Tag: Ryan Hernandez

Houston Defeats Alabama 8-2 Behind Strong Hoffman Outing

By Steve Parkhurst

The Houston Cougars will leave Frisco and head home having salvaged the final game of the weekend, an 8-2 victory over Alabama to conclude the Frisco Classic on Sunday.

Right-hander Kendall Hoffman made the finest start of his collegiate career, pitching into the eighth inning and departing with a four-run lead.

After one time through the batting order, leadoff hitter McClane Helton led off the top of the third inning by earning a walk, he saw eight pitches in the at-bat . . . Blake Fields (4-for-5) then singled through the left side on a 1-2 pitch . . . Xavier Perez sacrificed to move both Helton and Fields into scoring position, where they were when Dylan Maxcey (2-for-4) singled through the left side to give Houston a 2-0 lead, it was the first time Alabama trailed in the entire three day event in Frisco.

The Cougars greeted Crimson Tide pitching with three straight singles to open the fifth inning, the first by Fields, his third hit of the game, the second by Perez, and then one by Maxcey to drive in Fields for a 3-0 lead . . . With one out, Carsten Sabathia III hit a ball to second base and an error on the play allowed a run to score and put two Cougars in scoring position . . . Antonelli Savattere followed with a sacrifice fly ball to left field, Maxcey tagged and scored, Houston took a 5-0 lead, and the Crimson Tide went to the bullpen to get out of the inning.

Sabathia was once again in the mix when he was hit by a pitch to lead off the eighth inning . . . Peyton Dickens pinch-ran for Sabathia and he moved to second base on a groundout and to third base on a wild pitch before Irvin Weems (2-for-4) singled up the middle to extend the Houston advantage to 6-1.

Hoffman took his exit after 7 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and one walk, which came in the first inning, and he allowed just the two earned runs . . . Hoffman threw 109 total pitches before handing the ball to Tyler Bryan.

The Cougars wanted more in the top of the ninth inning, and they got it . . . Fields singled to left field with one out to get things started, his fourth hit of the ballgame . . .

Perez (2-for-4) then doubled to left-center field and Alabama went to the bullpen for their fifth arm of the game . . . After an intentional walk to Maxcey loaded the bases, Cade Climie singled to right field to score Fields . . . Dickens then grounded out to the pitcher but Perez crossed the plate and Houston took an 8-2 lead on the first career RBI by Dickens.

Bryan recorded the final four outs of the game for the Cougars, allowing just one hit and striking out one batter . . . Hoffman recorded his first win of the season and is now 1-0.

“Kendall was outstanding tonight,” head coach Todd Whitting said emphatically after the game. “His presence and composure was at a very high level against a very talented SEC team. He has been a relentless worker all spring so I’m happy it paid off today.”

The Cougars return to Schroeder Park and will host Sam Houston on Tuesday for game two of the 2026 Don Sanders Cup . . . First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm.

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Houston Wins 4-2 Over Manhattan on Late Rally

Houston defeated Manhattan in Ponce, PR on Sunday morning.

By Steve Parkhurst

Houston improved to 3-0 on the season with a 4-2 win over Manhattan on Day 3 of the Puerto Rico Challenge in Ponce on Sunday morning.

Richie Roman was on the mound for Houston Sunday morning and after allowing a run in the first inning, he settled in to cruise through five innings on 63 pitches . . . Roman allowed just four hits, all singles, and struck out five Manhattan batters . . . At one point Roman retired nine Jasper hitters in a row, setting the side down in order in the third and fourth frames.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Carter Sintek, making his Houston debut and batting in the leadoff spot, singled up the middle to reach base with one out . . . Sintek advanced to second base on a balk before McClane Helton bounced a ground rule double over the right field wall to score Sintek and tie the game . . . Xavier Perez then singled past the Manhattan third baseman to plate Helton and the Cougars took their first lead of the game at 2-1.

Newcomer Ryne Rodriguez took the mound for the second time this weekend and pitched a scoreless sixth inning.

The Jaspers manufactured a run in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game.

Still tied in the bottom of the eighth inning, Tre Broussard earned a walk in a pinch-hit plate appearance . . . Peyton Dickens took over at first base for Broussard and was sacrificed to second base on a Dylan Maxcey bunt . . . Dickens was able to steal third base before Jackson LaLima singled into center field to put Houston in front by one run . . . Cade Climie, pinch-hitting in his first at-bat of the season, hit a two-out triple to the wall in right-center field to score LaLima and put Houston in front 4-2.

