Tag: Richie Roman

Roman, Drezek Stifle Bearkats; Arbolida’s 17th Leads to Don Sanders Cup Victory

Houston used two home runs and a wild pitch to win their final midweek game of the season 4-3 over Sam Houston Tuesday night in Sugar Land and retained the Don Sanders Cup in the process.

Harold Coll led off the top of the second inning by getting ahead in the count 2-0 before reaching base on a single . . . Cary Arbolida hit the next pitch the opposite way over the right field wall for his 17th home run of the season and his third-straight game with a home run.

Richie Roman tossed four scoreless innings as Houston’s starter, he struck out six and stranded seven Sam Houston runners on base, all of them in scoring position.

Still 2-0 in the top of the sixth inning, Justin Murray found himself in a favorable 2-0 count with two outs before driving a ball over the wall in right-center field, a solo home run good for a 3-0 Houston lead.

Anthony Avalos singled to center field with two outs on the first pitch he saw in the top eighth inning . . . A wild pitch allowed Avalos to take second base easily and he took the opportunity to advance to third base on the play as well . . . A throw to third base was off, winding up on the ground, allowing Avalos to scamper home on the throwing error for a 4-0 Cougars advantage.

Graysen Drezek took the mound in relief of Roman after his four scoreless innings pitched and delivered three scoreless innings of his own, striking out five batters.

The Bearkats got to the Cougars bullpen for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Murray was eventually able to get out the inning while retaining the Houston lead, 4-3 . . . Murray pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning retiring the three batters he faced to preserve the win and secure the Don Sanders Cup for Houston for another year.

Houston only had five base hits in the victory, all coming from five different batters . . . Cougars pitching stranded 11 Sam Houston runners on base . . . Drezek got the win for his effort and improved to 2-0 this season . . . Murray recorded his fifth save of the season.

The Cougars are off for a day before the final Big 12 weekend series of the season gets underway on Thursday night at Schroeder Park against Oklahoma State . . . The first game of the weekend is set to 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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French Off the Bench Powers Houston to Road Win

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.

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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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