Tag: Nathan Medrano

Houston Takes Series in Wichita, Stands Alone in Second in American

Houston closed out their weekend series at Wichita State on Sunday

Houston took their second straight conference road series with an 11-8 win over Wichita State in Wichita on Sunday.

With two outs in the top of the first inning, Alez Lopez extended the inning when he singled to reach base . . . Anthony Tulimero then homered to left field to give the Cougars an early 2-0 lead.

Over the first two innings, the Shockers scored three runs to take a 3-2 lead into the third inning.

Brandon Burckel walked and Brandon Uhse singled to set the table in the top of the third inning for Houston . . . Lopez singled home a run before Tulimero was hit by a pitch to load the bases . . . Cameron Nickens and Ryan Hernandez each singled home a run . . . Ian McMillan doubled to the wall in left field to drive in another run.

A fielder’s choice on a batted ball by Santiago Garcia resulted in a rundown between third base and home plate, as Garcia made for second base, the throw to attempt to get him out was well wide of the base and a sixth and final run scored in the frame and Houston led 8-3.

Houston starter Nathan Medrano took the game into the third inning and gave way to Logan Clayton with two outs in the inning.

Still leading 8-7 in the sixth inning, a lead off walk to Hernandez got the inning started  . . . Two walks and a fielder’s choice put runners on base for Uhse who delivered a two RBI single . . . Arnold drove in the third run of the inning on a ground out to third base and Houston took an 11-7 lead.

Ben Sears entered the game in the fifth inning with two outs in relief of Clayton and pitched the final 4 1/3 innings of the game, only surrendering a run on a solo home run with two outs in the ninth inning . . . Sears improved to 7-2 on the year with the win.

In a reversal of what happened in 2021, where the Shockers took seven of eight against the Cougars, Houston won four of six contests this year . . . The Cougars are now alone in second place in the American Athletic Conference, behind only East Carolina, with two big weekend series remaining . . . The Cougars will face UCF at Schroeder Park next weekend, they lead the Knights by one game, and then Houston closes out the regular season the following weekend in Greenville against East Carolina.

The Cougars return home on Sunday evening and will face Sam Houston State on Tuesday at Constellation Field in Sugar Land in the third and final game of the 2022 Don Sanders Cup, which Houston won in April after taking the first two games of the series . . . First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:30pm in Sugar Land.

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Houston Earns Road Sweep of South Florida with 9-2 Win

Ian McMillan bats in the second inning Sunday in Tampa

Houston opened May by completing a weekend sweep of conference foe South Florida 9-2 in Tampa on Sunday.  

The Cougars opened the game by getting the first three batters on base, but they only scratched across one run on a sacrifice fly to center by Anthony Tulimero that allowed Brandon Uhse to tag from third base for the early Houston lead.

Ian McMillan led off the second inning with a monster home run to left field and the Cougars led 2-0.

After the Bulls tied the game in the second, Houston responded when McMillan (2-for-3) homered again with two runners on base and the Cougars took a 5-2 lead.

Zach Arnold hit his team-leading ninth home run with one out in the sixth inning and that was followed by back-to-back doubles by Alex Lopez and Tulimero (2-for-3) . . . The RBI by Tulimero made it 7-2, it was his second hit of the ballgame, which extended his reached-base streak to fifteen games, which is the second time this season Tulimero has done that.

Nathan Medrano got the Sunday start for the Cougars and the only blemish was the two runs allowed in the second inning, otherwise Medrano kept the Bulls from getting back into the game once the Cougars re-took the lead . . . Jackson Dannelley took the mound in the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Medrano.

Houston added two runs in the ninth after back-to-back walks to begin the inning . . . Brandon Burckel hit a sacrifice fly ball to right field for a RBI . . . Arnold then hit a two out single to push the Cougars advantage to 9-2 going to bottom of the ninth.

Ben Sears pitched the ninth and after a lead off double, he retired the next three batters, putting the finishing touch on the 9-2 win and the weekend sweep.

Medrano’s record improved to 6-3 with the victory.

