Tag: Jose Torrealba

Houston Walks-Off McNeese in 10 Innings in Comeback Fashion

Diego Luzardo takes a moment while throwing two scoreless innings Tuesday night.

The Houston offense started slowly on Wednesday night at Schroeder Park, but it arrived in time to walk-off McNeese 9-8 in 10 innings.

McNeese took a 5-0 lead in the second inning, getting runs off of two different Cougars pitchers.
Right-hander Diego Luzardo then took the mound for the third and fourth innings and stopped the Cowboys offense, allowing just one hit and striking out three batters while keeping the deficit from getting bigger.

Anthony Tulimero got the Houston offense started in the bottom of the fourth inning reaching base on a single into right field, just the Cougars second hit of the ballgame to reach base with one out . . . Ace Reese (2-for-4) then sliced an 0-2 pitch into left-center field for a double to score Tulimero from first base  . . . .Cary Arbolida doubled into right-center field, scoring Reese . . . Tre Jones singled home Arbolida and Houston was only down by two runs, 5-3.

Houston was trailing 8-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning when Jonathan French doubled down the right field line to get a rally started in the bottom of the inning with one out . . . Coby DeJesus singled to move French over to third base before Justin Murray walked to load the bases . . . Tulimero sent a fly ball deep to left field, but it was caught on the warning track with French scoring on the sacrifice fly, while DeJesus and Murray both tagged up as well.

With two outs, Harold Coll (3-for-5) dropped singled into shallow left field just out of reach of the retreating shortstop and with the base runners moving with two outs, DeJesus and Murray scored and Houston only trailed by two . . . Coll was attempting to steal second base when Reese singled into right field and put runners on the corners . . . After falling behind 0-1, Arbolida walked when the next four pitches missed the strike zone and the bases were loaded.

Jones hit a ground ball to second base and it was fielded cleanly, but the second baseman seemed to want to go for the force out at second base, but he hesitated and then threw to first base for what should have been the third out . . . The throw to first was wild and went into the McNeese dugout, allowing two Cougars to score and the game was tied at eight going to the eighth inning.

The game went to the bottom of the tenth inning still tied at eight . . . Jacob Schoenvogel, playing in his first game since April 12 against Texas due to back issues, was 0-for-2 at the plate after making a pinch-hit appearance, but drew a walk to lead off the inning . . . French bunted Schoenvogel to second base before DeJesus grounded out to shortstop allowing Schoenvogel to move to third base.

Murray was at the plate with two outs when a wild pitch went to the wall behind the plate and Schoevogel crossed the plate easily as the winning run.

As is typical of midweek games, many pitchers are used in the games, and Wednesday was no exception . . . The Cougars and the Cowboys combined to use 18 pitchers, and the fact they played 10 innings is hardly relevant to that fact.

Jose Torrealba was outstanding out of the bullpen once again, going 2 2/3 scoreless innings before handing the ball off to Alex Solis who pitched a scoreless tenth inning, even working around a little traffic . . . Solis earned his first career win when Schoenvogel crossed the plate in the bottom of the tenth inning.

Coll and Reese were the only two Houston hitters with multiple hits in the ballgame . . . The walk-off was the second this season to happen against a former Houston player . . . Evan Maldonado, with the Cougars in 2021 before transferring to Navarro, was on the mound Wednesday night and threw the wild pitch that allowed the winning run . . . Malachi Lott was the other player, who Reese singled off of in the bottom of the ninth inning on March 5, also at Schroeder Park.

Houston has one day off now before opening a Big 12 series with the UCF Knights on Friday . . . The game is set to begin at 6:30pm at Schroeder Park.

. . .

Houston Wins Series; Arbolida Homers Twice…Again

Cary Arbolida bats in the third inning Sunday

Houston’s win over UT Arlington on Sunday at Schroeder Park might sound like a familiar one, that’s because it is:

The Houston offense got going in the bottom of the first inning after the first two Cougars batters had been retired . . . Anthony Tulimero (2-for-3) was hit by a pitch and took second base on a wild pitch . . . Harold Coll (3-for-4) walked after falling behind in the count 0-2 . . . Ace Reese drove in Tulimero with an opposite field single into left field . . . Cary Arbolida (3-for-5) hit the next pitch into left field to score Coll and Houston had a 2-0 lead going to the second inning.

