Houston baseball ends two long-standing droughts in weekend series victory against Texas Tech

Houston baseball had not won a game in Lubbock in nearly 30 years and hadn’t won a series there since 1980.

All that changed over the weekend of April 2-4, when Houston took the first two games of the three-game series against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Rip Griffin Park.

Although Houston possessed a worse overall record and had just one conference win all season, it was able to topple the Red Raiders at their home park, where they found 14 of their 17 wins coming in.

Bats were alive and well for both sides in the series, as the teams combined for 71 hits and 50 runs over the three games.

Three Cougars record multiple hits, home runs to push Houston past Texas Tech in Lubbock for first time since 1996

Houston’s conference play woes felt some relief in the opening game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, with an 8-6 victory to give the Cougars their first win in Lubbock since 1996.

Senior infielder Cade Climie, junior catcher Riley Jackson and redshirt sophomore outfielder Xavier Perez all smacked home runs in the game that accounted for six of Houston’s runs.

Perez led the team in RBI with his three-run home run in the fifth while Climie was right behind him as he gave the Cougars two RBI on his two-out home run in the seventh to give Houston a five-run lead.

Senior infielders Tyler Cox, Antonelli Savattere and Climie recorded three hits in the contest to help Houston reach 11 as a team.

Freshman right-hander Connor Udland was given the win as he threw a strikeout in each of his five innings and allowed three earned runs off five hits. 

The save was awarded to senior left-hander Ryne Rodriguez as he struck out two batters and allowed two earned runs in the final four innings of the game.

Jackson’s solo home run kickstarted scoring for Houston before sophomore infielder Jackson LaLima scored two on a double and Savattere added another one on an RBI single to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead.

Perez’s three-run shot in the fifth opened Houston’s lead to six runs until Texas Tech responded with a pair of RBI doubles from junior catcher Matt Quintanar and graduate first baseman Robin Villeneuve to make it a 6-3 game.

After Climie’s home run gave Houston an 8-3 advantage, Texas Tech attempted to put together a comeback in the seventh inning, as it added three runs with two out. 

On a RBI single from junior center fielder Kyeler Thompson, Climie made a throwing error to advance the runners to second and third base. A RBI double from senior second baseman Tracer Lopez brought Villeneuve and Thompson home to cut the Cougars advantage to 8-6.

A scoreless final two frames for Rodriguez put away the Red Raiders and gave Houston its second Big 12 win.

Thompson, Villeneuve and freshman right fielder Jesse Rusinek each had two hits for the Red Raiders while Lopez and Quintanar led the team with two RBI.

The loss was given to junior right-hander Lukas Pirko who allowed six earned runs off eight hits over the first five innings.

High scoring middle game sees Houston secure series, first series win in Lubbock in 46 years

A high-scoring affair in the middle game saw Houston break an extra-inning tie to give the Cougars their first series win on the road against Texas Tech since 1980, 13-10.

LaLima put Houston in front for good in the final frame with a two-out, bases-loaded walk before Savattere added two insurance runs on his RBI double in the 11th inning.

After Houston initially led 7-3, seven unanswered runs, including a pair of two-out RBI singles from Villeneuve and Hughes gave Texas Tech a two-run lead heading into the eighth.

Lopez added another run in the eighth to put the Red Raiders up 10-7 going into the ninth inning before Perez’s RBI double and score off a balk tied the game.

Junior outfielder Tre Broussard led the Cougars in hits as he went 4-of-5 at the plate and just one home run shy of hitting for the cycle. Perez and Savattere both had three hits and accounted for three RBI.

Jackson led Houston in RBI as he drew a walk with the bases loaded and brought home a runner on a groundout and sacrifice fly. 

Each of Houston’s first five batters in the lineup finished with a hit as it totaled 14 as a team.

Nine different pitchers took the mound for Houston, with junior right-hander Richie Roman earning his first win of the season, as he tossed two innings of no-run, no-hit baseball. Senior left-hander Chris Scinta closed the game out for Houston and earned the win by giving just one walk and no runs in the final inning.

Despite allowing only three earned runs, starting sophomore right-hander Kendall Hoffman was pulled after 3.2 innings after he gave up 10 hits and struck out just one batter.

Quintanar and junior outfielders Caden Ferrero and Logan Hughes led the Red Raiders with four hits each to add to their 22 total hits. Ferrero also finished the contest 4-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.

Villeneuve led Texas Tech with three RBI while Hughes was not far behind with two.

Sophomore left-hander Jorden Espinoza was given his first loss of the season after he allowed three hits and three earned runs with two out in the 11th inning.

Houston drops finale after bats go dry, explosive seventh inning for Texas Tech

After posting back-to-back double-digit hit numbers, Houston’s bats were nowhere to be found in the closing game, tallying just four hits in the 11-2 run-rule loss.

Climie’s two-run home run in the second brought the only runs the Cougars enjoyed. Jackson accounted for half of the team’s hits, going 2-of-3 at the plate. Savattere was the only other Cougar with a hit, as he had a double.

Senior right-hander Paul Schmitz was given his third loss of the year as he allowed three earned runs and walked seven over 5.2 innings. He also struck out six batters.

Although Houston again initially led 2-0 off Climie’s home run, this time, it wouldn’t be able to respond to Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders scored the rest of the game’s 11 runs, including seven in the seventh inning to secure an insurmountable cushion. 

With two out in the seventh, sophomore shortstop Coleman Ryan bunted to bring home one before redshirt sophomore right-hander Cameron Edmunds walked Ferrera with the bases-loaded. Two RBI doubles from Hughes and freshman infielder Linkin Garcia scored the final three runs for Texas Tech.

10 of Texas Tech’s 11 runs came with two outs in an inning, including all seven runs in the seventh.

Sophomore right-hander Jackson Burns was awarded the win after he tossed six strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs over his six innings.

The Cougars levelled their overall record at 15-15 while improving their conference record to 3-9.

Next, Houston will travel to Huntsville for a midweek clash with the 14-17 Sam Houston State Bearkats at Don Sanders Field on April 7 at 6 p.m.