Tag: Robert Gasser

Gasser Dominates, Cougars Open Conference with 5-3 Win

Robert Gasser opens American Conference play Thursday at Schroeder Park

685 days after their last game within the American Athletic Conference, the Houston Cougars welcomed conference foe Wichita State University to Schroeder Park on Thursday night and walked away with a 5-3 win behind another outstanding mound performance by Robert Gasser.

The Cougars offense got things started in the first when Luke Almendarez reached base on a one-out single . . . That was followed by a Ryan Hernandez single . . . A wild pitch moved both runners up a base before Tyler Bielamowicz plated Almendarez on a grounder to second as the Cougars took a 1-0 lead . . . Worth noting that Brandon Uhse was back in the lineup after leaving Sunday’s game after he was hit by a pitch that caught hi front section as he was squaring to bunt.

In the second, Will Pendergrass led the inning off with a double to left-center . . . Brad Burckel followed with a single that scored Pendergrass . . . Three batters later, Burckel stole second, his tenth stolen base of the season, and Brandon Uhse hit the next pitch into left field scoring Burckel and increasing the Cougar lead to 3-0.

For the second consecutive time through the order, in the fourth inning, Pendergrass and Burckel both led off the inning by getting on base, this time a hit batter and a walk put the two on base . . . Ian McMillan put down a sacrifice bunt that moved the runners up . . . With the runners going on the pitch, Kyle Lovelace executed perfectly on a suicide squeeze as he put a ball in play that stopped moving about ten to twelve feet from home plate and no play was made anywhere as Pendergrass scored to extend the Houston lead 4-0.

Robert Gasser was cruising, he had allowed one hit through four and his second hit in the fifth, and did not allow a hit in his final two full innings of work . . . Houston added a run in the seventh when Tyler Bielamowicz hit a sacrifice fly to left-field to score Brandon Uhse from third and giving the Cougars a 5-0 lead.

Gasser exited after 7 2/3 of scoreless baseball, having only allowed only two hits while striking out twelve . . . Gasser struck out his final batter, and he also struck out the side in his last complete inning, the seventh . . . Derrick Cherry entered the game tasked with getting the final four outs.

The Shockers plated three in the eighth after Gasser’s exit on a hit to center and a throwing error that allowed an extra run to score, followed by a single that squeaked through up the middle and into center field, the Cougars still led 5-3 . . . Cherry pitched a scoreless ninth to end the game and send the Cougars home victorious . . . Gasser picked up the win improving to 4-2 on the year.

The Cougars offense scattered eight hits throughout the game, and Luke Almendarez was the only Cougar with multiple hits as he went 2-for-4.

The Cougars and the Shockers meet again on Friday for a double-header . . . Carter Henry, making his first start since the 2017 season, will start game one . . . Henry is one of only three Houston pitchers who have pitched in American Conference action prior to this weekend . . . Jaycob Deese will start game two, his second start and second consecutive weekend start . . . First pitch is at 2pm at Schroeder Park. –

Cougars Win Behind Gasser, 4-1

Robert Gasser tosses the opening pitch Friday night at Schroeder Park

The Houston Cougars welcomed the UT-Arlington Mavericks to Schroeder Park Friday night for a four-game weekend set with a 4-1 victory behind another outstanding performance by Cougars starter Robert Gasser.

The two teams were scoreless going into the fourth when the Mavericks plated their sole run of the evening on a single to center by first baseman Dylan Paul.

With two outs in the fifth, Will Pendergrass reached on a bouncer to deep short that he legged-out at first for a single . . . An errant attempted pick-off throw that got past the first baseman moved Pendergrass to second . . . Brad Burckel than drove a ball to the wall in right-center under the scoreboard for a game-tying triple . . . Kyle Lovelace followed with a single into center field that scored Burckel giving the Cougars a 2-1 lead.

Gasser picked-off two runners in the game, both broke for second base as Will Pendergrass fielded throws from Gasser that he relayed perfectly to Ian McMillan at second for both outs.

