For the second time in less than a week in a row some midweek magic late in the game helped Houston to a 5-4 walk-off win over Nicholls on Tuesday night at Schroder Park.
The Cougars were trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning before getting their first hit of the game . . . Catcher Conner Bennett (2-for-4), making just his sixth start of the season, hit a solo home run over the left field wall to lead off the frame for Houston’s first hit of the night.
The Houston half of the bottom of the sixth inning started with Anthony Tulimero (2-for-3) being hit by a pitch and Harold Coll followed suit, being hit by the eighth pitch of his at-bat . . . Ace Reese followed with a home run to center field off the batter’s eye and Houston led for the first time in the game, 4-3.
A solo home run for the Colonels tied the game at four in the top of the ninth inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Houston offense put together a rally . . . Tulimero doubled down the right field line and Coll followed with a walk . . . Jonathan French made a pinch-hit appearance and was walked to load the bases and the Colonels went to the bullpen.
Cary Arbolida (2-for-3) hit a towering fly ball to shallow center field . . . The center fielder raced in toward the infield at full speed to attempt a catch . . . The ball hit the fielder’s glove and fell to the ground allowing Houston to walk-off 5-4 winners.
Houston walked-off McNeese last Wednesday in 10 innings on a wild pitch.
The Cougars had seven runs in the ballgame and only four players accounted for them.
Diego Luzardo and Jose Torrealba each pitched two scoreless innings and Ryan Dollar contributed one inning of his own.
Houston has the next two days off before opening a Big 12 weekend series in Lawrence, Kansas against the Jayhawks . . . First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30pm.
Jonathan French stands at first base after a two RBI single Sunday in Cincinnati
Houston worked through chilly weather and a sunless afternoon to salvage a road win in Cincinnati on Sunday with an 8-5 victory.
A three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning gave Cincinnati an early 3-0 lead, reversing course from the previous two games when the Bearcats fell behind 4-0 in each game.
Ace Reese drew a two-out walk in the top of the fourth inning to reach base . . . Cary Arbolida drove a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall, clearing a line of trees beyond the wall, the two-run blast cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Bearcats went to their bullpen after five innings and Anthony Tulimero greeted the new pitcher by lining a single past the Cincinnati third baseman and into center field to lead off the top of the sixth inning . . . Harold Coll walked and both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch . . . Tre Jones (2-for-3) was hit by a pitch with two outs to load the bases for the Cougars.
Jonathan French came off the bench to pinch-hit and he lined the very first pitch he saw up the middle into center field, scoring Tulimero and Coll and giving Houston a 4-3 lead.
Antoine Jean settled in after the first inning home run to toss 5 1/3 innings to the benefit of the pitching staff depleted by injuries and long outings . . . Jean struck out six Cincinnati batters . . . Jean departed with two runners on base, both scored after he left the game, so his final line looks worse than his outing would actually indicate.
The Bearcats got the lead right back in the bottom of the inning, plating two runs to take a 5-4 lead.
Back-to-back walks to Tulimero and Coll in the top of the seventh inning were followed by a Reese single that dropped into left field to load the bases with one out . . . Arbolida then blooped a ball into shallow center field, with the possibility of the ball being caught, the runners had to hold up, Tulimero scampered home as the tying run when the ball hit the ground, but Coll was out on the RBI fielder’s choice force play at third base.
After hitting the first pitch he saw for a pinch-hit two RBI single, French hit the second pitch he saw in the game over the left field wall, close to where Arbolida’s home run cleared, to lead off the top of the eighth inning for a 6-5 lead.
Coll hit a home run to lead off the top of the ninth inning and to give the Cougars a two-run advantage . . . Two outs later, Thomas Lyssy drew a two-out walk and proceeded to steal second base . . . French worked a seven pitch at-bat before knocking a single into left-center field to drive in Lyssy and Houston led 8-5 going to the bottom of the ninth . . . French was 3-for-3 on Sunday with four RBI.
