Strong defense and pitching helped the Cougars earn a series-opening sweep. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar
During the 21 innings that spanned from 6:34 p.m. on Friday to 2:31 p.m. on Sunday, Nicholls State scored only two runs against a UH pitching staff and a defensive unit that seemed in sync with the new FieldTurf and used it to keep many base runners off the bags.
From junior pitcher Aaron Garza on Friday to sophomore pitcher Jared West on Sunday afternoon, with quality appearances by the bullpen sprinkled along the way, an early question mark performed well and propelled the Cougars to a season-opening series sweep at Cougar Field this weekend.
“I thought (West) was outstanding today,” said head coach Todd Whitting after Sunday’s 3-2 win. “We struggled a little bit on offense but caught a few breaks here and there, scored a few runs, and that ended up being enough.”
On Saturday, sophomore pitcher Jake Lemoine tossed seven shutout innings to help the Cougars earn a 4-0 victory for their second consecutive shutout after a 3-0 win Friday.
Each of UH’s three starting pitchers — Garza, Lemoine and West — lasted beyond the sixth inning. West, who struck out four, walked none and flirted with a no-hitter before losing it on a line drive single in the sixth, was the recipient of a copious batch of whipped cream after Sunday’s match.
“I just went out there and knew I had to throw a lot of strikes to get people out, and that’s what I did,” West said. “I found the zone and obviously got a lot of outs.”
Garza, who had his 24th career start on Friday, viewed it as an effective warm-up for what lies ahead while pacing himself with his expectations.
“That’s my goal: to take it one pitch at a time, whether it’s Friday, Saturday, Sunday or even Tuesday,” Garza said. “Whenever the team needs me to go out there.”
The offense was consistent, with senior shortstop Frankie Ratcliff and sophomores Justin Montemayor and Kyle Survance having multi-hit games.
“We got the bats going a little bit more today,” Ratcliff said on Sunday. “Right now it’s all about progress and moving forward and to keep getting better, which I believe we will. I still think some of us have some jitters, but we’re going to get better.”
UH has a midweek turnaround, traveling to West U and Reckling Park on Wednesday to take on Rice in the first game of the Silver Glove Series. The game is projected to start at 4:30 p.m.
Way to start out the season Coogs! There were good crowds this weekend and they will only grow as the season moves on with more wins and the word getting out. Now, go out and BEAT RICE!!!