Will Pendergrass hit a one-out solo home run in the home half of the seventh to extend the Cougars lead to 3-1 . . . As soon as Pendergrass connected on the pitch that was low and inside, he knew it was gone . . . One out later, the Mavericks went to the bullpen for the first time of the evening . . . Pendergrass was 2-for-3 in the Friday contest, as was teammate Kyle Lovelace, the only two Houston players with multiple hits.

Gasser was still strong the later the game went, hitting 93mph on his hundredth pitch in the eighth . . . Gasser, in picking up the win, would go 7 2/3 innings allowing just one run and striking out nine on 111 pitches . . . The outing was Gasser’s longest of the season, surpassing his seven inning start against Texas . . . Derrick Cherry took the mound with two on and two out and got a strikeout to end the UTA threat.

The Cougars added an insurance run in the eighth on a fielders choice off the bat of Tyler Bielamowicz that brought home Luke Almendarez from third . . . Derrick Cherry retired the side quickly in the ninth, striking out two, including the final out . . . Cherry picked up his second save on the year with his 1 1/3 innings on the mound . . . Gasser earned the win, his third of the season.

Ryan Hernandez returned to the lineup on Friday, though in a somewhat limited role . . . Hernandez served as the designated hitter and batted in the three spot, a spot usually occupied by Steven Rivas who was moved to the five spot for the game . . . Hernandez lined a single to left-center in the eighth for his only hit of the game, and his first hit in nearly two calendar weeks.

Houston and UTA square-up again on Saturday in a double-header with the first pitch slated for 2pm . . . Right-hander Blake Schultz with start for the Cougars in game one, and no starter has been named yet for the Cougars in game two. –

Gasser Fans 11, Cougars Fall in Norman

Tyler Bielamowicz faces Oklahoma starter Wyatt Olds in Norman on Friday

The Oklahoma Sooners welcomed the Houston Cougars to Norman, Oklahoma with a 7-2 defeat on Friday night . . . A close contest at the middle point of the game, turned into a runaway shortly thereafter.

Robert Gasser (2-2) took the mound for Todd Whitting’s team and despite eventually being tagged with the loss, he kept the game close and struck out eleven Sooners in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Tyler Bielamowicz hit a home run on the first pitch of the second inning from Oklahoma starter Wyatt Olds to put the Cougars in front 1-0, their only lead of the game.

The Sooners tied the game in the second after two singles and a fielder’s choice left the bases loaded . . . A batter hit by a pitch scored the Sooners one and only run in the inning, an unearned run against Gasser . . . Sooners took a 2-1 lead when the first batter of the third inning homered to right.

Brandon Uhse hit a triple with one out in the sixth, but the Cougars could not get him home.

Sooners added three runs in the sixth when they loaded the bases before two singles plated three runs.

The Cougars got a run closer in the seventh when Ian McMillan doubled with one out, and after a wild pitch moved him to third, Will Pendergrass brought him home on a sacrifice fly to left field to get Houston to within 5-2.

Brandon Uhse doubled down the third base line with one out in the eighth, but the Cougars were unable to score him after that . . . Uhse 2-for-4 and was the only Cougar with more than one hit, and he accounted for two of the four Houston extra-base hits.

Jaycob Deese, who relieved Robert Gasser in the sixth, went 2 1/3 innings getting the game into the eighth when he exited with one out in favor of Maddux Miller . . . Miller closed out the inning with the Sooners leading 7-2.

Ryan Hernandez did not start and he did not see a pinch-hit appearance as he did against the Aggies on Tuesday . . . Hernandez continues to be nagged by a muscle injury he sustained last Sunday on the final play against Texas State . . . It goes without saying, the Cougars lineup looks a lot different when Ryan is absent.

If the Cougars are to continue their road series win streak, they will have to begin with a win on Saturday when the two teams match-up again . . . Cameron Prayer will be on the mound making his first Saturday start and his second straight weekend start . . . First pitch on Saturday is at 2pm. –

Cougars Wallop Texas State 12-3 in San Marcos

Robert Gasser works against Texas State in San Marcos on Friday

San Marcos was the scene of a balanced pitching and offensive explosion from the Houston Cougars on Friday night against the  Texas State Bobcats . . . Texas State was fresh off a run-rule victory over top-rated TCU at Bobcat Ballpark in the midweek, while Houston entered the game after a 13-7 win in San Antonio on Wednesday.

