The Cougars baseball team avoided elimination with a 4-3 victory over Wichita State on Thursday morning.| Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
After a rain delay postponed the game on Wednesday night, the Houston Cougars baseball team narrowly survived the three-seeded Wichita State Shockers on Thursday morning in a bounce-back 4-3 win, continuing UH’s run in the American Athletic Conference championship for another round.
The Cougars got out of the gate in the third inning, when a double from senior outfielder Brandon Uhse brought graduate student utility player Drew Bianco and redshirt senior infielder Ian McMillan to home plate.
Leading 2-0, the Cougars extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when a right-side single from junior utility player Alex Lopez brought junior infielder Zach Arnold home for UH’s third run of the game.
In the eighth inning, the Cougars scored one more run — this time on a single from sophomore outfielder Cameron Nickens.
With a convincing 4-0 lead entering the game’s final inning, UH faced a late scare from the Shockers, as Wichita State would rally from behind with a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. The three runs pulled Wichita State to within just a single run of UH.
Despite its best efforts, Wichita State’s final inning rally proved too little, too late as UH was able to overcome the Shockers to win narrowly by 4-3.
The victory proved a rebound win for UH after its Tuesday loss to Tulane, where the Cougars had lost narrowly to the seven-seeded Green Wave to set them up for today’s win-or-go-home matchup.
The Cougars will wait to see their next opponent as they continue into the second round of the American Athletic Conference championship in Florida on Friday, with the winner set to play either Tulane or Memphis in the tournament semifinals.