Houston outscored South Florida 28-9 over the weekend, and 22-4 over the final two games.

The Cougars head back to Houston today and will be off for a couple of days before they play host to Rice on Wednesday night at Schroeder Park . . . Houston hits the road for a series at Wichita State next weekend, so Wednesday is one of the few chances to see the Houston nine while they remain hot . . . First pitch on Wednesday is scheduled for 6:30pm.

Houston Defeats Memphis, Takes Series

Nathan Medrano throws the first pitch on Sunday against Memphis

Houston held on to a late lead, in a reversal of the previous two games, in a 7-5 victory on Sunday at Schroeder Park to take their second straight conference series. The Cougars had to win the final two games of the weekend to claim the series.

Houston took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a bases loaded walk to Ryan Hernandez.

The score remained 1-0 until the fourth inning when Memphis tied the game on a bases loaded groundout double-play after having loaded the bases with no one out . . . Houston starter Nathan Medrano worked around further damage by getting a strikeout to end the inning.

Still tied in the bottom of the fifth inning, Alex Lopez (3-for-4) started a two-out rally with a double . . . Two walks loaded the bases for Hernandez who proceeded to hit a grand slam over the wall in left field for a 5-1 Houston lead . . . Hernandez accounted for five of the Houston runs batted in on Sunday.

The Tigers got two runs back in the top of the seventh inning and Medrano exited the game with two outs having allowed three runs, all of them unearned, on 104 pitches.

The Cougars added to their tally in the seventh inning as well . . . Lopez singled on the infield to lead off the inning . . . Anthony Tulimero doubled to the wall in center field to plate Lopez from first base . . . Cameron Nickens followed with a double to the gap in left-center scoring Tulimero and the Cougars had a four run cushion once again, 7-3.

Ben Sears came on in relief of Logan Clayton with two outs in the eighth inning and although Memphis got a run, Sears limited the damage . . . Memphis added another run in the ninth, but Sears limited it to that.

Medrano improved to 5-3 on the season with the 7-5 win and Sears picked up his eighth save in recording the final four outs . . . Lopez was the only Houston hitter with multiple hits in the game.

Houston ended its eight game homestand and will now be on the road for the next four games . . . The road schedule begins with a midweek matchup on Tuesday in Beaumont against Lamar, first pitch is scheduled for 6pm.

Houston Wins Midweek Matchup, Three-Hits HBU

Nathan Medrano throws the first pitch against Houston Baptist on Tuesday

Houston continued its midweek success, improving to 9-1 this season, with a 4-2 win over Houston Baptist on Tuesday at Schroeder Park.

With the wind blowing up and out to left field for much of the game, scores could have been higher, but Houston got solid pitching from six pitchers to limit the Huskies to just three hits in the game . . . Tuesday starter Nathan Medrano set the tone early by retiring the first six batters he faced before Houston went to the bullpen.

The two teams were scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Cougars finally broke through . . . Alex Lopez (2-for-4) led off with a double and was standing on third when a passed ball allowed him to score the first run . . . Ian McMillan then hit a one-out single into left field to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.

Kerry Wright and Maddux Miller followed Medrano on the mound and both tossed scoreless innings . . . Malachi Lott pitched 1 2/3 innings and Taylor Parrett recorded an out before the Cougars went to Jackson Dannelley . . . Combined, the Houston staff only allowed three hits in the contest.

Houston Baptist got its first run in the sixth inning to cut their deficit to a run.

The Cougars added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning . . . Brandon Burckel singled home a run before Santiago Garcia’s sacrifice fly RBI made it 4-1 going to the ninth inning.

Houston Baptist picked up a two-out run in the ninth on a solo home run, but it was not enough as Dannelley, who was great over three innings, closed the door on the Huskies and preserved the 4-2 win . . . Miller picked up the win and improved to 2-0 this season.

Freshman Tab Tracy made his first collegiate start on Tuesday and responded by going 4-for-4, which included his first hit as a collegian.