Robert Gasser got his fourth consecutive Friday night start . . . A caveat, Gasser’s first start of the season in game won happened on a Saturday as a result of a weather cancellation . . . After a scoreless first inning, the Bobcats got on the board in the bottom of the second on a one-out single that gave them a 1-0 lead.

The Cougars offense finally got rolling in the third inning . . . Brandon Uhse tied things up with a double to left-center scoring Kyle Lovelace from first . . . Lovelace was on first as the result of a one-out single, one of two hits for Kyle in the game . . . Ryan Hernandez then singled to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead . . . Tyler Bielamowicz, who had reached base after being hit by a pitch, scored the third run of the inning on a wild pitch to give the Cougars a 3-1 lead.

In the top fourth, after singles by both Will Pendergrass and Ian McMillan, Brad Burckel tripled to right-center scoring two . . . A couple of batters later, Brandon Uhse brought Burckel home to score on a groundout to extend the lead to 6-1 . . . Houston batters were making Texas State starter Zach Leigh work, with high pitch counts and one particularly long at-bat by Brad Burckel in the third inning . . . As Leigh’s pitch count went up, so did the Cougars run total.

In the Houston half of the fifth, Ian McMillan hit a three-run blast deep to left-center to put the Cougars in front 9-1 . . . It was the third consecutive inning that the Cougars offense score three runs . . . “I thought overall that may have been the most complete game we played all year,” Head Coach Todd Whitting said after the game. “We just kept putting pressure on them all night.”

Gasser was cruising after the lone run allowed in the second inning, he tossed six complete innings, allowed just the one run and struck out ten, a new season high, which was previously seven strikeouts . . . Layne Looney and Ryne Huggins pitched the seventh inning in relief of Gasser.

Texas State got two back in the bottom of the seventh to pull to within 9-3 . . . The Houston offense then went back to work . . . With two outs in the top of the eighth, Kyle Lovelace singled to right-center . . . Brandon Uhse then hit a grounder that was fielded cleanly at short, but the flip to second was dropped and two were on as a result of the error . . . Tyler Bielamowicz then hit a ground-rule double to left-center to score one run, by rule a sure second run was not allowed, and Uhse was placed on third base  . . . Steven Rivas followed with his only hit of the night, a single to right plating two more runs and giving the Cougars a 12-3 advantage.

Jaycob Deese entered the game to start the eighth inning and threw two scoreless innings to close out the Cougars win . . . Robert Gasser picked up the win as the left-hander improved to 2-1. “He was again, pretty electric tonight,” said Coach Whitting of his Friday night starter. “He was outstanding tonight, I’m really proud of him.”

The Cougars offense scored three runs in four different frames on Friday night . . . Ryan Hernandez had three base hits and was one of the three Cougars with multiple hits in the game, along with Ian McMillan and Kyle Lovelace who each had two hits . . . Houston is now 9-4 in 2021 and has won the first two games of this four game road trip.

The Cougars and the Bobcats return to action on Saturday in San Marcos . . . Ben Sears will take the mound for Houston, first pitch is at 2:30pm. –

(Thank you to Houston Athletics for help with the Coach Whitting quotes.)

Cougars Drop UT Opener 1-0

The Houston Cougars began a weekend series with the Texas Longhorns on Friday night at Schroeder Park, and the first game of the series saw the lowest possible score a game can have and still have a winner as the Longhorns took the game 1-0.

Robert Gasser got the Friday night mound assignment and he was phenomenal . . . Gasser pitched a complete seven innings, he did not allow a base hit until the fourth while he scattered four hits and struck out five and took a no-decision as the game was decided the inning after he left.

Gasser was matched scoreless-frame for scoreless-frame by Longhorns pitcher Ty Madden, a hard-throwing right-hander who only allowed the Cougars two hits, a single by Brandon Uhse to lead off the game, and a single by Tyler Bielamowicz in the fourth . . . Madden struck out fourteen Cougars in the complete game effort.

