The Cougars resumed play at the AAC Championships in Florida on Thursday, knocking off the University of South Florida Bulls with a score of 7-3.
The No. 14 Cougars improved to 2-0 at the tournament and now sit at 41-17 on the year.
Houston was helped largely by a strong performance from sophomore starting pitcher Andrew Lantrip, who pitched 7 innings, allowing just five hits and three earned runs, while striking out 10.
The Cougars and Bulls sat locked scoreless for five innings until the Cougars tallied two runs in the top of the sixth.
Freshman left-fielder Corey Julks slapped a double with two outs, pushing two runs across the plate for the Cougars.
The bottom of the eighth proved scary for Houston, as the Bulls loaded the bases with no outs, forcing Lantrip from the game.
Freshman reliever Aaron Fletcher came into the game and finished the inning, allowing no hits but two runs on a pair of sac-fly’s.
Fletcher pitched strong in the ninth inning, once again allowing no runs and closing the game out for the Cougars.
Houston now awaits their next opponent, the winner of Friday’s matchup between USF and the Memphis Tigers.
The Cougars will face either the Bulls or the Tigers on Saturday at 9 a.m.
