Houston baseball suffers midweek unanswered rout at No. 10 Texas A&M

A pair of first-inning RBI singles from redshirt junior outfielder Xavier Perez and senior infielder Cade Climie appeared to be a promising template for Houston baseball’s contention in another midweek top-10 matchup, with its fresh-armed bullpen providing a bridge for the weekend rotation. 

But that was all the Cougars provided before the first out of the entire game, as 10 unanswered from No. 10 Texas A&M, the third-rated run-scoring offense in Division I, handed them a 10-2 loss Tuesday at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park in College Station.

The freshman duo of infielder Nico Partida and outfielder Jorian Wilson provided the bulk of the Aggies’ unanswered spurt, going a combined 5-for-8 with seven runs driven off four of Houston’s 10 pitchers used on the night.

Although freshman right-hander Caden Cooper pitched around a walk in the opening frame, Houston’s early 2-0 lead did not hold firm beyond it. Partida’s leadoff single in the second set the immediate game-tying template for Wilson’s two-run homer to right center off senior right-hander Harrison Boushele. 

But it was Partida that provided the early difference for the Aggies in handing junior right-hander Alex Solis his second loss of the season for Houston, launching a go-ahead two-run homer 420 feet to center to make it 4-2 in the third.

This wasn’t the last of either freshman effort for Texas A&M, as both tacked on to a six-run home fifth that saw 11 batters, including Partida twice, head to the plate.

It was once again Partida in leadoff that set the template for another extra-base hit from Wilson, who clubbed a two-run double down the line in left off senior left-hander Chris Scinta to make it 6-2. 

After hitting junior catcher Bear Harrison with a 2-1 pitch, Scinta was pulled in favor of senior right-hander Tyler Bryan to record the first out of the inning. 

But two batters later, junior infielder Gavin Grahovac unloaded on Bryan’s 0-1 pitch, taking a three-run homer 433 feet to center to make it 9-2. 

With two outs, Partida put the final touches on any scoring effort for the rest of the night in his second at-bat of the inning, lacing an RBI single to left to score junior infielder Chris Hacopian and make it 10-2. 

Beyond Houston’s two-run road first, coach Michael Earley’s bullpen limited the Cougars to just six hits the rest of the way, where senior right-hander Grant Cunningham earned his third win of the season for Texas A&M on three innings of four-hit shutout ball. 

All amounted to Houston suffering its fourth-straight loss to fall to 16-19 overall, now sitting three games below .500 for the first time since March 10, 2023 in its final season in the American. 

It also dropped the Cougars to 2-3 in top-25 matchups, and it won’t get any easier in the second destination of their four-game road trip, where they’ll head to Morgantown, W.Va. to take on No. 15 West Virginia in a three-game series at Kendrick Family Ballpark beginning Friday, April 17 at 5:30 p.m. CST.