Tag: Kyle LaCalameto

Houston Season Ends in Doubleheader Loss Saturday

Kyle LaCalameto started Friday’s game, which was postponed until Saturday

There was a bevy of odd numbers on Saturday at Schroeder Park, but none of them favored Houston as Oklahoma State took both games of a doubleheader by scores of 20-3 and 9-2.

The first game of the day started under ominous skies on Friday night and lasted all of three outs . . . After Kyle LaCalameto pitched the top of the first inning, lightning in the area triggered a series of delays and ultimately pushed the postponement of the rest of the game to Saturday.

Saturday afternoon, roughly 18 hours after the delay began, the first pitch was thrown to Alex Lopez to lead off the bottom of the first inning.

Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Lopez drove a two-run home run over the right field wall, that would account for most of Houston’s run-scoring in the game.

There was a 12-minute delay just as the fourth inning was about to begin . . . The home plate umpire was suffering from signs of heat exhaustion over the previous couple of half innings under the unrelenting heat and humidity . . . The umpire was advised by the two training staffs to leave the game, thus causing a delay.

Oklahoma State scored 10 runs in the sixth inning and the game was all but over.

Houston had only four base hits in the game with Justin Murray driving in the only other Cougars run . . . Houston pitching walked 14 Cowboys batters . . . Left-hander Brendan O’Donnell retired seven batters over parts of three different frames, five of them were strikeouts.

Oklahoma State scored two runs in the first and third inning of game two and led 4-0 very quickly.

Houston started the bottom of the fourth inning with three straight singles, breaking up a perfect game to that point . . . Kenneth Jimenez picked up the first single and Murray followed with one of his own . . . Anthony Tulimero (2-for-4) singled to right field to score Jimenez, it was the only run the Cougars would score until the eighth inning . . . Tulimero accounted for two of Houston’s six base hits in the game, the only Cougars hitter with multiple hits.

Jacob Schoenvogel led off the bottom of the eighth with a double . . . Three-straight groundouts followed, one by Murray to third base brought Schoenvogel across the plate for the second and final Cougars run of the game, and the final run of the season.

Trailing by seven runs, Harold Coll doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, but the next three Cougars batters went in order to close out the season.

Houston finished the season 26-28 overall and 7-21 in their first season in the Big 12 . . . Thirteen Cougars seniors were recognized throughout Saturday’s first game, their departures from the program, along with possible transfer portal action, and an incoming transfer class mean a lot of changes ahead for next year’s roster.

Tulimero and Murray departed at the same point in Saturday’s second game, marking the end of their Houston careers . . . Murray took the mound to open the ninth inning and fittingly struck out the only two batters he faced before head coach Todd Whitting made the trip to the mound to let both Murray and Tulimero have their one final moment together as Cougars teammates.

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Arbolida Homers Twice; Cougars Early Lead Falls Short

A seven-run Houston lead in the third inning was not enough to claim victory on Saturday in Lawrence as Kansas battled back to win 11-9 to even the Big 12 series.

Cary Arbolida (3-for-4) hit the first pitch of his first inning at-bat over the left field wall for a three-run home run and a 4-0 Houston lead.

Arbolida delivered again in the third inning, hitting a one-out home run over the left field wall, the start of a second four-run inning in the first three innings of the game on the way to an 8-1 Houston lead . . . The home run was the 15th of the season for Arbolida and his fourth multi-home run game of the season.

Leadoff hitter Kenneth Jimenez hit a home run in the fifth inning, it was the final run the Cougars scored on Saturday.

Left-hander Kyle LaCalameto was pretty solid out of the bullpen after the lead had been surrendered, throwing four innings and allowing just one run while striking out four Jayhawks batters.

Despite picking up 14 hits in the ballgame, the Cougars did not score another run after the fifth inning.

Houston and Kansas will settle the weekend Big 12 series on Sunday at noon . . . As of now, neither team has announced a starting pitcher for the game.

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Cougars Slowed By Knights Pitching; Arbolida Delivers Again

Houston’s offense was completely stymied by great UCF pitching in a 4-1 loss Friday night at Schroeder Park to open the Big 12 weekend series.

After being retired in order over the first three innings, the Cougars got their first base hit and base runners in the bottom of the fourth inning but could not turn them into runs.

Meanwhile, a run in the first inning off of Houston starter Cade Citelli was followed by a two-run third inning in which an error at shortstop was brought home on a two-out home run to center field.

Still trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Cary Arbolida hit the first pitch of the frame over the left field wall for his 13th home run of the season.