Right-hander Alex Solis handled the pitching for the final three innings, allowing just one run . . . Solis struck out four Manhattan hitters, all of them swinging, and earned the win for his efforts.

“I thought Richie was outstanding today,” said head coach Todd Whitting after the game. “I’m happy he got off to a great start.”

“Solis was incredible at the end of the game,” Whitting added. “That’s a huge piece of the puzzle for our pitching staff, for him to dominate the mid to back end of the bullpen.”

Houston pitching has allowed just five runs in the first three games to open the season.

“I’m proud of this entire team for their gutsy performance to pull out the W today,” Whitting said.

Houston will conclude its trip to Puerto Rico on Monday when the Cougars face the Washington Huskies . . . First pitch in the Puerto Rico Challenge finale is scheduled for Noon CT.

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Cougars Notebook – July 31, 2023

Former Cougars catcher Connor Wong has had hit streaks of three games and five games in the second half of July . . . Between July 15 and July 28 hit safely in eight of nine games with multiple hits in three of those games.

Wong has caught 626 1/3 innings this season and has a .988 fielding percentage with the Boston Red Sox.

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Former Cougars LHP John King was part of a five player trade on Sunday ahead of the MLB trade deadline . . . King, drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2017, was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals with two other Rangers prospects in exchange for two players.

. . .

Jake Scheiner is tied with three other players for the AAA home run lead with 25 . . . Scheiner leads AAA in RBI with 85 RBI, six more than the next closest hitter.

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Former Cougars slugger Ryan Hernandez was released from his contract with the Los Angeles Angels organization on July 26 . . . Hernandez was quickly picked up by the Cleburne Railroaders, an independent league team where he opened the season before the Angels signed him to a free agent contract.

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On July 27 Malachi Lott who had entered the transfer portal early, announced he is transferring to Sam Houston.

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Cougars Notebook – May 29, 2023

Houston’s 2023 season came to an end Saturday night in Clearwater as they bowed out of the conference Championship having gone 3-2.

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After the completion of the Championship, the All-Tournament team was named and Justin Murray and Brandon Uhse were both named to the team . . . The list featured players by position, but there were no names listed for third base for some reason . . . It is reasonable to think that Zach Arnold could have been named to the All-Tournament team as well.

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The end of the college baseball regular and tournament season saw Houston finish at the 100 spot in the RPI+ ranking created by College Baseball Nation . . . The RPI+ is not new this season, but it correctly chose 62 of the 64 teams that made the NCAA tournament field this year.

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Pitching Coach Kyle Bunn will not be returning to Houston next season

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Jake Scheiner hit his 15th home run of the season for AAA Tacoma on May 27.

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Former Houston slugger Ryan Hernandez finally has a shot with a big league organization . . . Hernandez signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this week.

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Former Cougars pitcher Logan Clayton was promoted to the Hillsboro Hops, the High-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 23 . . . Clayton opened the season with the Single-A Visalia Rawhide.

Clayton made six appearances out of the bullpen for Visalia and allowed just one run over 10 1/3 innings pitched while he struck out eleven batters.

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Cougars Notebook – May 15, 2023

Justin Murray has been named Player of the Week in The American for last week . . . From The Americans press release:

Murray aided the Cougars to a 3-1 week and maintained first place in The American’s standings by hitting .556 (10-18) with six runs scored, one double, one home run and seven RBI for the week. He also earned a win and a save from the mound in two relief outings during a sweep over Tulane.

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Former Cougars first baseman Ryan Hernandez hit his first home run as a professional on Thursday for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball.

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Connor Wong hit his fourth home run of the season on May 12 in a game against the Cardinals.

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Houston’s Season Ends in Clearwater in Championship Final

Maddux Miller pitches against ECU in Clearwater on Sunday (Photo credit: American Athletic Conference/Mary Holt)

The Houston Cougars saw their season come to end on Sunday afternoon in Clearwater as they fell 6-1 to East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference Championship final.

While East Carolina was able to jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, the Cougars found no such luck with the Pirates pitching staff.

Freshman Cameron Nickens was 3-for-3 on Sunday afternoon and drove in the only Cougars run on a single in the top of the seventh inning . . . Nickens accounted for half of the Cougars six base hits in the contest.