The Mavericks got one of the runs right back in the top of the second inning when a balk brought across a runner from this base . . . One inning later, UTA tied the game on an inside-the-park home run to right field.

Tulimero sent the first pitch in the bottom of the third inning into left field for a leadoff single . . . With one out, Reese singled to right field allowing Tulimero to get to third base . . . Arbolida hammered a 1-2 pitch 431 feet over the left field wall for a three-run home run.

Tre Jones (2-for-4) followed with a triple to the right field wall and the Mavericks went to the bullpen . . . Kenneth Jimenez hit the first pitch from the new pitcher high into center field to score Jones on a sacrifice fly to push the Houston lead to four, 6-2.

Arbolida led off the bottom of the fifth inning with his second home run of the game, this one traveling 435 feet over the left field fence . . . The blast was Arbolida’s fourth of the weekend and his third milti-home run game of the season . . . It was also Arbolida’s 12th home run of the season.

A two-run home run for the Mavericks in the top of the sixth inning cut the Houston lead to 7-4.

In the bottom of the sixth, Justin Murray singled to left field with one out and then stole second base with two outs . . . Coll doubled to the left field wall to score Murray and get the Cougars lead back to four.

Murray once again reached base with one out in the bottom of eighth inning, this time via a walk . . . Tulimero doubled to the wall in left-center field on the first pitch of his at-bat to score Murray from first base . . . Coll singled to center field to plate Tulimero and Houston led 10-4 going to the ninth inning . . . The RBI was Coll’s 47th, which leads the team.

Left-hander Jose Torrealba took the mound in relief of Jean in the top of the sixth inning with a runner on first base . . . The first batter to face Torrealba lined a ball toward third base where Tulimero was able to get a glove on the ball to knock it to the ground for a single and avoid extra bases and possible a run scoring . . . Torrealba induced a double play ball to end the inning without allowing any runs.

Torrealba proceeded to get the next nine batters out in order to close out the ballgame, retiring all 11 batters he faced . . . Torrealba threw 32 pitches over his 3 2/3 innings pitched and only threw four pitches in the ninth inning to end the ballgame . . . Torrealba earned the save for his work, his third of the season.

Antoine Jean earned the win to improve to 3-2 this season, he threw 5 1/3 innings and struck out six batters . . . Five Cougars had multiple hits in the ballgame.

Houston is off for the next couple of days before facing McNeese on Wednesday in this week’s only midweek game for the Cougars . . . First pitch at Schroeder Park is scheduled for 6:30pm.

. . .

Houston Run-Rules Southern 25-0 to Close Out Homestand

Houston tossed its second-straight shutout on Wednesday night at Schroeder Park to run-rule Southern 25-0 in seven innings.

A Justin Murray one-out double got the offense started in the bottom of the first inning . . . Murray was at third base after a wild pitch when Anthony Tulimero grounded out to make Murray the first run of the game . . . Harold Coll (3-for-3) doubled to left-center field with two outs . . . Ace Reese then doubled to left-center field and advanced to third base on an error by the center fielder . . . Cary Arbolida (3-for-5) tripled and the Cougars led 3-0 after the first inning.

Just as in the first inning, scoring in the bottom of the second inning started with a one out rally as Tre Jones doubled, batting in the nine spot in the order . . . Coby DeJesus (2-for-3) pushed a single through the right side to score Jones . . . Tulimero doubled to left field with two outs to plate DeJesus . . . Coll hammered the next pitch over the wall in left-center field, a two-run shot, and the four run frame gave Houston a 7-0 lead . . . The home run was Coll’s eighth of the season.

The formula was working, where the leadoff batter would make an out and the Cougars would score multiple runs in the inning, and it continued into the third inning . . . Cameron Nickens drew a one-out walk but was erased on the basepaths on a fielder’s choice by Jones . . . Jones was at second base after a steal and he scored on a single to right field by DeJesus . . . After DeJesus stole second base, Murray doubled to left field to bring him across the plate . . . Tulimero singled up the middle and the Cougars led 10-0 after three innings.

