In his second career start, freshman pitcher Ritchie Roman kept the Bearkats scoreless during his four innings of three-hit baseball. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
Houston baseball took home the Don Sander’s Cup Tuesday after defeating Sam Houston 4-3 at Sugarland’s Constellation Field.
The hot hitter, senior outfielder Cary Arbolida, extended his hit streak to 11, recording his fourth homer in the last three contests. The California native’s two-run blast to right-center drove in senior infielder Harold Coll and gave Houston a 2-0 lead in the second.
Another homer landed in right-center in the top of the sixth off the bat of senior utility Justin Murray, giving the Coogs a 3-0 advantage.
While freshman pitcher Richie Roman pitched for a season-high four innings, in which he struck out six batters, junior pitcher Graysen Drezek threw a season-high three innings with five strikeouts of his own. The staff kept a shoutout going until the bottom of the eighth inning after UH went up 4-o on the front end.
Houston’s Freshman Anthony Avalos charged to third on a wild pitch, before a catcher’s throwing error allowed him to cross the plate. However, Sam Houston scored three runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning, with graduate pitcher José Torrealba and Murray splitting time on the mound.
Murray returned to pitch in the ninth, where he acquired his 15th save, the third most in UH history.
The Cougars are 26-26 on the season and hold a 19-7 record in non-conference play.
Next, the Cougars will compete in their final series of the season when they face Oklahoma State May 16-18 at home.