Maddux Miller pitched 2 2/3 innings out of the bullpen at a critical point in the game and he was outstanding, striking out five Pirates batters . . . Ben Sears followed Miller and was equally great, also over 2 2/3 innings where he did not allow a hit and struck out three batters.

Where Houston saw its season end on the second day of the AAC Championship in each of their last two appearances, the Cougars made it to the final game in 2022 and the very young Cougars team experienced what it takes to play big time, competitive baseball.

Ryan Hernandez played his final game as a Houston Cougar on Sunday, and just as he has been the epitome of class and hard work during his three years with the program, he was just as classy and prideful in his postgame comments.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Hernandez said. “I love being a Houston Cougar. When I first committed here, I committed as soon as I got the opportunity to commit here.”

Head coach Todd Whitting was still hopeful and positive about both the season and the future after the loss Sunday.

“This is still one of my favorite teams I’ve ever had,” Whitting said. “Coming off a tough year last year, just the unbelievable commitments to the program, to the University of Houston, and to what we were trying to do.”

“We got a couple of holes to fill going in to next year, I feel good about it. We start three freshmen every day, we got a ton of guys coming back. The future is bright at the University of Houston,” Whitting said.

Reflecting on some of the great times during his career at Houston, Hernandez said, “I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve had a great time here and I’m really appreciative of that.”

Hernandez was selected to the All-Tournament Team after Sunday’s game, along with teammates Jose Torrealba, Santiago Garcia, and Anthony Tulimero.

The Cougars finish the season 37-24. The 2022 offseason begins now.

Houston Advances to American Championship on Late Tulimero Home Run

Anthony Tulimero rounds third base after his ninth inning home run Saturday in Clearwater. (Photo credit: American Athletic Conference/Mary Holt)

Houston had two chances to advance to the American Athletic Conference Championship final on Sunday and they capitalized on the second one with a 9-6 victory over UCF on Saturday night in Clearwater.

In the opening frame of game one, Santiago Garcia singled into right-center, scoring Alex Lopez from second base and the Cougars led 1-0.

Brandon Burckel hit a one-out double off of the wall in left field in the top of the fourth inning, forcing the Knights to go to the bullpen . . . One out later, Lopez hit the first pitch of his at-bat over the wall in right-center field and the Cougars lead was increased to 3-0.

The Knights rallied and scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 4-3 lead.

Ian McMillan tied the game in the top of the fifth inning with a two-out solo home run to right field . . . With the Cougars trailing 7-4 in the top of the seventh inning, McMillan hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left field to get the Cougars to within a run.

Garcia led off the top of the ninth inning with a single into right field . . . Ryan Hernandez sent the next pitch over the wall in left field to tie the game at eight.

The Knights had an answer in the bottom of the tenth inning as they manufactured a run to walk-off as 9-8 winners, forcing a second game of the day to settle matters.

Houston jumped out to another early lead, this time with a three-spot in the opening frame . . . But the Knights answered right back with three runs in their half of the first inning.

Brandon Uhse stole second in the fifth inning and Tulimero drove him home on a two-out single to right-center field as Houston regained the lead 4-3.

After tying the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, UCF plated two runs in the sixth inning to take a 6-4 lead.

Houston tied the game in the top of the eighth inning when a one-out single by McMillian into left-center scored two.

Still tied in the top of the ninth, Tulimero hit a two-out three-run home run over the left field wall to give the Cougars a 9-6 lead going to the bottom of the ninth.

Jose Torrealba returned to the mound for the second time in the day to close out the victory that would send the Cougars to the Sunday championship game, and he retired all three batters he faced in the ninth after the hard luck loss in the first game walk-off loss.

Houston used seven pitchers in game two . . . Maddux Miller, Jackson Dannelley, Logan Clayton, and Torrealba all pitched a scoreless inning or more . . . Cameron Prayer went three innings at a crucial point and really helped stabilize things after a rough opening frame.

“You know, obviously any win is momentum,” Tulimero said after the game. “But we have a saying on this team, ‘if you sleep on the win, you’ll wake up to a loss.’ We’re gonna get in the clubhouse, celebrate a bit, flush it, come back tomorrow looking to win the championship.”

Houston will face East Carolina on Sunday morning, at 11am CT . . . A win on Sunday means a trip to a Regional next weekend, while a loss means the end of the season.

