ball that looked destined for the left field berm off the bat was reined in easily by Blake Fields on the warning track and victory was secured.

The Cougars and the Owls still have one game yet to play in the Series this season, that will take place on May 12 at Schroeder Park . . . For both teams it will be the final midweek game of the season.

Houston will be back in action this weekend up in Ft. Worth where they will take on TCU in Big 12 play . . . First pitch on Friday is set for 6pm.

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Cougars Dropped by the Bears 6-2 Despite Solid Pitching

By Steve Parkhurst

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.

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Houston Walks-Off Kansas State to Nab First Big 12 Win of the Season

Ryne Rodriguez silenced the Kansas State offense for six innings on Sunday.

By Steve Parkhurst

After being walked-off via run-rule two nights in a row to open Big 12 play this season, Houston returned the favor as it walked off Kansas State 16-6 in eight innings Sunday afternoon at Schroeder Park.

The afternoon got off to a rough start and things looked bleak in the top of the first inning as the Wildcats took a 4-0 lead on a grand slam.

Left-hander Ryne Rodriguez took the mound in relief to start the second inning with the Cougars still trailing by four . . . Rodriguez promptly pitched the next six innings allowing just one unearned run and only three hits on a career-high 88 pitches.

It was an effort the Cougars pitching staff desperately needed after two rough games to open the series.

The Cougars clawed back as Rodriguez was quieting the potent Wildcats offense.

In the bottom of the second inning, Jackson LaLima hit a three-run home run to left-center field, his fourth long ball of the season, and Houston only trailed by a run, 4-3.

Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, shortstop Tyler Cox tied the game at five with a one out solo home run to left field . . . The dinger was the first for Cox in a Houston uniform, his last home run was hit for Dartmouth three years ago to the day.

After Houston went to the bullpen for the eighth inning, Kansas State took a 6-5 lead when a leadoff walk came home to score.

Ball four appeared to be a strike on the outside corner, low and away on that leadoff walk and the umpires heard about the missed call for a while from the Houston dugout . . . When the runner crossed the plate as the go-ahead run a few minutes later, the chatter increased and Houston head coach Todd Whitting was ejected from the game.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, McClane Helton led off with a pinch-hit single on the infield, little did anyone know that he would bat again, and single again, in the frame.

With Helton on second base, Cox (2-for-3) singled to tie the game at six, his second time in as many at-bats to tie the game . . . Tre Broussard was then intentionally walked after the count on him reached 2-0, he would also bat again in the inning.

Riley Jackson then took the next pitch off his batting helmet to load the bases with one out . . . Dylan Maxcey (3-for-4) doubled to the wall in left-center field to drive in two runs and Houston took its first lead of the game, 8-6.

After the Wildcats went to the bullpen, Antonelli Savattere singled into right-center field to plate two more Cougars just before Blake Fields (2-for-2) was hit by a pitch on his lower left leg and he took his place at first base . . . Both Savattere and Fields moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.

LaLima followed by flying out to the warning track in center field, the sacrifice fly RBI made it 11-6 with two outs.

Helton (2-for-2) singled in his second at-bat of the inning, this one to left-center field drove in a run and kept the merry go round moving.

Cox was hit by a pitch as he was attempting to bunt, he was the third batter hit by a pitch in the inning . . . Perez then powered an 0-1 pitch off the center field wall for a double and the Cougars held a 14-6 advantage.

Broussard ended things when he drove a towering shot to center field on a 1-0 pitch, and when the ball bounced off the batter’s eye and back onto the field of play, the Cougars were walk-off winners as chaos ensued around home plate . . . The Cougars scored 11 runs in the frame, more than the nine total runs they had scored in the previous two games.

In postgame comments, Broussard called the previous two days “embarrassing.” But, Broussard was quick to point out that the response to the previous two games was about sticking to the process and executing the game plan.

When asked about the electricity in the dugout as his team battled back, Broussard kept it simple.

“A good dugout, means a good team.”

The Cougars are now off until Wednesday when they will host the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns in a midweek matchup before heading off to Kansas for a Big 12 weekend series in Lawrence . . . First pitch on Wednesday is scheduled for 6:30pm at Schroeder Park.

