UH knocked off Texas in the series opener, but fell apart in the ninth of the finale to ultimately lose the series. | Anh Le/The Cougar
Houston baseball took on Texas in a three-game series this weekend and lost two out of three. The Cougars were close to potentially winning the series as they let an 8-5 lead slip away in the ninth inning.
Game 1
UH dominated the first game over Texas in a 9-1 win. The Cougars struck out 16 Longhorns and hit four home runs on the day, two by senior right fielder Cary Arbolida.
It was an excellent pitching night for Houston as freshman righty Owen Woodward went 4.2 innings pitched and only gave up one hit and one earned run. Junior righty Cade Citelli closed out the game with a 4.1 innings pitched-one hitter.
Arbolida’s first homer came in the fourth inning that extended UH’s lead to 3-0. It was a two-run shot to center field. It was followed up by a home run in the fifth inning from senior catcher Jonathan French. Senior third baseman Anthony Tulimero had an RBI single in the inning that made the lead 5-1.
Arbolida continued his monster day with another two-run jack in the sixth inning. Tulimero followed up with his own two-run homer in the eighth that made it 9-1.
Game 2
Houston lost a close game on Saturday 6-5. Texas jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The Cougars responded with a three-run third inning to tie thanks to Tulimero’s RBI single and freshman left fielder Ace Reese’s two-RBI single.
Both teams exchanged homers as UT hit two solo blasts to left in the fifth inning. UH hit two homers of their own to left from sophomore shortstop Coby DeJesus and Tulimero.
Freshman second baseman Dee Kennedy hit what was the go-ahead home run for Texas. Cougars starter Howard Duncan went four innings pitched and gave up four earned runs.
Game 3
The Cougars put some traffic on the bases in the second inning with a walk from Reese and a single from Arbolida but were unable to take advantage.
Sophomore catcher Rylan Galvin went deep for Texas with a two-run homer to start the second inning.
Houston answered right back and took the lead in the bottom half of the inning 3-2 with a moonshot three-run home run from Coll. It all started with a single to right by Murray with two outs, who then advanced to second base on a wild pitch and third base on an error by the catcher. Tulimero walked, and then Coll was able to hit a huge go-ahead shot.
UH was able to load the bases, but senior designated hitter Alex Lopez grounded out to end the inning.
The Cougars were able to once again load the bases in the fourth inning. Cameron Nickens was hit by a pitch, followed by a single from DeJesus and Murray. Tulimero was able to bring a run home on a sacrifice fly. Coll delivered again with an RBI single that extended the lead to 5-2.
Antoine Jean, who was announced as the late starter, had a strong performance of 4.2 innings pitched, with two earned runs given up and six strikeouts.
UH continued to score runs as French walked, and Nickens hit a two-run blast to left center in the fifth which further extended the lead to 7-2.
The Longhorns answered with a run in the seventh and two runs in the eighth from a couple of RBI doubles which closed the gap to 7-5. Houston responded in the eighth as Reese smoked a solo homer down the right-field line which made it 8-5.
Texas took the lead in the ninth inning from back-to-back homers from Powell and Flores. The inning continued as Houston’s pitching collapsed. The Longhorns ended up scoring 8 runs in the inning and taking a 13-8 lead.
The Cougars had to go through four different pitchers. Citelli gave up four earned runs on four hits with only one out recorded. Senior lefty Kyle LaCalamento gave up four more runs without recording an out.
UH lost 13-8 after what was a great opportunity to win the series.
Houston drops to 17-18 on the season and a 5-13 Big 12 record, which is the worst in the conference. UH will look to bounce back on Tuesday vs HCU at home.