Houston Loses to East Carolina, Clinches Third Spot in AAC

Houston faced East Carolina in Greenville, NC on Saturday night

Houston lost 5-3 to East Carolina on Saturday night, and while the Cougars now know their place in next week’s American Athletic Conference tournament in Clearwater, they do not know who their first opponent will be once they get there.

The Pirates plated a pair of runs in each of the first two innings on Saturday and held a 4-0 lead through four innings.

Anthony Tulimero (2-for-4) led off the top of the fifth inning with a single that squeezed between the shortstop and third baseman and rolled into left field . . . One out later, Ryan Hernandez hit his twelfth home run of the season over the wall in right-center field to cut the East Carolina lead in half, 4-2.

Zach Arnold (2-for-4) added a one-out RBI single in the top of the sixth inning, driving in Samuel Tormos who had reached on a throwing error, and Houston only trailed 4-3.

The Cougars got no closer than that, with the Pirates adding a run in the eighth inning and taking a 5-3 lead, which would be the final score . . . The Cougars got in some work for six pitchers in the game, in the next-to-last preparation before play begins in Clearwater on Tuesday . . . The Houston offense only collected five hits on Saturday, by just three players.

A loss by UCF earlier on Saturday opened up an opportunity for the Cougars to make things more interesting if they could win their final two games, but with the loss to East Carolina, Houston clinched the third spot in the standings as they wait to find out who they will face in their first game in Clearwater, though it will be a contest between either Memphis or Wichita State in the late game on Tuesday night.

Houston and East Carolina close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 12 noon start time . . . Both teams will head to Clearwater after the series to prepare for the conference tournament which begins on Tuesday morning . . . The Cougars have not named a Saturday starter at this point.

Houston Opens Final Home Series with 9-6 Win

Ryan Hernandez bats in the second inning Friday night against UCF

The Houston Cougars defeated UCF 9-6 on Friday night at Schroeder Park, and they had to erase an early four run deficit to do it.

Houston faced an uncharacteristic 4-0 first inning deficit before they even came to bat on Friday night, but as often has been the case with the 2022 Cougars, they played nine innings of baseball and found a way to win.

Cameron Nickens led off the bottom of the second inning with a ground-rule double into right field . . . Ryan Hernandez (2-for-2) followed with a home run to center field that split the Texas and United States flags beyond the wall and the deficit was cut in half, 4-2.

Anthony Tulimero led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single and Nickens followed with a single, his second hit of the ballgame . . . Hernandez followed with his second home run of the game, a shot to left-center field, and Houston led 5-4 . . . For Hernandez the two homers were his fourth and fifth in the last five games, and his tenth and eleventh of the season.

One out later Malachi Lott tripled to center field . . . Brandon Uhse lined a two-out single to left field and the Houston lead increased to 6-4 going to the fifth inning.

Logan Clayton took the mound in the fifth inning with two runners on base and no outs . . . One run would score, but a sacrifice fly to center field turned wild on a throw that got past Zach Arnold at third base as the base runner was trying to tag up from first base to third base . . . Clayton was backing up third base and dove on the loose ball in front of the Cougars dugout, as the runner made for home, Clayton got up and fired a dart to Tulimero at home plate to catch the runner and end the frame with Houston leading 6-5.

Maddux Miller entered the game in the seventh inning with two down and got a swinging strike out to end the frame.

Ben Sears took the mound for the eighth inning protecting a one-run lead and retired the Knights in order, striking out two.

Leading by a run in the bottom of the eighth, Hernandez was walked for his second straight plate appearance, with one out . . . Ian McMillan doubled into the left field corner to put runners on second and third with one out . . . Santiago Garcia, pinch-hitting for Lott, swung at the first pitch he saw and unloaded on the baseball deep to left-center field for a three-run home run and a 9-5 Houston lead.

Houston benefited from the insurance runs because a two-out solo home run for UCF in the ninth inning made it 9-6, before Sears finished off the Knights and earned his twelfth save of the season . . . Clayton improved his record to 6-3.

With East Carolina winning on Friday night, the Pirates hold a two game edge over the Cougars, who continue to occupy the second spot in the standings, now two games ahead of UCF.

The Cougars (34-16) and the Knights continue the series on Saturday when they play again at Schroeder Park, first pitch will be at 6:30pm . . . Kyle LaCalameto will be on the mound for Houston.

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.