The first in-conference road trip of the season, which featured a contest against Rutgers, was a net positive for No. 10 UH. The Cougars (25-6, 4-2) battled soggy and windy conditions, but enough sun shined down for UH to come away with a 2-1 win on Sunday to earn a series victory this weekend.
“We are extremely lucky to get out of Rutgers with two wins. I thought they played hard all weekend,” head coach Todd Whitting said. “We caught some breaks in that game, and if we don’t, we don’t win that game. But a sign of a good team is one that can win while not on their best day.”
The series, played in Piscataway, New Jersey, saw the first game replaced by a double header on Saturday. Rutgers took the first game 7-3, with UH taking the second game 9-1 behind Jake Lemoine, who amassed a career-high nine strikeouts and got his fifth win and the first complete game of his UH career.
“My fastball was working for me,” Lemoine said after his Saturday win. “I can’t say enough about the defense effort behind me.”
Whitting, who was named Midseason Coach of the Year by Perfect Game USA, praised Lemoine’s Saturday outing as a well-timed lift up.
“I told Lemoine after the game that his team really needed that. We didn’t play well in the first game, and we really needed a great pitching performance under horrible pitching conditions. Wind is blowing hard, and pop-ups are blowing out of here. That was a big outing for him in really bad conditions.”
Senior closer Chase Wellbrock, who notched his second win of the season during a pitcher’s duel on Sunday by handling a bases-loaded jam with his normal, calm aplomb.
“The situation there at the end was a pressure-packed situation,” Wellbrock said. “But over time I have been used to it. Every game situation is unique, and not one is more exhilarating than the other. After they opened the ninth with back-to-back hits with no outs, I tried to calm myself down. I knew I had great defense behind me, and they were going to make the plays. My job was to throw strikes and make the right pitches and, luckily, I was able to induce the ground balls that I needed.”
UH batters were good for 14 runs across the three games. The second game of the Saturday double header saw senior first baseman Casey Grayson go 3 for 5 with four RBIs, while the rubber match saw sophomore designated hitter Justin Montemayor go 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
“We have some things we need to address next week in practice. I am proud of them on a weekend where we didn’t really have it to come away with two wins,” Whitting said.