Once again, the Jaguars retired the leadoff batter in the bottom of the fourth inning . . . Back-to-back one-out walks to Lopez and Nickens was followed by Anthony Avalos being hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs . . . Thomas Lyssy pinch-hit for Murray and was walked to bring home a run.

Conner Bennett (3-for-3), pinch-hitting for Tulimero, once night after picking up his first career extra-base hit and RBI, launched a ball 385 feet to left-center field for a grand slam, his first career home run and Houston led 15-0.

A new pitcher entered the game for Southern in the bottom of the fifth inning and Arbolida greeted his first pitch by sending it onto Elgin, his seventh home run of the season . . . For the second consecutive inning, Lopez and Nickens both walked . . . With one out, Avalos grounded out to second base to bring home Lopez . . . Bennett then hit the first pitch he saw into left-center field for a run-scoring single and Houston led 18-0.

Houston plated seven more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning with the help of a defensive error, a hit batter, four walks, doubles by Jones and Bennett, and a sacrifice fly RBI to lead 25-0.

The Cougars closed out the victory, and their second-straight shutout, with a scoreless top of the seventh inning to win via the run-rule.

Kyle LaCalameto, Graysen Drezek, Brendan O’Donnell, Diego Luzardo, Richie Roman, Tim Williamson, and Jose Torrealba all pitched exactly one inning for Houston . . . Every pitcher notched at least one strikeout, with Torrealba striking out the side in the top of the seventh inning to close out the win.

LaCalameto, Roman, and Torrealba pitched hitless frames while Roman earned the win and is now 1-0 on the year.

Houston is off to Cincinnati tomorrow to face an old American Athletic Conference and now Big 12 Conference foe in the Bearcats for a weekend series . . . First pitch Friday is scheduled for 4pm.

. . .

2,000th Win in Houston Program History Also Ends Lamar Win Streak

The 2,000th win in the history of the Houston program also stopped the longest active win streak in the nation when the Cougars defeated the Lamar Cardinals 6-4 at Schroeder Park on Tuesday night.

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning, Houston leadoff hitter Kenneth Jimenez was hit in the head with the second pitch of the bottom of the first inning . . . Jimenez remained in the game . . . Justin Murray was walked before Harold Coll delivered a run-scoring single up the middle into center field . . . A Tre Jones sacrifice fly RBI to left field gave Houston the 2-1 advantage.

A three-run fourth inning gave the Cardinals a temporary 4-2 advantage.

Cameron Nickens (2-for-4) got a fourth inning rally started for the Cougars when he hit a one-out double into the right field corner . . . Two out walks to Coby DeJesus and Anthony Tulimero loaded the bases for the top of the order . . . Jimenez was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game, this time it brought home a run to cut the Cougars deficit.

A walk to Murray tied the game and Coll was then hit by a pitch to give Houston a 5-4 lead.

Jones led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a swinging strikeout, but the ball got away from the catcher and Jones’ alertness and speed helped him reach first base safely . . . Jones then stole second base and was at third base when a single by Nickens brought him home.

Houston pitching did not allow Lamar to score a run after the third inning . . . Michael Benzor, Diego Luzardo, Brendan O’Donnell and pitched scoreless baseball in the middle frames . . . Left-hander Jose Torrealba pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning with two strikeouts . . . Murray handled the ninth inning and struck out two Cardinals batters to earn his third save of the season . . . Luzardo (2-0) earned the win with his 1 1/3 scoreless innings pitched.

Entering play Tuesday night, Lamar (19-5) had the longest active winning streak in the nation having won 13 straight games . . . Neither team made an error in the game, a problem that plagued Houston over the weekend against Kansas State.

Anthony Tulimero played in his first game since March 1st at the Astros Foundation College Classic . . . Tulimero went 1-for-3 in his return, walked, and scored once while batting in the nine spot.

After the game, Tulimero talked about his return from a shoulder injury and preparing for the game after being out for 24 days.

“We had a few arms that needed to throw so I was able to get a few at-bats off of them and kind of just get back to some normalcy in the box,” Tulimero said. “I was glad that my teammates were able to help me out pregame today and get me ready for the game.”

