It was another rough start for Cougars pitching Wednesday, but the team’s resiliency permitted them the chance to come back and win 9-8 over Sacred Heart.
After allowing the Pioneers (0-5) six runs in the first inning, five coming from the game’s first five hitters, the Cougars” (6-4) pitching settled down and allowed just two runs on seven hits for the remainder of the game.
Houston freshman pitcher Matt Taylor made his first start of the season, lasting just 1/3 an inning and giving up five earned runs. The bullpen work of junior Chris Wright, sophomore Barrett Bruce, junior Jimmy Raviele and freshman Jared Ray allowed the Cougars’ offense to get the team back in the game.
"We didn’t get a good start out of our starter," head coach Rayner Noble said. "But we got a good performance from Wright. Barrett Bruce and Raviele did a good job and then Jared at the end there."
After getting two runs in the first, Houston added four more in the third to tie the game at six. Junior third baseman Jimmy Cesario led off the inning with a walk, followed by senior first baseman Bryan Pounds, who was hit by a pitch, and freshman right fielder Matt Murphy who executed a perfect sacrifice bunt. Junior designated hitter Felix Fanaselle then walked to load the bases.
Sophomore catcher Chris Wallace highlighted the inning with a three-run triple. Wallace finished the night 3-5 with five RBIs and was just a home run short of hitting for the cycle.
"I was just seeing the ball really well tonight," Wallace said. "I felt like I was squaring it up pretty good. We came away with the win, so that’s the big thing."
After the Pioneers regained the lead in the fourth, scoring senior designated hitter Jeff Hanson, who reached on his second of three doubles in the game, the Cougars roared back with two runs driven in by back-to-back doubles by Fanaselle and Wallace. They never trailed again in the game.
"(Wallace) was very sharp," Noble said. "He was on the ball all night and had a good night.
"We had a couple of big hits there. Wally clearing the bases with the bases loaded was a big hit."
Noble, who coached his 800th career game at UH on Wednesday, believes his team still needs to improve if they want to be successful.
"I thought we had multiple opportunities to put this game out of reach, we just had some poor at-bats," Noble said. "That’s really where we need to get better – with runners in scoring position having better at-bats."
Houston will play three games against the University of California – Santa Barbara (7-3) at Cougar Field this weekend. The team hopes its perseverance can keep the wins coming.
"We’re just fighting as a team," Wallace said. "The hitting is doing really well and we just keep fighting. The pitching is coming along, so once they get going I think we’ll be a great contender. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and working hard."