The Knights added a run in the top of the seventh inning while the Cougars could muster almost nothing after the Arbolida home run . . . Anthony Tulimero was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning but stranded at first base, and Kenneth Jimenez was walked in an eighth inning pinch-hit appearance, replaced with a pinch-runner, who was promptly doubled-off on a line-out to first base to end the inning.

Houston’s offense could only collect two base hits in the game.

The lack of offense resulted in a hard luck loss for Citelli whose quality start over six innings with six strikeouts was nearly unimaginable after a 32-pitch first inning . . . Citelli faced the minimum in two innings, the second and the fourth, and low pitch counts in both allowed him some longevity into the latter stages of the game . . . Two of the three runs against Citelli were unearned due to the error at shortstop.

The Cougars then turned to left-hander Kyle LaCalameto out of the bullpen, he was the second and final pitcher for Houston in the game . . . LaCalameto pitched the final three innings of the game and struck out three UCF batters . . . Citelli’s effort spared the Houston bullpen from being taxed early in the first game of the weekend conference series.

The Cougars and the Knights will continue the weekend series on Saturday night . . . Antoine Jean will be on the mound for Houston, starting a day earlier in the weekend after pitching on Sunday the last three weeks . . . The game will get underway at 6:30pm.

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Cougars Stumble, Drop Game to Mavericks 7-3

Saturday night was a mixed bag for Houston as UT Arlington used a five-run seventh inning to escape with a 7-3 victory at Schroeder Park.

Ace Reese singled with one out in the bottom of the second inning for the Cougars first hit of the ballgame . . . With two outs and Tre Jones at the plate, Reese broke for second base in an attempt to steal the bag . . . As the UTA shortstop was moving toward second base to be in place for a throw from the catcher, Jones punched a grounder that rolled directly behind the shortstop and into left-center field allowing Reese to score all the way from first base on the double . . . Houston led 1-0 after the frame.

A two-run home run in the top of the third inning gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead.

That score remained until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Cougars got a two-out rally going . . . Coby DeJesus was hit by a pitch and Justin Murray singled before a walk to Anthony Tulimero loaded the bases . . . Harold Coll hit the first pitch he saw up the middle to score DeJesus and Murray and Houston led once again, 3-2.

Things unraveled on the Houston bullpen in the top of the seventh inning and the Mavericks plated five runs to take a 7-3 lead while the Cougars used three pitchers in the inning.

Houston’s potential offensive rallies were foiled by inning-ending double plays in three of the final four innings, and a double play ball to officially kill the last gasp at a comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Cary Arbolida continues to make contact at the plate, he was 2-for-4 on Saturday and was the only Houston batter with multiple base hits . . . Freshman Conner Bennett made a pinch-hit appearance in the bottom of the ninth inning after Tre Jones led off the inning by reaching base when he was hit by a pitch . . . Bennett saw six pitches, and lined the final one into left field for a clean base hit.

Kyle LaCalameto had a final line that was not reflective of his overall performance . . . LaCalameto took the mound in relief of Richie Roman with two outs in the top of the third inning and a runner on first base . . . LaCalameto then retired the next ten batters he faced, striking out four of them, and facing the minimum in innings four, five, and six . . . The first hit of the night off of LaCalameto was followed by a home run and his night was done after 3 1/3 innings, but it was a really good outing by the left-hander who is still working his way back to full strength following Tommy John Surgery.

Murray took the mound in the seventh inning with two runners on base and no outs . . . Murray yielded a run but retired the side in order in the eighth inning and worked around a two-out single in the ninth inning to keep the game from getting further out of reach.

Houston and UT Arlington conclude their weekend series on Sunday at Schroeder Park . . . Antoine Jean (2-2) will get the start for Houston . . . First pitch is scheduled for 1pm.

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Another Early Lead Gets Away, Houston Drops Road Series

Coby DeJesus bats with Tre Jones on second base in the 2nd inning Saturday

For the second straight day, an early 4-0 Houston lead was not enough to find a road win as Cincinnati took game two, and the weekend series, 5-4 on Saturday.

Ace Reese got the offense going with a one out single to center field . . . Reese advanced to second base on a wild pitch during a productive at-bat by Cary Arbolida, who struck out swinging, but saw eight pitches in his plate appearance . . . Jonathan French then drew a two-out walk as did Cameron Nickens, who saw six pitches in his at-bat.

