Houston’s missed opportunities, miscues lead to 5-2 loss against Sam Houston

Any momentum Houston baseball had on Tuesday night against Sam Houston quickly faded, as pitching control issues and defensive miscues led to a 5-2 loss, its third in four games, bringing the Don Sanders Cup to a tie at 1-1.

Junior pitcher Alex Solis began where he left off in the first Don Sanders Cup meeting, where he tossed five hitless innings in relief.

Through two innings, Solis continued his hitless stretch, only allowing a lone walk in the process to redshirt junior outfielder Caleb Cotton.

Leading off the bottom-half of the frame, senior designated hitter Carsten Sabathia tagged a 2-2 pitch for a 401-foot home run, giving Houston the early 1-0 lead. 

The home run was Sabathia’s second of the season, matching his total from all of last year in 80 fewer plate appearances.

Solis’ control issues snowballed further in the third frame, issuing two walks that would wind up scoring when freshman catcher Wes Baker doubled to right-center field, his first double of the season and only his second extra-base hit of 2026.

Inability to deliver with runners in scoring position plagued both teams, as UH and SHSU went a combined 1-for-26 in such situations.

Avoidable miscues continued to prove costly in the latter innings, as two fielding errors and a walk in between during the sixth inning would tack on two more runs, without Sam Houston having to record a base hit.

Senior catcher Dylan Maxcey brought Houston within three with the second solo home run of the day, but that’d be all the Cougars could muster the remainder of the evening.

“We have a group that really wants to get the job done,” Sabathia said. “We’ll take it, regroup, look at it throughout the week and get ready for Friday.”

Houston will look to rebound against Arkansas-Pine Bluff as part of a three-game series and a continuation of its season-long nine-game homestand on Friday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m.

The third and final meeting between the Cougars and Bearkats this season to decide the cup winner will take place on April 7, in Huntsville, Texas, at 6 p.m.