Wear blue, avoid blues: Houston stuns No. 2 Texas with nine unanswered in middle-innings comeback

Entering the home fifth, Houston baseball saw itself facing the blues with a 7-0 deficit in part from its pitching allowing a new season-high 11 walks in the first 4 ⅔ innings. 

But behind five combined hits between senior infielder Tyler Cox and junior designated hitter Easton Winfield, the Cougars responded with a middle-innings surge that remained unanswered towards a 9-7 comeback win over No. 2 Texas at Schroeder Park Tuesday night, snapping a four-game losing streak in upset fashion. 

After beginning the surge with a productive RBI groundout in the fifth to put Houston on the board, Cox ultimately provided the difference with his go-ahead two-out RBI single in the eighth. 

“I kind of had a little funky arm action up there over the top, coming in hot,” he said. “After I saw a few pitches, I was just looking to stay short, stay tight and stay in the middle of the field.” 

Staying tight proved crucial for Cox in an early two-strike hole, taking an 0-2 pitch from junior right-hander Thomas Burns into right field to score Winfield and give Houston the 8-7 lead. 

It also marked the third time Winfield crossed home plate towards his 3-for-4 evening, which included his seventh-inning leadoff home run against his former program. 

With Winfield’s second home run in his last three games as a designated hitter, it kept the eyes of coach Todd Whitting open about his increasing opportunities at the spot, considering he was once part of a depth-filled roster in the opposite dugout. 

“That’s a talented program where they’ve got a lot of depth and he just wanted to get the opportunities,” Whitting said. 

And in one midweek sample, those opportunities paid off in helping Houston outhit the Longhorns 10-3, on a night where 11 walks and three errors almost spelled its early ending. 

Allowing two of Texas’ three hits was senior right-hander Harrison Boushele, who struck out four batters in 3 ⅔ innings of relief to earn his first winning decision in two seasons at Houston.

Not only was the win the template for Houston’s first top-two upset win since May 1, 2009, against Rice, but it also left the Cougars undefeated through two games all-time wearing their “Houston Blue” uniforms, dating back to a 13-4 win over Arizona on May 15, 2025, in a similar comeback fashion. 

Up next, the Cougars, at 13-11 overall, will continue their homestand when they host Baylor in a three-game series at Schroeder Park beginning Friday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m.