Justin Murray took the mound to begin the bottom of the eighth inning and he promptly struck out the side . . . Murray picked up another strikeout in the bottom of the ninth inning and retired six of the seven batters he faced to close the road win and earn his fourth save of the season.
Graysen Drezek, Brendan O’Donnell, and Richie Roman all contributed parts of a scoreless inning to get the game from Jean to Murray . . . Roman earned the win and improved to 2-0 this season.
“French was great today,” head coach Todd Whitting said after the game. “We had planned to give him a day off and he came off the bench with three huge hits.”
“With the injury early [in the season] to Tulimero, he was a huge pickup for us to solidify the catching position,” Whitting added.
Houston returns home today and has Monday off before traveling to College Station to take on the No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies in a Tuesday midweek matchup . . . First pitch is set for 6pm.
Texas rallied back late from three-runs down on Sunday afternoon at Schroeder Park to take the series against Houston with a 13-8 victory.
Jaxon Jelkin was scheduled to make the mound start until just minutes before first pitch when Antoine Jean was announced instead.
The Cougars put together a rally trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning when Justin Murray singled to right field with two outs . . . Anthony Tulimero was walked after Murray stole second base and reached third on a throwing error by the Texas catcher . . . Harold Coll (3-for-5) followed with a three-run home run over the left field wall and Houston led for the first time in the game, 3-2.
Cameron Nickens was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning . . . Coby DeJesus and Murray each singled to load the bases with no outs . . . Tulimero hit a sacrifice fly ball to left-center field to bring in a run . . . Coll drove in a run with a single to left-center field to extend the Houston lead to 5-2.
Jonathan French was walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning for Houston . . . One out later, Nickens hit a home run to left-center field to push the Cougars advantage to 7-2.
Texas added a run in the seventh inning and two in the eighth inning to close Houston’s lead to two runs.
With two down in the bottom of the eighth inning, Ace Reese got a 1-0 pitch he liked and he drove it over the fence in right field for a solo home run and a three-run Houston lead, 8-5 . . . The blast was the fifth of the season for the freshman.
But Texas responded with an eight-run ninth inning as eight consecutive batters reached base, three of them on home runs as Houston had to use four pitchers in the inning.
The Cougars went down in order in the bottom of the ninth and dropped the series with the 13-8 loss.
DeJesus and Murray were joined by Cary Arbolida as the only Houston hitters with multiple hits in the game with two each . . . Jean pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed just three hits and two runs on a third inning home run and he struck out six batters . . . Houston pitching struck out 14 batters in total and walked six.
Houston is off Monday before playing back-to-back midweek games at Schroeder Park . . . The Cougars will host Houston Christian on Tuesday night followed by Southern on Wednesday night . . . Both games are scheduled to get underway at 6:30.
Owen Woodward got the start Friday night and was perfect for 4 1/3 innings.
Pitching and power-hitting led the way as Houston ended an 11-game losing skid in Big 12 play with a 9-1 win over Texas at Schroeder Park on Friday night.
Harold Coll singled up the middle to lead off the bottom of the second inning . . . Ace Reese was hit by a pitch and Cary Arbolida (2-for-3) followed with a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position while becoming the first out of the inning . . . A wild pitch with two outs scored Coll and gave Houston a 1-0 lead.
Anthony Tulimero (3-for-4) was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning with Houston still leading by a run . . . Coll singled into left field before being erased on a double play which moved Tulimero to third base . . . Arbolida got a chance to swing the bat with two outs and he delivered . . . Arbolida hit a drive 411 feet over the wall in center field to the right of the batter’s eye and the Cougars led 3-0.
Houston starter Owen Woodward, making his first start of the season, was perfect through 4 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts . . . A solo home run with one out in the top of the fifth inning broke things up and Woodward struck out the following batter with noticeable discomfort on the strikeout pitch . . . Woodward’s first pitch to the next batter was his last of the night as he was in visible pain after he released the pitch and he tossed his glove to the ground.