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Houston Completes Sweep of Arkansas Pine Bluff with Doubleheader Wins

Houston preps for Arkansas Pine Bluff on Friday

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston completed a three-game sweep of Arkansas Pine Bluff by taking both games of a doubleheader on Saturday (and Sunday) at Schroeder Park by scores of 6-5 and 10-0.

Carsten Sabathia and Riley Jackson were both hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the second inning . . . A sacrifice fly ball to center field off the bat of Antonelli Savattere plated Sabathia for an early 1-0 lead.

Tied at one in the bottom of the third inning, Xavier Perez went deep with one out, sending the ball over the wall in left-center field for a 2-1 lead . . . After Dylan Maxcey singled up the middle to reach base, Jackson drove a double to the wall in left-center field with two outs and Maxcey out-raced a throw to home plate to give Houston a 3-1 lead.

After the Golden Lions got a run back, McClane Helton, after seeing nine pitches to open the bottom of the first inning with a walk, drew a one-out walk after seeing 11 pitches in the bottom of the fourth inning, before he moved to second base on a steal . . . Perez then singled into left-center field with two outs to bring Helton across the plate and Houston took a two-run lead once again, 4-2.

After the seventh inning stretch, Perez tripled to right-center field to get the inning started . . . One out later, Sabathia singled into center field past a drawn-in infield, Perez scored and the Cougars led 5-2.

Houston starter Kendall Hoffman was done after seven innings having allowed just two runs while striking out four batters, he also retired the last seven batters he faced, it was the second consecutive start for Hoffman in which he threw seven innings or more . . . Hoffman threw 86 total pitches on Saturday.

The Golden Lions scored three on the Cougars bullpen in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game and set up the late inning theatrics.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Sabathia got the late rally started by doubling off the wall in center field, he then gave way to pinch-runner Peyton Dickens at second base . . . Jackson was intentionally walked to set up a force out anywhere on the infield, but also because he has been swinging an incredibly hot bat of late.

Savattere then singled into center field and a throw home was off the mark allowing Dickens to cross the plate for the walk-off win, 6-5.

Having won the series, the only question left unanswered was whether Houston could complete the sweep, and if so, could they do it before the rain started falling.

Perez led off game two with a double to the wall in right-center field before Savattere was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base with no outs . . . Sabathia followed with a one-out single into center field to score Perez . . . After Justin Cherrington was hit by a pitch to load the bases, the Golden Lions went to the bullpen . . . A first-pitch wild pitch plated Savaterre and a single to left field by Blake Fields scored Sabathia for an early 3-0 lead.

Tyler Cox earned a leadoff walk to open the bottom of the second inning . . . A one-out walk to Savattere followed and a walk to Jackson loaded the bases and sent the Golden Lions to the bullpen for the second time in the game . . . Sabathia then cleared the bases with a grand slam over the left field wall with his parents watching from their seats behind the third base dugout, and Houston led 7-0.

Houston starter Connor Udland was the only pitcher used in the Saturday portion of game two . . . Udland opened with two perfect frames, retiring the first seven batters he faced before an error yielded his first base runner . . . Udland struck out five batters and allowed just one base hit over five innings on 70 total pitches.

When play resumed on Sunday afternoon, freshman right-hander Caleb Kimble made his collegiate debut and he retired the side in order.

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Cherrington was hit by a pitch for the second time in the time and Fields was walked soon after . . . LaLima then hammered a pitch over the left field wall for a three-run home run and a 10-0 Houston lead.

After working a perfect frame in the sixth inning, Kimble made things interesting in the seventh inning with three straight walks and three wild pitches mixed in . . . After a swinging strikeout, Kimble induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the ballgame.

The game was the first shutout by Houston pitching this season, and a one-hitter, with a lone single in the fourth inning on Saturday being the only recorded hit, the major caveat of course is that it was only a seven inning game.

Over the two days that it took to play the doubleheader there was everything: a game that started several minutes before the scheduled first pitch, a grand slam, a lightning delay, a rain delay, a game technically “official” postponed until the next day, clocks moved forward an hour overnight, an official delay that lasted approximately 17 1/2 hours, and finally, a run-rule shutout victory to close out the non-conference portion of the 2026 schedule.

