May 10, 2008

Final Stats

Complete Houston-Rice Game Book (May 10, 2008) in PDF Format

HOUSTON - No. 5 Rice erupted for eight runs during its final two at-bats to take an 8-1 win Saturday during the middle game of a Conference USA series at Reckling Park.

Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, the Owls took advantage of three hits and a costly UH infield error to score two runs and then broke the game open with six runs off four hits in the eighth to ice the game.

In the seventh, Jared Gayhart reached on a one-out single to right field and moved to second when J.P. Padron reached on a fielder's choice. Diego Seastrunk then lined a single into right field to tie the game at 1-1, and after reaching third, Padron scored easily when freshman closer Chase Dempsay's throw to second base to retire Seastrunk sailed into center field.

The Owls put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth, scoring six runs in their final at-bat. Jimmy Comerota drove home the first run of the inning with an infield RBI-single. Pinch hitter Doug Simmons followed with a two-run double down the right field line. Seastrunk plated a pair of runs on a single up the middle before Aaron Luna delivered the final run of the frame on a single to shortstop.

Rice reliever Matt Evers collected the win and improved to 4-1 after retiring the lone batter he faced in the seventh inning. Closer Cole St. Clair picked up his fifth save after limiting the Cougars to only two hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts in the final two shutout innings.

Gayhart went 2-for-3 with two runs, while Seastrunk batted 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Chad Mozingo finished the day 2-for-5.

Freshman shortstop Blake Kelso and senior second baseman Ryan Lormand each went 2-for-4, while senior outfielder Jake Stewart batted 2-for-4 with a double and a run. Senior infielder Jimmy Cesario went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Cougar offense, which was outhit for the second straight game.

Dempsay picked up the loss and fell to 5-2 after surrendering seven runs (six earned) off five hits with a pair of strikeouts in only an inning of work. The loss snapped the Baytown native's career-best four-game winning streak.

The loss also spoiled the performance of sophomore righthander John Touchton, who did not pick up a decision but enjoyed his second straight quality start. The Kingwood native allowed only one run off five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 6.1 innings, retiring 10 of 11 batters midway through his stint.

With the loss, the Cougars fell to 30-20 overall and 11-9 in C-USA games. Rice improved to 38-11 overall and 17-3 in league games. The Owls also won for the third time in four games against the Cougars in 2008, clinching the Silver Glove Trophy for the eighth consecutive season.

The series wraps up at 1 p.m., Sunday. Righthander Matt Langwell is scheduled to take the mound for the Owls, while Houston head coach Rayner Noble had not announced his probable starter as of press time.

Fans can hear all 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 more than five innings, but the Cougars put the first mark on the scoreboard in the sixth inning. Stewart led off with a double down the left-field line and moved to third after Bryan Pounds smashed a fly ball to deep center field. Cesario then lined a single into left center to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.