Freshman outfielder Landon Appling and the Cougars will get two more chances to avenge the ECU Pirates today and tomorrow. With Thursday’s loss UH fell to 10-8 in games played at Cougar Field. | Newton Liu/The Daily Cougar
The UH bullpen blew a three-run ninth inning lead and the Cougars lost the first game of the weekend series against East Carolina 5-4 Thursday at Cougar field.
In the ninth with two outs and no runners, ECU started to chip away at the Cougars’ 4-1 lead. The Pirate cut the deficit to 4-2 with a monster one-run home run by designated hitter Chase McDonald. The next two batters singled to get on base and then left fielder Ben Fultz tripled to right-center to knot up the score at 4-4.
The Cougars managed to keep the Pirates at bay for a few more innings, but they took the lead in the 12th when center fielder Trent Whitehead singled in Jack Reinheimer who had reached base via walk.
UH had a chance to tie the game up in the bottom of the 12th, but they left the tying run standing on third base.
“This team is resilient,” head coach Todd Whitting said. “We’ve lost tough games all year. Like I told the team, we are two pitches away from being 7-2 and having a two-game lead in Conference USA.”
“We’re just going to go at it and try to win tomorrow’s game and the one on Saturday. We still have a chance to win two out of three here.”
The game was the Cougars’ first extra inning affair of the season and also marked the return of pitcher Jared Ray.
In his first start in nearly two years, Ray pitched a solid four innings allowing a run and three hits.
Ray was on a strict pitch count, but made quick work of the Pirate batters. He retired four of the first six batters on the first pitch and threw only 12 pitches through the first two innings. He threw 34 pitches in his outing.
“It was good to get back out there,” Ray said. “Before the game I was nervous, but once I got into my routine the nerves went away.
“My goal before the game was to throw two good innings, maybe three. When I went out there for the fourth inning, I was like this is the last one for sure. I had nothing left.”
After the game, many Cougar players were noticeably disappointed with the loss, but they were still walking around with their heads up.
“That’s baseball,” M.P. Cokinos said. “Tomorrow is a new day. We have to leave this one behind us and come out tomorrow and throw the first punch, which I know we will.”
The Cougars will continue the series at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow and wrap up the weekend on Saturday at Cougar Field.