Houston is off until Tuesday when they will welcome Rice to Schroeder Park for the first game of the 2026 Silver Glove Series . . . The game will get underway at 6:30pm.

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Alex Solis Dominant, Cougars Edge Bearkats

Houston preps for Sam Houston in Huntsville.

By Steve Parkhurst

The Cougars found their way back into the win column after dropping two in a row with a 5-4 victory over Sam Houston in Huntsville Tuesday night to take game one of the 2026 Don Sanders Cup.

Sam Houston took a 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning when three straight walks loaded the bases, but after a pitching change by Houston, the damage was limited to just the two runs on sacrifice fly balls to the outfield.

First baseman Riley Jackson led off the top of the fourth inning by slapping a double down the left field line . . . After Jackson moved to third base on a wild pitch, Antonelli Savattere grounded out to shortstop to get a run back and cut the deficit in half.

Jackson LaLima walked to lead off the top of the fifth inning and the Bearkats went to the bullpen for the first time in the game . . . Tyler Cox moved LaLima to second base on a sacrifice bunt . . . With two out, Xavier Perez drove a ball into right field to score LaLima as the game-tying run . . . Perez stole second base before Cade Climie bounced a double over the right field wall and Houston took its first lead of the night, 3-2.

Blake Fields earned a one out walk to reach base in the top of the sixth inning . . . Catcher Dylan Maxcey then homered to left field, his first home run in a Houston uniform, and the Cougars extended their advantage to 5-2.

After three straight walks to start the bottom of the second inning, the Cougars went to the bullpen in favor of Alex Solis who inherited the bases loaded with no outs . . . The right-hander went to work and retired all 15 batters he faced as he dominated the Bearkats lineup . . . At one stretch, Solis struck out six of eleven batters he faced and he pitched through the sixth inning having thrown an incredibly efficient 57 pitches.

Following the seventh inning stretch, freshman Connor Udland took over for Solis on the hill . . . A tough-luck infield single preceded the Bearkats loading the bases with one out . . . Udland struck out the final two batters to end the inning on his way to striking out the side.

A two-run blast for the Bearkats in the bottom of the eighth inning cut the Houston lead to 5-4.

Tyler Bryan took the mound with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and he proceeded to strike out the final four batters of the game in impressive fashion, throwing only 15 pitches . . . Bryan was credited with the save, his third of the season.

Solis earned the win and is now 2-0 . . . Four Houston pitchers combined to strike out 15 Sam Houston batters.

Houston (6-2) now heads north  to Frisco where they will play three different teams in the Frisco College Classic . . . The Cougars will face Oregon State on Friday afternoon with a first pitch scheduled for 2pm.

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Houston Outscored in the 9th, Falls to UTRGV

Houston preps for UTRGV at Schroeder Park.

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston fell to UTRGV 8-4 on Sunday afternoon at Schroeder Park.

Starter Richie Roman allowed two runs in the opening frame, only one of them was earned because of a throwing error from the outfield.

Antonelli Savattere led off the top of the fourth inning by dropping a single into left-center field and he moved to second base on a ground ball out . . . Blake Fields then singled into left-center field to drive in Savattere and cut the deficit in half.

After the first inning, Roman settled in to pitch three scoreless innings and departed after the fourth inning . . . Roman allowed just three hits and struck out four batters.

Fields was back for more in the bottom of the sixth inning, he led off the frame with a double down the right field line . . . One out later, pinch-hitter Tre Broussard doubled to right-center field to score Fields and tie the game.

The game was still tied as it moved to the ninth inning . . . The Vaqueros struck for six runs against multiple Houston pitchers in the top half of the inning.

Jackson LaLima led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run, his second of the season . . . Irvin Weems followed with a double down the left field line and after moving to third base on a dropped third strike, he crossed the plate on a wild pitch to cut the UTRGV lead to 8-4. . . The potential comeback ended there as the Cougars dropped to 5-2 on the season.

Fields (3-for-4) and Xavier Perez (3-for-5) accounted for six of the 10 Houston base hits . . . Broussard is hitting .500 this season and has driven in nine runs.

Houston hits the road for the next four games starting with a midweek game in Huntsville against Sam Houston, the first game for the 2026 Don Sanders Cup . . . First pitch of the Tuesday is set for 6pm.

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