The Cougar baseball team got their season off to a hot start Friday night after they beat the Villanova University Wildcats 13-1.
The first game in newly renamed Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park was a matchup of juniors as the Cougars sent their ace Andrew Lantrip to the mound to take on Villanova’s Hunter Schryver.
If the first inning is any indication of how the season will go, the Cougars are in for a dominant year. Lantrip followed his first strikeout of season with his first error, but was able to shake the rust off as he retired the final two batters. In the bottom half, sophomore catcher Connor Wong displayed his power by hitting a lead-off home run to give the Cougars an early 1-0 lead.
The bats came alive again for Houston in the third inning as redshirt sophomore Connor Hollis reached on a lead-off single followed by a walk drawn by sophomore Corey Julks. Senior Jacob Campbell then stepped up to the plate to launch his first home run of the season to deep left-center field, extending his team’s lead to 4-0.
The Cougars continued to score in the third inning. Sophomore Clay Casey was able to reach third base on an error committed in the Villanova outfield, allowing senior Justin Montemayor to drive him home on a single to right field, pushing the Cougar lead to 5-0.
Cougar hitters had to endure bruises in the fourth inning when three different batters were hit by pitches. The Wildcats also walked a batter and committed their second error of the game. By the inning’s end, the Cougars sent eight hitters to the plate and scored an additional two runs, making their lead a comfortable 7-0.
The Cougars pushed their lead to 9-0 in the sixth inning as Montemayor tallied his second and third RBIs of the game on a triple to deep right field.
Villanova got on the board in the seventh inning off of freshman Cougar pitcher Nathan Jackson, who came in to relieve Lantrip. Ten Cougar hitters came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh as the team continued to pour it on, bringing the score to an impressive 13-1.
It wasn’t just the Houston offense that shined under the lights Friday. Lantrip finished his night allowing just two hits over six innings. He struck out four batters without allowing a walk in his dominate outing.
“Andrew Lantrip sets the tone,” head coach Todd Whitting said. “He goes out there and pounds the strike zone and gets them out. We were able to go out there and have a few big innings. Energy, effort and a great attitude: you have those things, you’re going to win.”
The Cougars will look to bring that same energy to the park tomorrow for the second game of the series. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