Woodward exited the game at 72 pitches and in an interesting twist, Saturday’s scheduled starter Cade Citelli took the mound to record the final out of the top of the fifth inning.
Jonathan French led off the bottom of the inning with a sole home run to left field . . . Justin Murray put down a surprise bunt and he beat the throw to first base for a one-out single . . . After an attempted double-steal resulted in an out at home plate, Murray was second base when Tulimero singled into shallow center field to give Houston a 5-1 advantage.
Reese led off the bottom of the sixth inning by slicing a single into left-center field . . . Arbolida demolished a 1-1 pitch that disappeared into the night as it traveled toward Elgin Street and Houston led 7-1.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Coby DeJesus singled to left field reaching base for the first time in the game . . . Tulimero homered to left field with two outs, a two-run blast to give Houston an eight-run advantage heading to the ninth inning.
Citelli dominated over the final 4 1/3 innings allowing Texas just one base runner on a seventh inning single . . . Citelli faced the minimum in three different innings and finished with six strikeouts and no walks and improved to 2-0 on the year with the win.
“I had everything working. In the pen I had to warm up fast, you know. It’s unfortunate what happened to Woody,” Citelli said after the game. “I had all my pitches working and I pounded the strike zone.”
Asked about the difference for a pitcher between being a regular starter last year and being used out of the bullpen this season, Citelli keeps it simple.
“Nothing changes. I mean, it’s all routine, staying with it every day,” Citelli said. “That’s all it takes. I know I have the stuff, just getting ahead early, that’s a big difference from last year.”
After the game, Arbolida laughed when asked about putting down a sacrifice bunt in the second inning before hitting two home runs later in the game.
“I mean, it helped. It got me to see the ball a little bit better,” Arbolida said. “I was just working on trying to hit the ball hard.”
“I just saw a fastball up a little bit and then took it that way, up and out, and took it over right-center,” Arbolida said of his first home run. In describing his second home run, Arbolida said, “I just missed his hanging slider, and then he threw another one, and I just took it over the left field fence.”
Arbolida described how not overthinking has been key to his recent success at the plate. Like Citelli, the simple approach is the one that is working right now.
“Just trying not to think too much, because when I think too much, that’s when it goes downhill,” Arbolida said. “So I just try not to overthink and just trust what Kiv’s teaching us and tee it up and just go with that.”
Woodward ended his outing with ten strikeouts and he allowed just the one hit in a nearly perfect outing . . . Neither Houston pitcher walked a batter and the two combined for 16 strikeouts.
The Cougars and the Longhorns get back to it on Saturday evening at Schroeder Park . . . Citelli was scheduled to make his first weekend start of the season in the middle game, but his surprise appearance after Woodward’s departure means a change in plans, it is unknown as of now who will make the start Saturday . . . A 6:30pm first pitch is scheduled.
Sam Houston evened the Don Sanders Cup series with an 8-5 win over Houston in Huntsville on Tuesday night to set up a winner-take-all game on May 14 in Sugar Land.
Anthony Tulimero hit a home run off of the left field foul pole with two outs in the top of the first inning for an early 1-0 Houston lead.
The lead was erased in the bottom half of the inning as the Bearkats plated two runs to take their own one-run lead.
Ace Reese tripled to get the top of the second inning started . . . Jonathan French brought Reese across the plate on a ground out RBI to first base to tie the game.
But once again, the Bearkats took the lead back in the bottom of the inning one a two-run home run.
Trailing 7-2 in the top of the fifth inning, Justin Murray got a run back with a one-out solo home run to left-center field.
French walked one inning later with one out and scored on a double to right-center field off the bat of Jacob Schoenvogel (3-for-4) . . . With two outs, Coby DeJesus singled up the middle to score Schoenvogel from third base . . . The two-run sixth inning was the final time the Cougars would score in the game as they fell by a final score of 8-5.
Harold Coll was 3-for-4 in the game hitting in the cleanup spot, joining Schoenvogel as the only two Houston batters with multiple hits Tuesday night.
