The Cougars won their fifth straight game behind a seven-run fourth inning. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
The UH baseball team beat the Southern Jaguars 16-7 Tuesday night at Schroeder Park to extend their win streak to five and improve to 10-11 on the season.
Houston pitching got out to a slow start as starting right-handed sophomore pitcher Kyle Ayers gave up a two-run homer to Southern first baseman O’Neill Burgos.
With the Cougars down 2-0 in the bottom of the second, a two-run home run by sophomore left fielder Cameron Nickens in the third tied up the game at two, scoring junior third baseman Alex Lopez.
Ayers went quickly through the next three innings, ending up with four total frames pitched, giving up two earned runs and striking out nine.
The Cougars broke the game completely open in the bottom of the fourth inning with seven runs scored on as many hits to lead 9-2.
To start out that offensive outburst, junior first baseman Justin Murray hit a bullet out of the park in left field to take the lead 3-2. It was his third home run of the season.
Soon after, a wild pitch scored junior outfielder Cary Arbolida.
Senior centerfielder Drew Bianco decided to join the home run party with his two-run shot to center field making it 6-2 Cougars in the fourth inning. This was his third homer of the season so far with freshman infielder Coby DeJesus scoring.
A single up the middle by Lopez made it 7-2 Houston, with his second hit of the game driving in senior outfielder Brandon Uhse.
Junior catcher Anthony Tulimero jumped into action with his RBI single to left field, driving in Lopez for his second run scored of the game and Nickens scored on a fielder’s choice to make the score 9-2.
Southern ended up scoring 3 runs in the top of the sixth inning, with two of them coming on wild pitches, making it 9-5.
The Cougars piled on six additional runs in the seventh inning to completely put the game out of reach with a 16-5 score, thanks in part to junior utility man Jack Duffy smoking a two-RBI triple down the right-field line.
Up next, the Cougars will face UT Arlington on Friday.