Tre Jones singled on the infield with a bouncing ball behind the Bearcats second baseman that scored Reese and French . . . With Nickens at third base, Jones stole second base and the throw got away from the middle infielders allowing Nickens to scamper home as the fourth run of the inning and 4-0 Houston lead.

CIncinnati got a run back in the bottom of the second inning, their only run through the first four innings . . . As Houston starter Duncan Howard was taking his warmup tosses prior to the bottom of the fourth inning, head coach Todd Whitting saw something in Howard’s delivery, and he was removed from the game and Kyle LaCalameto took the mound in relief protecting a 4-1 lead.

For the second straight game, Houston could not hold on to a four-run lead as the Bearcats continued to chip away with two runs in the sixth inning, one run in the seventh inning, and the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Coby DeJesus and Harold Coll were both 2-for-4 in the game, the only two Cougars with multiple hits in the ballgame and accounting for half of the Houston base hits in the loss.

LaCalameto went 2 1/3 innings and struck out five while pitching in unforeseen circumstances . . . Paul Schmitz pitched for the second day in a row and threw 1 1/3 innings and struck out two batters . . . Justin Murray closed out the bottom of the eighth inning and struck out both batters he faced to prevent further damage.

Houston and Cincinnati will conclude their series Sunday with an 11am first pitch . . . Left-hander Antoine Jean (2-2) will take the mound for the Cougars as they attempt to salvage the final game in the series.

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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.

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Late Rally by Houston Not Enough to Avoid Series Loss at TCU

Similar to Thursday night, the Houston Cougars did not score a run until a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning finally got them on the board in a 6-2 loss at TCU on Friday night.

Left-hander Kyle LaCalalmeto got the Friday night start after starting the middle game last weekend as well . . . While tagged with the loss, LaCalameto pitched a season-high four innings with two strikeouts and no walks and looks to be building strength and stamina since returning last month from Tommy John Surgery.

As the Horned Frogs built a 6-0 lead against a trio of Cougars pitchers, the Cougars were being kept in check by left-hander Payton Tolle . . . Tolle retired sixteen straight Houston batters over one stretch leading late into the ballgame.

Jake Rainess (2-for-3) led off the top of the ninth inning with a solo home run, similar to what Jonathan French did in Thursday’s opening game, and in nearly the identical location.

One out later, Justin Murray singled to keep Houston’s hopes alive . . . Ace Reese pinch-hit with two outs and drew a walk . . . Anthony Tulimero singled up the middle to score Murray and keep the rally going, but the game ended with a strikeout and the Cougars fell 6-2 and also dropped their third straight conference series.

Tolle departed one out shy of a complete game having struck out thirteen Houston batters and allowing just three base hits . . . Tulimero’s RBI single was the fourth and final single of the game for the Houston offense . . . Rainess accounted for two of the four Houston hits in the game.

Owen Woodward pitched 3 1/3 innings and kept the game from getting out of hand in a very serviceable outing . . . The multiple-inning effort by Woodward in relief of LaCalameto also spared the Cougars bullpen from having to use too many arms, as happened Thursday night.

Houston and TCU close out their weekend series on Saturday at 2pm in Ft. Worth . . . Right-hander Jaxon Jelkin will be on the mound for the Cougars.

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TCU Opens Weekend with Dominant Win Over Houston

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.

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Cougars Notebook – March 25, 2024

Houston went 2-3 last week and played five games in six days . . . The Cougars are now 14-9 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12.

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Houston defeated Rice in back-to-back midweek games on Tuesday and Wednesday to retain the Silver Glove trophy for another year . . . Houston won 4-1 Tuesday at Schroeder Park and 4-2 Wednesday at Reckling Park . . . Though the series is decided for 2024, the two teams will play one more midweek game at Schroeder Park on Tuesday, April 2.

The Cougars then hosted the Kansas State Wildcats in Big 12 action . . . The Wildcats swept the series, with two closely played games Friday and Saturday (5-3 and 4-3), and then one that got away from on Sunday, 9-3.

Jaxon Jelkin had originally been scheduled to pitch Friday but was scratched mid-week, but was said to possibly be available for the weekend . . . Antoine Jean moved from his usual Saturday role to the Friday start, and Kyle LaCalameto made the Saturday start . . . Jelkin returned Sunday to pitch four innings in a week when the Cougars needed pitchers to eat innings.

Duncan Hunter did not make a start this weekend as he is dealing with an injury.

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The Cougars will play one midweek game this week when they host the Lamar Cardinals at Schroeder Park on Tuesday . . . First pitch is set for 6:30pm.