“I pitched well and I went deep into the game and helped my team out,” Gasser said after the game. “I needed to throw the off-speed for strikes, when it got to a tight situation I tried to take a step back and get myself back in the moment and not let the game speed up and just execute the pitch that I wanted to throw.”

Kyle Lovelace was once again outstanding behind the plate, he had an especially crucial caught-stealing to end the seventh, and in another instance he made a play on a weak tapper a few feet from the mound where he fielded, spun, and threw a laser to Ryan Hernandez for the out . . . After the game head coach Todd Whitting commented on Lovelace’s effort on Friday, “I would like to see a better catch-and-throw catcher in division one baseball.” “He made some unreal plays behind the plate, just keeping the ball in front of him,” Whitting said.

In the Longhorns half of the eighth inning, walks led to a run, giving Texas a 1-0 lead . . . A deep drive to the gap in left-center field looked to be headed for a clearing of the loaded bases to widen the Longhorns lead, but Brandon Uhse was on the move the entire play and he eventually caught up to the ball as it was behind him and he went tumbling to the ground for the inning-ending third out.

The one run was enough for Texas on this night as the Cougars fell 1-0 against one of the toughest pitchers in the country . . . Both starting pitchers reached 100 pitches in the Friday night matchup, a rare feat in college baseball . . . Gasser reached the mark in the seventh, while Madden reached it in the eighth.

The two squads return to Schroeder Park on Saturday afternoon, first pitch is set for 2pm . . . Ben Sears will get the ball for Todd Whitting’s team. –

Cougars Rally Falls Short 3-2

The Houston Cougars baseball team took their show, and their undefeated record, on the road Friday to begin a weekend series in Corpus Christi at Whataburger Field . . . The Cougars faced-off again with the Islanders of Texas A&M Corpus Christi for the second time this week, but this time the Islanders played host and unlike the previous game, the Islanders took Friday’s contest 3-2.

Robert Gasser got his second start of the season on Friday night, and he went five innings giving up two runs while certainly keeping his team in the game . . . Gasser took the mound for the sixth, but after a hit batter, he was replaced by Jacob Deese . . . Desse promptly struck out the first batter and got the next batter to hit into an inning-ending double play.

The Cougars were scoreless until the sixth inning when Tyler Bielamowicz delivered a one-out single to left to score Steven Rivas from third . . . Bielamowicz was one of the offensive stars of the night going 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI, and Tyler reached base a fourth time when he walked.

The Islanders added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, and were about to add a run but for an alert play by Steven Rivas on a grounder just beyond the reach of a diving Brad Burckel. Rivas fielded and immediately fired to Dylan Post at home for a catch-and-tag at the plate.

Ryan Hernandez was 2-for-4 and Steven Rivas drove in the only other Cougars run on a ninth inning error that scored Cole Turney from second in a last inning would-be comeback . . . The Cougars left eleven runners on base Friday night . . . Just as in the season opener last Saturday, the Cougars used only two pitchers in the game, Robert Gasser and Jaycob Deese . . . Gasser took the loss to even his record at 1-1 on the season.

The 3-2 defeat was the first of the season for the Cougars . . . The two teams get back at it Saturday when they face off again at 6pm at Whataburger Field.

Houston Cougars Sweep Opening Day Doubleheader

The Houston Cougars pre-game fielding drills Saturday at Schroeder Park.

Based on the weather in Houston just a handful of days ago, it is somewhat difficult to believe that actual college baseball took place at Schroeder Park on Saturday . . . But baseball did happen and the Houston Cougars took both games of a doubleheader with their neighbor across Scott Street, the Texas Southern Tigers by scores of 6-1 and 10-4.

Pitching dominated game one as left-hander Robert Gasser threw five innings and did not allow an earned run while limiting the Tigers to a single hit and striking out seven . . . Gasser got the win for his effort.

Steven Rivas and Ryan Hernandez did their part to support the pitching performances . . . The duo hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth to cushion the Cougar lead at 4-1 . . . Rivas went 2-for-3 in the game. . . Designated hitter Andrew Papantonis went 3-for-4 with two singles and a double, along with a stolen base.