Ryan Dollar had a nice outing for Houston, pitching the final two innings of the game and allowing just one base hit while striking out three Bearkats batters . . . Overall, the Cougars pitching staff allowed seven free passes and struck out six batters.
The Sam Houston victory means that the neutral site meeting between the two teams on May 14 will be the deciding game of the 2024 Don Sanders Cup series . . . The annual neutral site game will take place at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.
Houston will next be in action on Friday when the Texas Longhorns will visit Schroeder Park for a Big 12 weekend series . . . Friday’s game will open the first and only Big 12 matchup between the former Southwest Conference foes . . . Game one gets underway at 6:30pm.
Jonathan French connects on a fifth inning home run Sunday in Lubbock
The winds of west Texas once again blew the way of Texas Tech as they completed the three-game sweep of Houston 12-8 in Lubbock on Sunday.
In the opening frame, Houston batters were doing a nice job of working deep counts and they drew two walks early, though one of the walks was erased on a caught-stealing . . . The other walked batter, Anthony Tulimero, was at first base when Harold Coll hit the second pitch of his at-bat over the wall in left-center field for a 2-0 Houston lead.
After the Red Raiders got a run back in the bottom of the first inning, Jacob Schoenvogel, a left-handed batter, bit a high floater the opposite way that looked destined for foul territory, but the carry of the ball led it to hit the left field foul pole for a leadoff home run and a 3-1 Houston lead.
For the second day in a row, Texas Tech plated three runs in the bottom of the third inning, with a grand slam as part of the mix on both days, and the Red Raiders took an 8-3 lead.
Trailing 11-3, Cary Arbolida was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the fifth inning when led Texas Tech to go to their bullpen for the first time in the game . . . Ace Reese then doubled into right-center field to score Arbolida all the way from first base . . . Jonathan French (3-for-5) then drove a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run home run on his team-leading eighth home run of the season and his second of the series.
Kenneth Jimenez came off the bench to deliver a run-scoring single in the seventh inning.
Texas Tech led 12-7 going to the top of the ninth inning . . . Arbolida led off with his second home run of the series, and fourth of the season, to right-center field . . . It was the start of what looked like another ninth inning rally, but like Saturday, the Red Raiders were able to close out the game and complete the series sweep.
Right-hander Cade Citelli was tremendous out of the bullpen for Houston on Sunday . . . Citelli inherited the bases loaded and a 2-0 count on a batter when he entered the game in the bottom of the fifth inning . . . Despite being behind in the count, Citelli got the strikeout, the first of four-straight strikeouts and six total . . . Citelli pitched the final 3 1/3 innings without allowing a hit or a walk.
Houston had 10 hits on the day, with seven different hitters reaching base . . . Tulimero was 2-for-3 Sunday, the only other Cougars hitter besides French to have multiple hits in the game.
The Red Raiders offense scored double-digit runs in all three games in the series.
Houston returns home tonight and will be off Monday before traveling to Huntsville for a midweek against Sam Houston on Tuesday night . . . Houston leads this year’s Don Sanders Cup series 1-0 after winning game one at Schroeder Park back on March 5 . . . First pitch in Huntsville is scheduled for 6:30pm.
Coby DeJesus was 4-for-6 against Texas Tech Saturday
Baseball in Lubbock was wild again on Saturday afternoon as Texas Tech claimed the weekend series over Houston with a 15-10 victory.
Jonathan French (2-for-4) led off the top of the second inning with a ground-rule double to left-center field . . . After a sacrifice bunt by Jacob Schoenvogel moved French to third base, Jake Rainess singled to left field to score French for an early one-run lead.
Rainess then stole second base on a delayed steal and the throw from the Red Raiders catcher went into center field allowing Rainess to move to third base where he was when a Coby DeJesus (4-for-6) ground out resulted in a RBI and a 2-0 Houston lead.
