Houston baseball grabs two wins in crucial series against Arizona

In a vital series to keep its chances of making the Big 12 tournament alive, Houston baseball took two out of three games against Arizona for its second Big 12 series win of the season at Hi Corbett Field May 8-10. 

The Cougars now sit at 6-21 in conference play, three games off a spot in the tournament, with Texas Tech sitting in the 12th and final spot at 9-18.

Hoffman’s “Iron Man” performance helps secure series opener for Cougars

Thanks to one sophomore right-handed pitcher Kendall Hoffman’s longest outings of the season, Houston set the tone early to claim the series opener 7-4 on Friday.

Hoffman had an “Iron Man” performance for his third win of the season, tossing 112 pitches and striking out six batters, while giving up three earned runs on eight hits in seven innings, including a single-run score from freshman first baseman Tony Lira in the first and an RBI groundout off of senior catcher Beau Sylvester in the third.

His outing allowed the Cougars to gain early separation in the match, scoring four runs in the first three innings, with sophomore outfielder Xavier Perez and junior first baseman Riley Jackson contributing with two RBIs and two runs scored each.

Houston created further separation against the Wildcats with a three-run inning at the top of the sixth, with sophomore infielder Jackson LaLima hitting an RBI double to right field and senior infielder Tyler Cox with a two-run double to give the Cougars a 7-2 lead.

Arizona would not bow down just yet, with back-to-back RBI scores from Lira and Beau to cut the deficit. 

But the comeback was stopped by senior left-handed pitcher Ryne Rodriguez, striking out two batters and allowing just one hit in 1 ⅔ innings of work for his fourth save of the season.

For the Wildcats, junior right-handed pitcher Owen Kramkowski received the loss to fall to 1-7. In 5 ⅓ innings, he gave up six earned runs on nine hits while striking out two batters.

Houston survives “marathon” to clinch the series

Following 13 grueling innings and over 40 hits, RBI scores from LaLima and junior outfielder Tre Broussard were enough to give Houston the 7-5 win and the series on Saturday.

After Jackson got the “marathon” started with a solo blast in at the top of the second, Arizona took over at the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back RBI scores from freshman infielder Cash Brennan and senior infielder Mathis Meurant, as sophomore outfielder Carson McEntire capped it off with a two-run home run to deep left field to make it 4-1 Wildcats.

But the Cougars were not fazed, as senior designated hitter Cade Climie launched a three-run long ball to deep left field in the top of the seventh to tie it at four apiece. The hit was crucial as well, as neither team could score a winning run after nine innings.

After scoreless innings in the 10th and 11th, Clime seemed to give Houston the win at the top of the 12th with an RBI double to left-center field to lead 5-4. But senior designated hitter Maddox Mihalakis swung his pitch down the right field for an RBI triple to tie the game up once again.

But Rodriguez came through once again to get his second win of the season, allowing only one earned run on two hits and forcing four flyouts in 2 ⅓ innings of play, which allowed the offense to settle in and led LaLima and Broussard to bring in the winning runs.

Climie led the way at the plate, going 3-for-7 with four RBI.

For Arizona, junior right-handed pitcher Collin McKinney received the loss to fall to 3-6. In the final three innings of the game, he allowed three earned runs on seven hits while striking out three batters.

Arizona spoils Mother’s Day, takes the series finale

The Cougars didn’t leave Tucson unscathed, as the Wildcats took the Mother’s Day game 6-5 on Sunday to salvage the series finale.

Arizona began the scoring at the bottom of the second with freshman outfielder Jackson Forbes bringing in a run off a fielder’s choice, before freshman infielder Nate Novitske reached home plate off a fielding error committed by senior infielder Carsten Sabathia III. 

The Wildcats extended their total to four at the bottom of the third, with junior Andre Cain driving in a run off a sac fly and McEntire with a single-run hit to left field.

Houston came back in a big way at the top of the sixth with senior infielder Antonelli Savattere hitting an RBI single down center field, before Broussard brought himself after Perez was walked with the bases loaded. Sabathia then redeemed himself with a sac-fly RBI, followed by a two-run double from freshman outfielder Blake Fields to give the Cougars a 5-4 lead.

But it was Arizona’s turn to provide the winning runs, with Mihalakis hitting an RBI double to right field in the seventh followed by freshman catcher Joe Forbes launching a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall to take a 6-5 lead.

The Cougars looked to get final say, but thanks to senior right-handed pitcher Patrick Morris, who gave up only two hits for his second win of the season, the Wildcats held firm toward the end.

For Houston, freshman right-handed pitcher Caleb Kimble received his first loss of the season, giving up two earned runs on two hits in the seventh and eighth innings.

Before their final Big 12 weekend series against Arizona State on May 14-16, which will determine their fate of making the conference tournament, the Cougars will look to gain further momentum when they once again take on Rice in the third game of the Silver Glove Series on Tuesday, May 12 at Schroeder Park at 6:30 p.m.