Houston defeated No. 7 Texas A&M 4-1 Tuesday night to extend its winning streak to five games while also getting revenge for the 2-3 loss at Minute Maid Park earlier this season.
Houston had solid offense, but it was the pitching that carried the game.
“We pitched lights out tonight and I tell you what, Ryan Randel had a couple tough outings (before tonight). Tonight is why he has been a weekend starter for us for two years,” said head coach Todd Whitting.
Senior Ryan Randel made his 10th start of the year and had a near perfect outing after a couple games that were not so optimal.
“It was huge. I’ve had a couple rough starts, and I knew that I needed to compete my ass off to give my team a chance to win,” Randel said.
Junior Jared Triolo started the bottom of the first with a leadoff single and made it five games in a row with a hit.
Triolo had a fantastic night, getting to base twice and making a few great defensive plays look easy to keep the Aggies off the board.
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Junior Blake Way followed up with a deep hit to right center that allowed Triolo to trek all the way around the bases for the first run of the game.
A walk and a ground out later, freshman Derrick Cherry hit a line drive to right center to make it 2-0 in just the first inning.
Another UH run came in the second inning after an error. The pitcher overthrew the first baseman after grabbing a grounder and it went off into the warning track, which allowed freshman Brad Burckel to run all the way home from first.
After five perfect innings, Randel allowed his first hit of the game against sophomore Zach DeLoach in the sixth inning.
The Aggies advanced DeLoach to third with a hit to the pitcher, then a grounder to first baseman Joe Davis allowed DeLoach to score.
That was the only run the Cougars would allow after some nifty pitching by junior Sean Bretz in relief to get the team out of a tricky situation with two men on base.
Houston got runners on the corners, and a wild pitch allowed the runner to come home for the extra run in the seventh inning.
Senior Fred Villarreal closed out the game and earned his eighth save of the season.
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Houston will play Cincinnati at home Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The first game will begin at 6:30 p.m.