Newcomer Junior College transfer Jaycob Deese was lights out over four scoreless innings to earn the save . . . Deese was throwing his fastball consistently over 90mph in all four innings he worked, and he was hitting 94mph on consecutive pitches at one point, topping-out at 95mph . . . Deese also dropped a pitch to 80mph to end an inning with a strikeout.

With the game one win, Houston improved to 30-0 all-time against Texas Southern, with one more game to play on the day.

Ben Sears took the hill for game two and though he got off to a rocky start, led by a defensive miscue behind him, he kept the Cougars in the game and ended up tossing five strong innings . . . Sears was consistently hitting 85-87mph, and hit 91mph at least once.

The Cougars offense really started to claw back in the fifth when they scored two to trim the deficit to 4-3 . . . With the game tied at four in the bottom of the sixth, Ryan Hernandez hit his second home run of the day to put the Cougars in front 6-4, it was his seventh home run in his first seventeen games as a Cougar . . . Hernandez was 4-for-4 in the second game with an intentional walk . . . In the seventh, Steven Rivas hit his second double of the game in going 2-for-3 . . . Tyler Bielamowicz contributed three RBI and continues to get on base dating back to his 2020 campaign.

Dylan Post got the start at catcher from game two on Saturday and went 3-for-4 with a walk, including a single in three consecutive innings.

Matt Lazzaro also saw his first action of the season, and he was relieved by Andrew Belcik who would pick up the win, neither allowed a run . . . Layne Looney pitched the final three innings for the Cougars to earn the save . . . Six of Looney’s outs were strikeouts . . . Lazzaro, Belcik, and Looney were all making their debut with the Cougars.

The Cougars upped the record to 31-0 all-time versus Texas Southern . . . The two teams play one more game in this opening weekend series, Sunday at 2pm at Schroeder Park.

Houston Drops Series Finale in Arizona

Houston Cougars Derrick Cherry 3-8-2020
Derrick Cherry bats against Arizona Sunday in Tuscon.

TUCSON – The Houston Cougars entered Sunday’s rubber game with the Arizona Wildcats with a chance to get their first series win of the season.

Tanner Green took the mound in his first career start for the Cougars . . . Green would be the first of eight pitchers for Houston in the game, and Arizona took an early 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning . . . Robert Gasser would relieve Green in the second with two outs, he would end the inning and carry the Cougars into the sixth inning, going 3 1/3 and throwing 58 pitches in a very good outing.

Houston was scoreless going into the fourth when Tyler Bielamowicz hit a one-out triple down the right field line scored Kobe Hyland from second . . . The next batter, Rey Mendoza put a bunt in play on the right side of the infield and Mendoza was too quick to first for the defense which allowed Bielamowicz to cross the plate and tie the game at two.

In the Houston fifth, freshman Rey Mendoza hit a two-out homerun to right for the first homerun of his young career as a Cougar to tie the game at three . . . Mendoza hit a 1-1 pitch deep to right, which bounced off the side wall of a batting facility the Wildcats have just outside the right field fence . . . Brad Burckel countered with a solo homerun with one out in the sixth to give the Cougars a 4-3 advantage, the first lead of the game for the Cougars.

Arizona took the lead in the bottom of the seventh when multiple walks, multiple batters hit-by-pitch, and bad luck added up to an insurmountable situation and the Wildcats scored five runs to take a 9-4 lead . . . Arizona added a run in the eighth to take a 10-5 lead into the ninth.

Cole Ferguson pitched a nice 2/3 of inning getting some work in for the young pitcher in only his third appearance as a Cougar . . . And freshman Randy Garza got a little work in, making his first appearance as a Cougar getting the last out of the eighth.

The Cougars managed some baserunners in the ninth on walks to Dylan Post and Tyler Bielamowicz, a single by Ryan Hernandez would bring home a run to make the score 10-6, but that is where the offense stopped as Arizona took the weekend series two games to one.

The Cougars head to Las Vegas next for a two-game midweek matchup with UNLV . . . First pitch Tuesday night is at 8:05pm Central Time. –