“Just excited to come back and do what I love,” Tulimero added. “I wanted to come in here, get a win in midweek, and get some momentum going into TCU this weekend.”

Head coach Todd Whitting was asked after the game about the 2,000th win in the history of the program.

“It’s a great milestone for the program to reach our 2,000th win in program history,” Whitting said. “Each of those wins are special and only achieved because of the tremendous players and coaches that have been associated with UH Baseball.”

Houston only has one day off before they once again see action in Big 12 play . . . Because this is Easter weekend, the schedule has been moved up a day for most teams in the Big 12 . . . The Cougars will be in Ft. Worth to face TCU on Thursday, first pitch is set for 6pm.

. . .

Houston Opens Big 12 Era with 4-3 Win Over Baylor

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.

. . .

Cougars Get Walked-Off by Bobcats in 10 at Astros Classic

Two chances to close out a day one victory in the Astros Foundation College Classic eluded the Houston Cougars Friday at Minute Maid Park as they dropped the first game of the weekend 8-7 to Texas State in ten innings.

Houston grabbed an early lead when Jake Rainess (2-for-5) got the first inning started Friday morning with a leadoff single . . . Justin Murray followed with a double to the wall in right-center field . . . Tre Jones (2-for-5) singled home Rainess and Murray for a quick 2-0 Cougars advantage.

The Cougars would not score another run until the eighth inning.

As the final hour of morning gave way to a sunny afternoon Houston was holding onto a 2-0 lead.

Texas State finally got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the Houston lead in half . . . Cougars starter Jaxon Jelkin took the game into the sixth inning, departing with one out and by the time the inning was over, the Bobcats held a 3-2 lead.

Texas State took a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning and added two runs in the seventh inning for a three-run lead heading to the eighth inning.

Jones hit a solo home run into the right field seats to lead off the top of the eighth inning . . . After loading the bases via three consecutive walks by Texas State pitchers, an Alex Lopez sacrifice fly RBI preceded Cameron Nickens punching a two-run single through the left side of the infield and the Cougars took a 6-5 lead.

The Bobcats tied the game at six with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning which eventually sent the game into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth inning, Nickens brought home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly ball to score Anthony Tulimero.

Texas State responded in the bottom of the tenth inning and eventually a two-run home run into the Crawford Boxes dealt the Cougars an 8-7 defeat in walk-off fashion.

Jelkin’s eight strikeouts was a career high for the right-hander and he only walked one Bobcat batter in his 5 1/3 innings pitched . . . Left-handed reliever Jose Torrealba had a nice rebound effort after a tough outing on Tuesday night against UTSA throwing a scoreless inning with striking out one . . . Overall, Cougars pitching compiled thirteen strikeouts and walked just three batters . . . Rainess and Jones were the only Cougars with multiple hits in the Friday contest and they accounted for four of the nine Houston hits.

The Cougars are back to work again early on Saturday when they will face No. 11 Vanderbilt at 11am at Minute Maid Park . . . Left-hander Antoine Jean will get the start against one of the great SEC teams atop all national rankings.

. . .

Houston Claims Series Against St. John’s Led By Jean, Jones

Tre Jones bats against St. John’s on Saturday night at Schroeder Park

Houston took the middle game of the weekend series from St. John’s on Saturday night at Schroeder Park 7-2 to notch the series win and open the season 6-0.

Left-hander Antoine Jean (1-0) took the mound for his second straight Saturday night and led the way for the Cougars.

Tre Jones (3-for-3) led off the bottom of the second inning with a home run blast to center field, a ball that landed to the left of the batter’s eye and the television camera tower and traveled 407 feet.

Still leading 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Anthony Tulimero walked to lead off the frame . . . Justin Murray singled on the infield to put two runners on base with no outs . . . For Murray, the single extended his hitting streak to 21 straight games . . . Jones then slapped a single the opposite way into left field to score Tulimero and move Murray to third base . . . Cameron Nickens then smashed a single into left field to plate Murray and Houston had a 3-0 advantage.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, Jonathan French singled through the right side to reach base . . . Ace Reese singled to right-center field in a pinch-hitting appearance to put two runners on base . . . Shortstop Jake Rainess followed with a one out RBI single to center field.