The Cougars have two days off before they host the Memphis Tigers for a weekend conference series . . . This is only one of two weekend series at Schroeder Park left on the schedule this season . . . Friday’s first pitch is at 6:30pm, expect to see Jaycob Deese on the mound for Houston.

Cougars Lose to UTRGV, Get Ready for Tulane

Nathan Medrano throws the first pitch against UTRGV Tuesday

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

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

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

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

Cougars Win, Even Series with Shockers

Ian McMillan bats in the second inning against the Shockers on Saturday evening

Houston’s limited luck against Wichita State (1-9 in the previous 10 contests) improved on Saturday night as the Cougars won 5-3 to even the weekend series in a game they never trailed. 

Houston scored its first run of the weekend when Malachi Lott singled into left-center with one out to score Anthony Tulimero (3-for-4) from second base . . . Lott stole second base and was still there one out later when Ian McMillan hit a home run to left field to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead.

Still 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Brandon Burckel (2-for-2) walked to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch before he scored on a Brandon Uhse sacrifice fly to center field . . . Zach Arnold was the next batter and he blistered a baseball high into the Houston night that landed on the other side of the left field wall and Houston led 5-0 . . . The solo home run was Arnold’s fifth home run of the season.

Nathan Medrano was largely in cruise control all night scattering six hits over 7 1/3 innings and striking out nine, a career-high, before exiting the game in favor of Ben Sears with one out in the eighth . . . Sears struck out the two batters he faced in the eighth to end the inning . . . The Shockers added a couple of runs in the ninth to close the gap but Sears closed out the 5-3 victory . . . Medrano improved to 4-1 on the season with the win.

The Cougars and the Shockers play the deciding game in the weekend series on Sunday at Schroeder Park with a scheduled first pitch at 1pm.

Houston Drops Middle Game to Western Carolina

Anthony Tulimero doubles in the second inning Friday night at Schroeder Park

The Houston Cougar offense that produced thirteen runs on Friday night was significantly less productive on Saturday night at Schroeder Park as they fell to Western Carolina, 6-3.

The Catamounts led 2-0 after scoring a run in the first and another in the second . . . The Cougars got on the board in the bottom of the second when a wild pitch plated Anthony Tulimero from third.

Down by a run in the bottom of the third, Zach Arnold led off the inning with a walk, and the Catamounts immediately went to the bullpen . . . Arnold then stole second and third, which allowed him to score moments later on a wild pitch while Ryan Hernandez was at-bat to tie the game.

Western Carolina got the lead right back by adding a run in the fourth and adding two in the sixth and one in the eighth to extend their lead to 6-2.

The Cougars were unable to manufacture much offense on Saturday night, the team had three hits through seven innings before Zach Arnold led off the bottom of the eighth with a mammoth home run to deep left-center to get Houston to within a run, 6-3.

The Cougars used seven pitchers on Saturday night, notably, Jackson Dannelley tossed a scoreless inning after inheriting a runner on base after a lead off walk, it is another good sign for Dannelley as he works his way back from an injury on opening weekend . . . Logan Clayton tossed a scoreless inning for the second night in a row . . . And Derrick Cherry, off of his career high 121 pitch outing on Tuesday night, pitched a scoreless inning in what is the equivalent of a bullpen session in between appearances . . . Nathan Medrano was tagged with the loss but only allowed two earned runs over five innings with nine strike outs.

The Catamounts 6-3 win Saturday evened the series which sets up Sunday’s finale as the rubber match . . . Houston had four base hits in the contest, notable there is that Brandon Uhse did not have a hit, so his 18 game hit streak comes to an end in the loss.

Houston and Western Carolina close out the weekend series on Sunday at Schroeder Park . . . First pitch is scheduled for 1pm, while no announcement has been made yet as to the starting pitcher on Sunday, expect to see Kyle LaCalameto take the mound for the Cougars.

