With their sweep over ECU, the Cougars move into second place in the American Athletic Conference. | Ajani Stewart/The Cougar
UH baseball bounced back from a string of losses last week with a three-game sweep over ECU this weekend.
Fueled by losses against UCF and Rice last week, Houston went into Schroeder Park on Friday night and blew out East Carolina 17-3. The Cougars defeated the Pirates 8-1 on Saturday and 9-6 on Sunday.
Houston’s series sweep left East Carolina with a 0-6 American Athletic Conference record that has cemented them at last place in conference.
Now with an overall record of 23-8 and conference record of 4-2, Houston has pushed themselves up from their previous spot at sixth place in the AAC to second place. The only team above Houston is UConn, who has an undefeated 6-0 conference streak.
Sophomore designated hitter Joe Davis had a strong weekend with a homerun in each of the three games, which puts him at four homeruns for the season. He is tied for second-most homeruns with Connor Wong.
Davis’ season batting average improved to .298, which is fifth on the Cougar roster.
Junior shortstop Corey Julks has also been on a hot streak. Julks pushed his hitting streak to fifteen by the conclusion of the series. In Saturday’s game he hit a two-run home run, which resulted in the win for the Cougars.
Once again, the flexible Cougar pitching staff exerted their dominance, leading the team to victories.
On Friday, sophomore Trey Cumbie moved to 5-0 with his seventh start of the season and his first weekend start. His ERA leads the Cougars at 1.04.
Sophomore Mitch Ullom pitched for six innings on Saturday, which resulted in only one run by East Carolina. The 8-1 win over ECU improved him to 5-2 for the year.
After senior John King let up six runs in Sunday’s game, freshman reliever John Villareal came in. Villareal brought the Cougars back to victory and also claimed his first career win since joining the Cougars, with 4.2 shutout innings against the Pirates. His season ERA is now 1.32, just behind Cumbie’s.
Next up, Houston is set to continue the Silver Glove Series against Rice on Tuesday evening. Houston will be on the road and hoping to make-up for their 9-0 loss against Rice the previous week. The game will take place at Reckling Park at 6:30 p.m.
Houston’s next conference series will be on the road against Memphis, who sits at sixth place in the AAC.