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Houston will hit the road again for another Big 12 series after the game with Lamar . . . The Cougars will be in Ft. Worth to play TCU for a weekend series which begins on Thursday and runs through Saturday so that everyone involved is off on Easter Sunday . . . Thursday’s first pitch is slated for 6pm, with Friday getting underway at 6:30pm, and first pitch Saturday set for 1pm.

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Many local professional scouts were at the ballpark this weekend, many of them wanted to watch the team from out of town to get a read on some players they have not seen before . . . One scout told Cougars Beat he was glad to be able to get a good look at Jelkin and did not know until the last minute that Jelkin would actually be pitching on Sunday.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates announced their opening day roster on Monday, and former Cougars third baseman is breaking camp with the big club for opening day.

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Pittsburgh Pirates beat writer Kevin Gorman, writing for TRIBLIVE, formerly the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, was previewing the projected Pirates infield for this season as spring training nears its conclusion . . . Gorman wrote in his March 24 piece about former Cougars third baseman Jared Triolo and his likely place on the opening day roster and his overall place in the Pittsburgh infield . . . Gorman quoted Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on Triolo:

“Last year, when I went down, he fit right in at third base. Whenever I came back, he was able to go to second and to first and still play Gold Glove defense,” Hayes said in the piece. “And he always gives you a good at-bat and was really clutch at the end of games last year. He’s great. He’s a lot like me: not always the loudest one in the room, but he plays the game the right way, and you need guys like that. It was great for him to be able to debut last year and build on that confidence going into this year because he’s going to be a guy that can help us win.”

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If there is any solace to be taken from a sweep in conference play, it is that with the sweep, Kansas State (17-6, 5-1)

moved into the new College Baseball Nation Top 25 at No. 23 . . . Sweeping the series against what is considered to be a quality opponent in Houston, was good enough to move the Wildcats out of the unranked.

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Houston Opens First Big 12 Road Series with 9-2 Rout of BYU

Houston opened its first Big 12 road series on Thursday in Provo against BYU

Houston hit the road for the first time this season to open Big 12 play in Provo, Utah against BYU and took a 9-2 victory to remain undefeated in conference play.

After two quick outs in the top of the first inning, Justin Murray (3-for-5) got a two-out rally started with a single into left field . . . Tre Jones (2-for-5) followed with a double to right-center field scoring Murray all the way from first base . . . Cary Arbolida kept the inning alive with an infield single that rolled about 60 feet from the plate toward third base and stopped on the infield grass . . . Ace Reese then cleared the bases with a triple off the wall in center field and Houston had a 3-0 first inning lead.

BYU cut into the deficit with a two-run inning of their own in the bottom of the first inning to trail by just one run.

Jake Rainess hammered the first pitch of the second inning over the left field wall and Houston led by two, 4-2.

Right-hander Paul Schmitz took the mound with one out in the bottom of the third inning with runners on the corners . . . Schmitz struck out the first two batters he faced to end the jam . . . Schmitz struck out the first batter he faced in the fourth inning, his third straight strikeout, and retired the next two batters to make it five out in a row to start his outing.

Alex Lopez singled to center field to lead off the top of the fifth inning . . . Murray followed with a single to right field, his third hit of the game . . . Jones then bunted for a single to load the bases and BYU went to the bullpen . . . Walks to Arbolida and Reese plated two more Houston runs before BYU went to the bullpen for the second time in the inning.

Harold Coll (2-for-4) then delivered a two-run RBI double to the wall in center field and the four run inning gave Houston an 8-2 lead.

Houston added another run in the top of the sixth inning when a wild pitch allowed Jonathan French to score from third base.

Schmitz was relieved with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning . . . Left-hander Chris Stuart took the mound with runners on the corners and one out and eventually worked around the traffic without allowing a run . . . Stuart also pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning and without allowing BYU any late momentum.

Diego Luzardo took the mound for the ninth inning and worked a scoreless frame to end the game . . . The 9-2 victory gave Schmitz his first win of the season, he is now 1-0 after three innings of work on Thursday night . . . Kyle LaCalameto made the start for Houston and pitched 2 1/3 innings.

“Great Win,” said head coach Todd Whitting after the game.  “We played well in areas of the game to get a solid first road win of the season.”

“I thought the team played tough in cold conditions. I’m proud of the effort and enthusiasm we played with for all nine innings,” Whitting said.

Houston and BYU continue their series with a middle game on Friday . . . Jaxon Jelkin will be on the mound for Houston when the game gets underway at 7pm CT.

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