UH senior outfielder Jake Stewart sprinted around the base-paths and raised his arms in triumph, but he barely passed second base before being mobbed by his teammates.
Perhaps the only thing missing from the wild celebration was a fireworks display, but luckily for the Cougars, Stewart had already provided them.
He stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and two outs, and delivered a single to right field that scored senior first baseman Bryan Pounds and gave the Cougars a 10-9 comeback win over Pacific in Sunday’s series finale at Cougar Field. The victory gave UH (2-1) its first series win of the season.
"That’s what you dream of when you’re a little kid (playing) in the backyard: bottom of the ninth, two outs and you’re up at the plate with a chance to win the game," Stewart said. "Moments like that are why I play the game."
Stewart’s game-winner off of Pacific junior reliever Larry Holscher capped off the wild rally that saw the Cougars score six runs in the final three innings to redeem a 9-4 deficit. The rally also included two of the Cougars’ four home runs.
Senior outfielder Bryan Tully initiated the rally by walking to lead off the seventh. He later came around to score on a throwing error by Pacific junior shortstop Jonathan Lewis.
The comeback continued in the eight when sophomore outfielder Zak Presley and freshman shortstop Blake Kelso reached on consecutive singles with one out. Senior second baseman Ryan Lormand then crushed the first pitch to left field for a three-run homer that pulled the Cougars within a run.
Freshman outfielder Chase Dempsay led off the ninth with a solo shot to left-center, and the Cougars were locked in from there.
"(The homer) tied the ballgame, and we couldn’t have asked for more than that," Lormand said. "That was huge."
UH junior left-hander Jimmy Raviele and sophomore right-hander John Touchton came up huge, combining to hold Pacific (1-2) scoreless over the final two innings. Touchton (1-0) completed the feat by striking out two Pacific batters looking with a runner on second in the top of the ninth.
"That was awesome coming into the game there," Touchton said. "I knew I couldn’t give up another run. I just wanted to do something big and give the team a spark, and that’s what happened."
The Cougars barely missed beating Pacific on Saturday, dropping a 4-3 decision. The game was tied at 3 for much of the evening until Pacific senior second baseman Adam Ching singled in sophomore outfielder Matt Fuson with two outs in the seventh. Tigers sophomore reliever Hunter Carnevale and Holscher held the Cougars scoreless over the final three innings.
In Friday’s season opener, sophomore pitcher Wes Musick had an outstanding performance, while the team’s freshman led the way offensively.
Musick threw six innings, giving up one earned run on four hits while striking out six.
Freshman shortstop Blake Kelso went 2-for-3 and drove in all three runs on top of making a great defensive play in the hole to get Pacific’s senior designated hitter Noah St. Urbain in a close play at first in the sixth inning.
"I just tried to relax myself and not try to do too much," Kelso said. "Once I got that first ground ball and that first at bat, I was relaxed."
The Cougars will face Texas State at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Cougar Field.
