Baseball Sports

UH baseball sweeps Minnesota on the road

UH baseball got back in the win column, sweeping Minnesota over the weekend. | Xavier Rosales/The Cougar

UH baseball got back in the win column, sweeping Minnesota over the weekend. | Xavier Rosales/The Cougar

After a slow start to the season, Houston baseball found its groove over the weekend, sweeping Minnesota in a three-game series in Minneapolis.

Here’s a closer look at how each game went:

Friday

The Cougars won a close one Friday night, taking the series opener 3-2 over the Gophers.

UH senior shortstop Ian McMillan got the UH on the board in the fifth on a groundout, scoring junior Justin Murray. Graduate student Drew Bianco tacked on another run with a sacrifice bunt to score sophomore Brandon Burckel.

In the seventh, Murray ripped an RBI single up the middle to add an insurance run to score senior Brandon Uhse. The Cougars extended their lead to 3-0.

Senior Maddux Miller was dominant on the mound for UH, pitching 6 and 2/3 innings allowing no runs while allowing just three hits and striking out five.

Saturday

After falling behind 2-0, UH rallied with a two-run ninth inning to send the game into extras in which the Cougars tacked on another pair of runs in the 10th to take game two 4-2.

Solo home runs by Minnesota’s Weber Neels in the second and seventh innings gave the Gophers a 2-0 lead.

In the ninth, junior third baseman Zach Arnold reached base safely with a single. Murray was signaled to pinch-hit for junior Alex Lopez and took full advantage of it, smashing two-run homer to left field to tie the game at 2.

In the 10th, UH continued to add more runs. Bianco struck a double down the left line to score McMillan. Sophomore Cameron Nickens followed with a double of his own to drive in Bianco.

Junior Owen Woodward closed the game with a pair of strikeouts in the bottom half of the 10th, securing a 4-2 UH win.

Sunday

The Gophers waited no time, taking the lead in the first inning on a solo home run.

UH responded with a big third inning. Bianco scored on a throwing error from the second baseman. Lopez kept the momentum going with a two-run single up the middle, scoring Arnold and sophomore Malachi Lott.

UH added two insurance runs in the eighth highlighted by a solo shot to right field by Lopez to secure the series sweep and improve to 8-11 overall.

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