Still leading 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Murray was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame . . . Jones then singled to left field for his third hit of the game . . . A walk to Nickens loaded the bases with no outs and the Red Storm went to the bullpen . . . Alex Lopez (2-for-3) was hit by a pitch after the pitching change to bring home the fifth run for Houston . . . Harold Coll lifted a sacrifice fly ball to deep right field and the RBI extended the Cougars lead to 6-0.

Jean pitched out of a couple of jams, but also faced the minimum of three batters in three of his six innings pitched on his way to his first win of the season . . . Jean allowed just four hits in six scoreless innings to go with six strikeouts.

Graysen Drezek relieved Jean to start the top of the seventh inning . . . A batter hit by a pitch and a fielding error led to two runs for St. John’s heading to the seventh inning stretch . . . Left-hander Jose Torrealba was next out of the bullpen for Houston and pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth inning retiring all six batters he faced, striking out three of them.

With runners on second and third base with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Reese was intentionally walked to load the bases, a significant show of respect for the freshman . . . Rainess was then hit by a pitch to allow the final Houston run of the night to cross the plate.

Jones reached base in all four trips to the plate and following Saturday’s win, head coach Todd Whitting reiterated what he said on opening weekend about Jones, “Tre has emerged as a force in the four hole. He can get you with speed and power.”

Whitting was also pleased with his pitching trio on Saturday night, “Another great performance by the pitching staff,” he said. “Jean with a quality start, pounded the zone. Drezek overcame an error to get out of a jam, proud of him for working through that. And Torrealba is a strike-throwing machine out of the pen again.”

The Cougars and the Red Storm close out the weekend with a series finale on Sunday at Schroeder Park . . . The game is scheduled to get underway at 1pm.

. . .

Cougars Plate Eight Again, Open Season 2-0

Antoine Jean started against Binghamton Saturday afternoon at Schroeder Park

With temperatures in the upper 40s most of the afternoon, the Houston Cougars kept warm by running the bases in an 8-2 victory over the Binghamton Bearcats on Saturday at Schroeder Park.

Binghamton took a 1-0 in the second inning after a leadoff triple led to a run on a groundout by the next batter in the frame.

Second baseman Harold Coll led off the bottom of the third inning with a double to the left field wall and he advanced to third base on a wild pitch . . . Ace Reese then tied the game at one with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Justin Murray lined a double into left field . . . Tre Jones followed with a RBI single into right-center field, Jones then proceeded to steal second and third base before being thrown out at home plate on a fielder’s choice . . . With Cameron Nickens on first base with two outs, Coll lifted a high fly ball into shallow right-center field which eventually fell in for a single that scored Nickens from first base to give the Cougars a 3-1 lead.

Graysen Drezek took the mound in relief of starter Antoine Jean to start the top of the fifth inning . . . After retiring all three batters he faced in the fifth inning, Drezek worked around two base hits and a hit batter to strike out the side in the sixth inning while protecting the two-run Houston lead.

The Bearcats got a run back in the top of the seventh inning to close the Houston lead to a run at 3-2.

After the seventh inning stretch, Jake Rainess lifted a fly ball the opposite way to right field and the ball eventually drifted over the right field wall just inside the foul pole for a two-run home run to extend the Houston lead to 5-2.

Things unraveled further for the Bearcats pitching staff in the bottom of the eighth inning as three walks, a hit batter, and three wild pitches allowed the Cougars to add three runs to tally.

Jose Torrealba handled the eighth and ninth innings for the Cougars in dominant fashion . . . Torrealba retired all six batters he faced, striking out three of them and earning the save with the 8-2 victory.

The Cougars scored eight runs for the second straight game to open the season . . . With his fourth inning double, Murray extended his hitting streak to 17 games . . . Jones has two stolen bases in each of the first two games and is a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts to begin the season . . . Drezek earned his first win of the season with his two scoreless innings of work.

Houston and Binghamton close out the opening weekend series with an 11am first pitch on Sunday at Schroeder Park.

. . .

Houston Defeats No. 8 East Carolina 6-4, Wins Series

Jose Torrealba made the Sunday start for Houston on Sunday at Schroeder Park

Two Houston home runs off the foul pole in left field made the difference on Sunday afternoon as Houston took the series finale 6-4 against No. 8 East Carolina, and the weekend series at the same time.