Texas Tech tied the game at two in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run home run and then took a one-run lead on a RBI single . . . A grand slam gave Texas Tech a seven-run frame and a 7-2 lead.
Trailing 12-2 in the top of the fifth inning, Harold Coll doubled into the left field corner to reach base with two outs . . . Coll was at third base after a wild pitch and Cary Arbolida singled on the infield to plate the run . . . Ace Reese (2-for-4) hit a home run over the left field wall, going the opposite way, a two-run shot . . . French added an opposite field home run of his own, going back-to-back with Reese, and Houston trailed 12-6 after the four-run inning.
The Cougars sent nine batters to the plate in the top of the sixth inning on four base hits and two walks . . . Houston plated four runs for the second-straight inning and only trailed by two-runs, 12-10.
Right-hander Owen Woodward had a terrific outing out of the Cougars bullpen . . . Woodward handled the final three innings of work and allowed just one run . . .Houston pitching allowed thirteen walks in the game.
Houston put together a mini rally in the top of the ninth inning when Jacob Schoenvogel doubled to lead off the inning . . . Alex Lopez singled in only his second at-bat of the game after pinch hitting in the seventh inning . . . DeJesus picked up his fourth hit of the game with a run-scoring single on his sixth hit of the weekend . . . The would-be rally fizzled out after one more run scored on an Anthony Tulimero sacrifice fly ball for his second RBI of the game, while Houston fell by a 15-12 final score.
The Cougars offense was consistent, and on many days scoring 12 runs should be enough for a win, but this series is being played in Lubbock . . . All nine batters in the starting lineup had at least one hit in the ballgame, including four Cougars with multiple hits.
The Cougars and the Red Raiders will conclude their series on Sunday afternoon . . . Right-hander Duncan Howard makes his return after not seeing action for three weeks . . . A 1pm first pitch is scheduled.
Harold Coll homered in the fourth inning Friday night.
Wild games in Lubbock are not new and Friday night was another one for the books as Houston fell to Texas Tech 12-9 to open the weekend series.
Texas Tech struck first and took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Cougars offense got the top of the second started with a walk by Kenneth Jimenez in a six pitch at-bat . . . Jimenez was erased on a ground ball by Jonathan French after a seven pitch at-bat and he advanced to second base on a wild pitch.
With one out, Cary Arbolida (3-for-4) lined a ball into left field for a run-scoring double . . . Cameron Nickens then rolled a triple to the wall in right-center field to score Arbolida and the Cougars trailed by only a run . . . With Nickens moving down the line from third base, Texas Tech’s catcher attempted a back-pick and the ball went off of a diving Nickens and rolled down the left field line allowing Nickens to easily cross the plate as the tying run and it was a brand new ballgame.
Still tied in the top of the fourth inning, Arbolida led off the frame with his second double in as many plate appearances . . . One out later, Coby DeJesus singled up the middle to put runners on the corners . . . After a Red Raiders pitching change, DeJesus stole second base as Justin Murray walked on four pitches to load the bases . . . Anthony Tulimero followed with a sacrifice fly to left-center field that plated Arbolida as the go-ahead run.
Harold Coll (3-for-5) then deposited a 1-0 pitch over the wall in center field for a three-run blast and a 7-3 Houston lead.
Texas Tech got two of the runs back in the bottom of the inning and the Cougars only led by two runs.
Arbolida hit the first pitch he saw in the top of the fifth inning over the left field wall for a one-out solo home run and an 8-5 Houston lead.
A four-run bottom of the fifth inning gave Texas Tech a 9-8 lead.
Coll hit his second home run in as many at-bats with one-out in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at nine.
The Red Raiders broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh inning with a three-run frame with three base hits and a walk.
Houston could add nothing over the final three innings and fell for the ninth straight time in Big 12 play . . . Cougars pitching struck out ten batters but also walked six on Friday . . . Five Houston hitters accounted for all eleven hits in the loss.
Houston and Texas Tech will continue the weekend series on Saturday with a 2pm scheduled first pitch . . . Left-hander Kyle LaCalameto will get the start for Houston, his third straight weekend start.