Cougars Finish Friday Game, Win Saturday Game

The Cougars began a three game set in Lafayette, LA on Friday afternoon

A sunless day in Lafayette, Louisiana on Friday resulted in an outcome that the Houston Cougars and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns had hoped to avoid when they adjusted their schedule and moved Friday’s start time ahead three hours . . . But with one out in the eighth, the weather that had been feared showed up in force and the game was delayed in a 5-5 tie with lightning in the area to blame.

To say that Brandon Uhse wasted no time in getting his team on the scoreboard on Friday night is no understatement . . . Uhse launched the first pitch of the game from Ragin’ Cajuns starter Tommy Ray off a light pole beyond the wall in left-center field and the Cougars immediately led 1-0.

Louisiana waited until the second pitch of the bottom of the first to do the exact same thing to tie the game . . . After an infield single, a two-out two-run home run to center put the Ragin’ Cajuns in front 3-1.

Samuel Benjamin led off the top of the third inning with a double off the wall in left-center . . . One out later, Zach Arnold powered an opposite field home run over the right field wall to tie the game on his second home run of the year . . . A walk and a single put two one for Anthony Tulimero who singled into right field to give Houston a 4-3 lead . . . The single extended Tulimero’s reached base streak to all fourteen games this season . . . The Cougars would add a run on a wild pitch to take a two-run lead.

Two solo home runs, one in the fourth and one in the sixth, tied the game at five.

The lightning delay in the top of the eighth stopped the game after just over two hours of play and with Ian McMillan standing at first after a one out single.

When action resumed on Saturday afternoon, the final two innings took just over a half hour to complete . . . The Cougars had the bottom of the eighth unravel on them with a bevy of oddities including a wild pitch on an attempted bunt, a squeeze bunt, and a straight steal of home plate on the way to Louisiana taking a 9-5 lead which would hold up as the final score when Houston went down in order in the ninth.

The second game of the weekend series got underway less than one hour after the conclusion of Friday’s game . . . Houston got on the board first after a walk to Uhse and two balks moved him to third base . . . Tulimero put a ball in play in which the shortstop made an error and Uhse was safe at home . . . Tulimero’s reached base streak extended to all fifteen games on the season.

Trailing 2-1 in the fourth, Alex Lopez homered to right field to tie the game, his first home run in a Houston uniform . . . Louisiana took a 3-2 lead into the fifth inning . . . The Cougars collected four hits in the inning and took advantage of a bit-batter and a walk to add four runs and take a 6-3 lead midway through the game . . . Brandon Burckel collected his first collegiate base hit, an infield single, as part of the fifth inning rally.

Houston starter Nathan Medrano exited the game with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and gave the ball to Ben Sears as Houston led 7-4 . . . Sears inherited a runner at first but got out of the inning with no problem . . . The Cougars added a run in the top of the ninth on a Ryan Hernandez sacrifice fly to center field which scored Zach Arnold from third base.

Sears handled business in the ninth and despite a two-out double he retired the Ragin’ Cajuns and earned his third save of the season in the 8-4 victory . . . Medrano picked up the win and is 2-0 on the year . . . Uhse, Tulimero, and McMillan each had two base hits in the game, of the ten hits the Cougars had in total.

Houston (10-5) and Louisiana (7-7) will meet again on Sunday in the weekend finale, with first pitch scheduled for 1pm . . . As of now, Todd Whitting has not named a starting pitcher for the Sunday matchup.

Houston Powers Past Incarnate Word 10-4

Ryan Hernandez is greeted by his teammates after his home run Sunday

The Houston Cougars shook off a Saturday night loss that ended their six game winning streak and returned to Schroeder Park on Sunday to defeat the Incarnate Word Cardinals 10-4.

Houston fell behind early as Incarnate Word scratched out two runs in the opening sequence . . . Anthony Tulimero reached base on an error by the Cardinal shortstop with one out in the bottom of the second, which extended his reached base streak to all eleven games this season, but the Cougars still trailed heading to the third inning.

