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Baseball Rallies for Big Win at Texas State on Wednesday
April 9, 2008
Houston-Texas State Game Book (April 9, 2008) in PDF Format SAN MARCOS, Texas - Trailing 8-7 entering the top of the eighth inning, the 19th-ranked University of Houston baseball team erupted for eight runs off eight hits to take a 15-9 win over Texas State on Wednesday during a non-conference game at Bobcat Field. In the eighth inning, freshman utility player Matt Murphy led off with a sharp single to right field and moved into scoring position following a passed ball. After moving to third on Tully's single to right field, Chris Wallace lifted a high fly ball into center field that fell between a pair of Texas State outfielders to tie the game at 8-8. Zak Presley's sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base. With the infield playing in, Blake Kelso lined a ground ball to Texas State third baseman Lance Loftin who threw the ball home but was unable to catch Tully, who slid in under the tag to hand the Cougars a 9-8 lead. After Texas State head coach Ty Harrington was ejected for arguing with home plate umpire Steve Curran, Jake Stewart blasted the first pitch he saw over the left-center wall for a 12-8 Houston lead. The Cougar rally continued as Bryan Pounds smashed a single to center field and moved to second base following Ryan Lormand's single through the left side. Felix Fanaselle then chopped an RBI-double over the head of Loftin at third base to score Pounds, and Murphy struck again with a two-run single that plated Lormand and Fanaselle for a 15-8 Cougar lead. Every Cougar starter rapped out at least one hit in the game with eight starters finishing with two hits. The Cougars finished with a season-high 15 runs and tied another high with 19 hits. Stewart finished the night 3-for-6 with home run and four RBIs, while Pounds batted 2-for-6 with a home run and two RBIs. Lormand batted 2-for-4 with a pair of runs, while Fanaselle went 2-for-4 with two runs, a double and RBI. Presley went 2-for-4 with a run, double, triple and two RBIs, while Kelso batted 2-for-6 with two runs, a double and RBI. Murphy went 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs, while Bryan Tully batted 2-for-5 with two runs. UH reliever Barrett Bruce won his fourth straight game and improved to 4-0 despite allowing two runs off two hits and a walk in one inning. Thomas Field batted 3-for-4, while Jonathan Farrow went 2-for-4 with two runs. Spenser Dennis batted 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs and four RBIs, while Jerry Cervantes finished the night 2-for-4. Elliott Babcock also batted 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs in the losing effort. Texas State reliever Eric Weaver collected the loss and fell to 0-2 after giving up three runs off three hits without retiring a batter. With the win, the Cougars improved to 20-11 overall and won their third straight game against Texas State. Texas State fell to 17-12. The Cougars continue their Conference USA schedule this weekend when they play host to Tulane in a three-game series at Cougar Field. Due to the expected high attendance throughout the series, fans are encouraged to arrive at the ballpark early. Fans should note that the starting times for Friday's and Saturday's games recently were pushed back to accommodate CBS College Sports live coverage of the games from Cougar Field. First pitch for the series opener Friday is slated for 7:21 p.m., following the pregame show on CBS College Sports, which begins at 7 p.m. Saturday's game, which also is being televised live, is slated for a 7:06 p.m., first pitch. Tom Hart will call the play-by-play action with former Major Leaguer Kevin Stocker providing color analysis. This marks the fourth straight season and the ninth time in the last 10 years that the Cougars will play at least one game on television. The series wraps up at 1 p.m., Sunday. Fans can hear Cougar Baseball games live at UHCougars.com by clicking the appropriate links. Jeremy Branham will call the play-by-play action while former letterwinner Pat Cauley provides color analysis. Fans always can follow live stats by clicking on the Gametracker link. It took only six pitches before the Cougars plated the game's first run. Kelso blasted the first pitch he saw to the wall in center field, and Stewart followed with a sharp single up the middle for a 1-0 Cougar lead. In the second inning, the Cougars pushed their lead to 4-0 as four of the first five batters reached safely. Fanaselle drew a leadoff walk, and after moving into scoring position following a groundout, moved to third following Tully's single through the left side. Austin Goolsby pushed an RBI-single into right field to plate Fanaselle and advanced to second when Tully raced to third base. Presley then lined a double down the left-field line to plate both runners. Texas State pulled to within a run in the bottom of the frame when Dennis blasted a three-run homer over the left-field wall. The Cougars pushed their lead back to two runs in the next half inning. Lormand drew a one-out walk and moved all the way to third following Fanaselle's single through the right side. Murphy then lifted a sacrifice fly into left field to score Lormand for a 5-3 UH lead. Texas State grabbed its first lead in the bottom of the third with three runs, courtesy of Dennis' infield RBI-single and a two-run double by Elliott Babcock. The Bobcats pushed their lead to two runs in the next half inning when Paul Goldschmidt launched a two-out, solo home run to left center. Pounds pulled the Cougars to within 7-6 to lead off the fifth inning after smashing a 1-2 offering over the wall in left center. In the sixth inning, Presley single-handedly ignited a two out rally. After launching a triple off the wall in left field, he knotted the game at 7-7 after a Bobcat passed ball. The Bobcats regained the lead in the seventh inning when Babcock's looping single into shallow center field plated Jason Martinson, who led off with a double to right field. Following the Cougars' eighth-inning outburst, the Bobcats added a single run in the bottom of the frame after Goldschmidt's ground ball allowed pinch runner Cody Gambill to score from third base. But that would be as close as the Bobcats would get the rest of the way.
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