Houston had their Big 12 woes continue on Saturday in Ft. Worth as TCU completed a weekend sweep of the Cougars 6-4 in the finale.
Leadoff batter Coby DeJesus saw a nine pitch at-bat to open up Saturday’s game, fouling off five pitches before lining out, but the at-bat gave Justin Murray plenty of pitches to look at from the on-deck circle . . . Murray then singled into right field . . . Ace Reese then worked an eleven pitch at-bat before he struck out looking . . . The Cougars did not score in the inning, but they forced TCU starter Kole Klecker to throw 28 pitches in the first inning.
Making TCU starters work high-pitch innings was something the Cougars did not do in the first two games of the series when both starters went at least eight innings . . . The Saturday approach would pay dividends later in the afternoon.
Right-hander Jaxon Jelkin made the Saturday start for Houston, his second straight start in the final game of a weekend after being scratched from his usual Friday night start last week against Kansas State . . . Jelkin allowed an unearned run in the second inning and a run in the third inning, and was impressive the rest of the way even though TCU took a 2-0 lead.
Designated Hitter Tre Jones was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the fifth inning . . . Harold Coll hit the first pitch he saw for a single to left field . . . Jonathan French followed with a double into left-center field to plate Jones . . . One out later, Jacob Schoenvogel dropped a single into right field that scored French and Jake Rainess to give Houston a 3-2 lead and TCU went to the bullpen.
A throwing error in the top of the sixth inning plated another Houston run and gave the Cougars a two-run lead.
Jelkin exited the game with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning after a single broke up a string of 13 straight batters retired . . . It was Jelkin’s longest outing of the season to this point, and arguably his best, striking out six along the way, but he would have to settle for a no-decision for his effort.
Few things went right after Houston went to the bullpen as two errors, including a throwing error on a made to order double-play ball back to the pitcher that was thrown into center field . . . Two walks in the inning hurt Houston’s cause as well while the Horned Frogs scored four times and took a 6-4 lead.
Houston loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth but it was to no avail as TCU closed out the game and the series sweep.
TCU scored six runs in the game, but only had two hits on the day, aided by three Houston defensive errors . . . The Cougars offense left nine runners on base . . . The four runs scored on Saturday was more runs than in the previous two games combined (three).
Houston returns home today and will next be in action on Tuesday against Rice at Schroeder Park . . . The third and final game of the Silver Glove Series gets underway at 6:30pm, with Houston in line for the sweep of the series this season . . . The Cougars will then hit the road for their next four games, first with a stop in Lubbock to face Texas Tech for another weekend of Big 12 play.
By any metric there was very little to like about Houston losing 14-1 in Ft. Worth to TCU on Thursday night to open the fourth weekend of Big 12 play.
The two teams were scoreless through three innings of the game, but that was the last time that TCU did not score at least one run in an inning . . . The Horned Frogs took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, and they were just getting started.
In the top of the fifth inning, Tre Jones became the first Houston base runner in the game when he got the Cougars first base hit of the game to lead off the frame . . . But the Houston offense was kept in check pretty much all night and Jones was left on the bases.
Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs were adding runs to the tally, including a six-run seventh inning . . . TCU would add a run in the eighth inning and take a 14-0 lead to the ninth inning.
Jonathan French was a late defensive replacement at first base for Justin Murray once the game was all but final . . . French got his first at-bat in the top of the ninth inning and he blasted a leadoff solo home run to left field, the Cougars fourth and final base hit in the game.
TCU hitters collected 21 base hits in the game without a home run . . . The Horned Frogs took advantage of three Houston errors . . . Cougars pitching walked five batters in the game, while striking out on two, both by Ryan Dollar.
Houston and TCU will pick it up again on Saturday evening in Ft. Worth . . . Kyle LaCalameto will be on the mound for Houston . . . First pitch is set for 6:30pm.
Houston Cougars Baseball Beat 