With two outs in the bottom of the third and runners on first and second, Ryan Hernandez hit a dying grounder up the third base line that drifted foul about 25 feet from the plate, keeping the at-bat alive . . . The Cardinals might have preferred to give Hernandez the infield base hit because on the very next pitch he gave the Cougars a 3-2 lead with a massive home run to left field . . . For Hernandez it was his first home run of the season.

UIW took the lead back in the top of the fourth when they scored two and led 4-3.

Tulimero singled to lead off the fourth for Houston, but he was erased on a double play . . . With two outs, Samuel Benjamin legged out an infield single which was confirmed on review . . . A stolen base and a wild pitch moved Benjamin to third . . . Malachi Lott tripled off the wall in right field to give the Cougars a 5-4 lead . . . Two walks later the bases were loaded for Hernandez who drove a ball into left field scoring two and Houston led 7-4.

The bottom of the fifth started with a single by Tulimero (3-for-4), who then went to second on a balk . . . After back-to-back strike outs, Cameron Nickens homered to left field to extend the Houston lead to 9-4, it was the second home run in as many days for Nickens.

Nickens (3-for-4) was not done yet, he hit another home run in his next at-bat in the eighth inning and the Cougars took a 10-4 lead into the ninth.

Ben Sears started the eighth for Houston in relief of Medrano and handled the ninth as well, he kept the Cardinals off the board and preserved the win for Medrano (1-0) . . . Medrano went seven complete and allowed six hits while striking out four . . . Sears has not allowed any runs in his 9 2/3 innings pitched this season out of the bullpen.

Head coach Todd Whitting was impressed with Medrano’s finish after his early struggles. “When Medrano pitches like he did the last three innings, with intent every pitch, he is very good,” Whitting said. “Proud of him for competing till he found his rhythm.”

Asked about his freshman [Nickens] and his three home-run last 24 hours Whitting said, “We knew when we signed Nickens he has a chance to be an elite college hitter. He is a gritty, hard-nosed kid and I’m excited for him that he had a big weekend.”

The Cougars (7-4) play two midweek games this next week, a game at Rice at 6:30pm on Tuesday and the host Southern at Schroeder Park on Wednesday at 6:30pm.

Cougars Claim First Victory of 2022, Win 3-2 at McNeese

Houston faces McNeese in Lake Charles on Tuesday

After a disappointing weekend in Arizona, the Cougars picked up their first victory of the season against McNeese in Lake Charles on Tuesday.

Samuel Tormos got the scoring started for the Cougars in the top of the first when he singled home two runs with two outs and the Cougars took the early lead.

Derrick Cherry started on the mound for the Cougars . . . Coach Whitting said pregame they wanted two to three innings out of Cherry, they got two scoreless as Cherry yielded one hit and struck out three and he left with the Cougars leading 2-0.

McNeese tied the game in the bottom of the third on a two-run home run . . . The game would remain tied until the top of the sixth when a bases loaded grounder off the bat of Ian McMillan scored Santiago Garcia from third base and the Cougars led once again, 3-2.

Ben Sears threw four scoreless innings with seven strike outs while allowing just two hits, and no walks . . . It was a solid outing for the right-hander from Rhode Island as he was efficient with his pitches and got a lot of first pitch strikes.

Jose Torrealba, who left Sunday’s game in Scottsdale after being hit by a batted ball, returned for the Cougars on Tuesday night and retired the only three batters he faced, two of them by strike out . . . Nathan Medrano took the mound for the ninth inning and struck out the first two batters on the way to closing out the 3-2 victory and picking up the save, his first of the season . . . Ben Sears earned the win and is now 1-0.

Coach Todd Whitting was pleased with the outcome and had high praise for his pitching staff. “Great display of Grit and courage by Cherry and Sears tonight, this was a game where their team needed a great performance and they both delivered,” Whitting said. “Overall great performance by the entire staff tonight with Torrealba and Medrano slamming the door.”

The Cougars offense only had two hits in the win, but it was enough to win on this night.

The Cougars head back to town and will open up the home portion of their season on Friday night when they face Texas Southern at Schroeder Oark . . . First pitch on Friday is at 6:30pm.