Jose Torrealba made the Sunday start for Houston, his first appearance since February 26 . . . Torrealba gave Houston a nice start retiring six of the first eight batters he faced and departing after his second inning of work having not allowed a run.

Brandon Burckel (2-for-4) led off the bottom of the third inning with a home run off the foul pole in left field to give Houston a 1-0 lead.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Malachi Lott grounded to second base for what seemed like the final out of the inning, but a fielding error allowed Lott to reach first base . . . Zach Arnold followed with a towering two-run home run that was just fair and the Cougars led 3-0.

A two-run top of the sixth inning for East Carolina was followed by a two-run top of the seventh inning and the Pirates led 4-3.

Back-to-back singles by Brandon Burckel and Ian McMillan to start the bottom of the seventh inning preceded Alex Lopez hitting a drive the opposite way off the left field foul pole, a three-run home run and the second home run off the same foul pole in the game, and Houston led 6-4.

Justin Murray took the mound for the eighth inning with the task of recording the final six outs for Houston . . . Murray allowed a one-out single in the eighth and set the side down in order in the ninth inning, going through the heart of the East Carolina lineup to secure the 6-4 victory . . . For his efforts, Murray earned the save, his third of the season, and Woodward registered the win.

Houston Head Coach Todd Whitting saw a lot to like about his team this weekend. “Amazing effort and enthusiasm by the team,” Whitting said. “I thought we played with no fear and never let them throw a knock-out punch.”

On Murray’s multiple innings pitched at the end of both series wins, Whitting added, “Murray is a tough veteran player, he has been tremendous closing for us.”

After the two-inning save by Murray on Sunday on short rest, Whitting added, “Gritty performance after an extended outing to win the game Friday.”

With his fifth inning home run, Arnold extended his reached-base streak to 24 games . . . Houston scored six runs in the Sunday contest on just seven hits . . . Burckel was the only Cougars hitter with multiple hits in the game . . . Houston pitching allowed the Pirates just fourteen runs over the entire weekend series

Houston (14-14, 2-1) closes out the current homestand on Tuesday when they play host to Rice for the first game of the 2023 Silver Glove Series . . . First pitch at Schroeder Park will take place at 6:30pm.

Cougars Grab 8-6 Win, First of 2023

Tommy Egan delivers the first pitch of Sunday’s game at Schroeder Park

Houston picked up its first win of the 2023 season with an 8-6 victory over the Cal Golden Bears at Schroeder Park on Sunday afternoon.Cal got in on the act immediately when their first two batters hit their way on base to open up the contest, and both scored quickly as the Golden Bears took a 2-0 lead.

Brandon Burckel (3-for-3) got the Cougars on the board in the second inning with a two-run double to the wall in left-center which tied the game at two . . . Batting with two outs in the fourth inning, Burkel drove his second double in as many at-bats down the left field line to score Justin Murray all the way from first base to tie the game at three . . . Cameron Nickens (2-for-4) drove home Burckel with a single to center to put the Cougars in front for the first time on the weekend, 4-3.

Alex Lopez (2-for-3) singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning . . . Brandon Uhse doubled into the left field corner to score Lopez from first base . . . A sacrifice fly to center field by Murray plated Uhse from third base and the Cougars took a 6-5 lead.

Tied at six in the bottom of the eighth inning, Malachi Lott walked and stole second before Burckel followed with an infield single, his third hit of the game, putting runners on the corners with no one out . . . One out later, Zach Arnold dropped a looping single into shallow right-field to give the Cougars a one run lead . . . Lopez gave Houston an 8-6 lead on a sacrifice fly to left field.

Left-hander Jose Torrealba closed out the win in the ninth by retiring the Golden Bears in order . . . Torrealba struck out two in the ninth inning and picked up the win for his effort over 1 1/3 innings.

Houston is off for two days before hitting the road for the next four games . . . The Cougars will play UTSA in San Antonio on Wednesday at 6:00pm before heading to Corpus Christi for a weekend tournament where they will face Utah, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Incarnate Word.