Only one week after San Diego State swept the Cougars in a three-game series, Houston ran over Central Florida to earn its own sweep this weekend – this time in Conference USA play.
After sophomore starter Donnie Joseph gave up a run in the top of the first, the Cougars offense came out swinging, scoring 12 runs in the first three innings. Houston never led by less than seven runs for the remainder of the game.
Freshman shortstop Blake Kelso led off the first with a single to right field, extending his hit streak to 11 games. Kelso’s at bat was followed by back-to-back singles by senior left fielder Jake Stewart and senior third baseman Bryan Pounds. After a walk and three more singles allowed Houston to bat around, the Cougars held the lead for the remainder of the game.
Head coach Rayner Noble liked what he saw from his players.
"We got after it," Noble said. "When they put pitches over the heart of the plate we let them know. Our running game was very good. I thought we ran the bases extremely well and those were the common denominators of a good offensive day."
Every hitter in the Cougars’ starting lineup earned a hit in Sunday’s 7-14 win. Pounds ended the day three-for-six with three runs and an RBI, and senior second baseman Ryan Lormand went three-for-five with three runs and three RBIs. Six other Cougars had multiple hits in the game and five recorded RBIs, including three from sophomore catcher Chris Wallace.
"I think that everybody was seeing the ball pretty good," Lormand said.
Joseph lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and three runs (two earned) over 64 pitches. Senior Bryan Tully (2-2) threw a solid three innings of relief behind Joseph to earn the win, allowing three runs on three hits.
In Saturday’s matchup, freshman Ty Stuckey threw seven innings of one-run baseball to lead the Cougars to a 1-10 victory. Stuckey (2-2) gave up seven hits while striking out seven and walking just one. Tully led Houston’s offense, going two-for-five with a run and two RBIs. Pounds also continued his hot hitting, going one-for-three with two runs and three RBIs.
Getting back on track in Friday’s game, sophomore pitcher Wes Musick pitched a solid 6 2/3 innings to give him his sixth win of the season. Musick (6-1) allowed seven hits and two runs while striking out eight. Lormand went three-for-four on the night and freshman Matt Murphy went two-for-four with two RBIs in Houston’s 3-5 victory.
After scoring 29 runs in three games, the Cougars brought their record to 19-10. Houston also improved its C-USA record to 5-1, putting them atop the conference standings – a place the Cougars want to be at the end of the season.
"It feels good to be on top and hopefully the conference weekends go the way they did this weekend," Pounds said.
