Houston baseball drops home-opening series to UTRGV

After starting the season 5-0, including a sweep of the Puerto Rico Challenge, Houston baseball dropped two out of three in its home-opening series against UTRGV at Schroeder Park.

After taking a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning of Saturday’s game, Houston was outscored 18-5 for the remainder of the series. 

The Cougars have now lost six of their last eight meetings against the Vaqueros, dating back to Apr. 22, 2022.

Two-out offense creates early distance in home-opener win

Mixed with seven runs on two outs, junior infielder Riley Jackson’s 2-for-3, 3-RBI night created early separation in Houston’s 11-3 win Friday against UTRGV.

“It just shows how good of hitters we are and that we are willing to fight for each other,” Jackson said.

Jackson’s portion of the fight began by leading the charge on back-to-back crooked innings.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to an RBI single from senior infielder Antonelli Savattere, the Cougars scored three runs apiece in the second and third innings. 

Jackson contributed three RBIs in that span, including a solo home run in the bottom of the second.

On the defensive side, Jackson added a highlight in the bottom of the third, when redshirt senior outfielder Damien Whitfield hit a tapper to first base that deflected off the bag. Jackson reacted quickly to catch it mid-air and made a reaching slide to first base for the out.

“That’s been awesome that he’s been able to go over there and play that level of first base,” coach Todd Whitting said when asked about Jackson’s time between the backstop and first base.

Senior right-handed pitcher Paul Schmitz struck out seven batters in five innings, allowing only three hits and two walks for his second win of the season, tallying nine shutout innings across two starts.

“Our whole motto in the pitching staff is to throw one pitch at a time,” Schmitz said. “We don’t worry about the last pitch or the next.”

The Cougars added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, an RBI single by junior outfielder Tre Broussard who entered the game as a designated hitter, and a run-scoring wild pitch to home plate by senior infielder Tyler Cox, making it 9-0.

But the Vaqueros wouldn’t stay down for long, as at the top of the eighth with two outs and two men on base, designated hitter Julius Ramirez hit a pitch to left center field that went over the wall for a three-run home run for their first runs of the game.

But that’s all UTRGV would get, as Houston added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, an RBI single from sophomore outfielder McClane Helton and freshman outfielder Blake Fields scoring off a throwing error, to take home the win.

In addition to Jackson’s performance, Broussard went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while senior catcher Dylan Maxcey went 3-for-4 with a run scored.

For the Vaqueros, graduate right-handed pitcher Sergio Lopez got his first loss of the season, striking out three batters while giving up five hits and four earned runs.

Vaqueros use middle-innings surge to force rubber match

In a much more competitive game two, eight unanswered runs in the middle innings helped propel UTRGV to a 10-6 win Saturday, forcing a rubber game.

Similar to the opener, the Cougars scored right off the bat, with five runs in the first four innings, including a two-run home run from Broussard in the first and a solo homer from sophomore infielder Jackson LaLima in the fourth.

This time, however, UTRGV didn’t wait until midway through for its bats to come alive. The Vaqueros scored eight runs between the fifth and seventh innings, highlighted by a solo home run from redshirt junior infielder Armani Raygoza and a two-run homer from junior infielder Easton Moomau in the top of the fifth.

The Cougars weren’t short of answers, however, as in the bottom of the seventh, redshirt sophomore outfielder Xavier Perez led off with a first-pitch home run deep to center to make it 8-6.

But a comeback was not in the cards for Houston, as a two-run single from graduate shortstop Diego Villescas ultimately sealed a rubber game for UTRGV.

For the Vaqueros, sophomore right-handed pitcher Harrison Thayer got his second win of the season. In 3.1 innings, he struck out five batters, allowed three hits and gave up one earned run.

For the Cougars, senior left-handed pitcher Chris Scinta was handed the loss and fell to 1-1. In 1.1 innings, he struck out two batters while giving up two hits and three earned runs.

UTRGV uses explosive ninth inning to win the series

In the rubber game of the series, a six-run ninth inning explosion from UTRGV gave it an 8-4 win and the series.

Unlike the previous two games, UTRGV opened the scoring in the first with two runs on the same play: an RBI single from redshirt senior infielder Thomas Williams and Moomau reaching home plate off a throwing error.

Meanwhile, Houston struggled to create any offense, registering one hit while getting struck out three times.

“We just gotta get them all clicking at one time,” Whiting said.

The Cougars would finally break through in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to an RBI single from freshman outfielder Blake Fields, who finished the game  3-for-4 while also bringing in a run himself in the bottom of the sixth thanks to an RBI double from Broussard to tie the game two apiece. 

“Thought it was good,” Fields said when asked about his performance. “The wind was blowing out the right field, so we were working on the middle way the whole time, but I thought it was very good.”

But in the top of the ninth, the Vaqueros scored six runs off a triplet of two-run singles from Ramirez, Williams and Villescas each to lead 8-2.

But Houston was not down and out just yet, as a comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth started with a leadoff home run to left by LaLima. 

After following with a double down the left field line, redshirt senior outfielder Irvin Weems III reached home plate on a wild pitch to make it 8-4. 

But the comeback ran out of steam, as UTRGV’s efforts held firm to win the series.

For the Vaqueros, redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Kike Cienfuegos got his first win of the season. In 3.2 innings, he struck out four batters while allowing four hits and two earned runs.

Offensively, Ramirez went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.

Thomas went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored.

Senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Bryan was given his first loss of the season. In 2.1 innings for the Cougars, he allowed two hits and four earned runs.

In addition to Fields, Perez went 3-for-5.

Up next, at 5-2 overall, the Cougars turn their attention to Tuesday, Feb. 24, when they go to Huntsville, Texas, to take on Sam Houston in the first game of the Don Sanders Cup series.