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Baseball Takes 6-4 Win at Sam Houston State on Tuesday
May 15, 2007
Houston-Sam Houston State Boxscore (May 15, 2007) in PDF Format HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Senior first baseman Josh Stirneman went 2-for-5 with a double and solo home run to help lead the University of Houston baseball team to a 6-4 win over area-rival Sam Houston State on Tuesday at Don Sanders Stadium. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Cougars scored six unanswered runs and appeared to have the game well in hand heading into the final frame. But the Bearkats pushed three runs across in the ninth inning and continued to threaten with the bases loaded, but reliever Aaron Brown hurled a strikeout to end the threat and the game. Stirneman was one of three Cougars who posted at least two hits in the win. Sophomore outfielder Jimmy Cesario batted 3-for-5 with an RBI, while freshman centerfielder Zak Presley went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI to lead the Cougars, who outhit SHSU 8-6. UH reliever John Touchton earned the win and improved to 5-6 after holding the Bearkats to only one hit in three shutout innings. Sophomore righthander Chris Wright threw two shutout innings, and sophomore righthander Barry Laird pitched a perfect eighth inning to lead the Cougars into the final inning. Brown collected his second save after pitching the final 0.2 innings with a strikeout, hit and walk.
Sam Houston State starter Matt Fry collected the loss and fell to 0-1 after giving up two runs off four hits and a walk with four strikeouts in three innings. Shortstop Jeremy Holzbach went 2-for-4 with a run, while Austin Boggs batted 2-for-5 with an RBI to lead the Bearkats. With the win, the Cougars improved to 28-23 overall while Sam Houston State fell to 33-20. The Cougars swept the regular-season series against the Bearkats after enjoying a 16-9 win on Feb. 13 at Cougar Field. UH, which won its 11th straight game against the Bearkats, also evened the all-time series against SHSU at 71-71. The Cougars had not been even with the Bearkats in the all-time series since standing at 10-10 in 1956. The Cougars wrap up their 2007 regular season later this week as they play host to Conference USA rival Southern Miss in a three-game series from the friendly confines of Cougar Field. That series begins with 7 p.m., games on both Thursday and Friday before wrapping up at 1 p.m., Saturday. Fans can hear Cougar Baseball games live on UHCougars.com with former Cougar letterwinners Nick Torina and Pat Cauley calling all the action. Fans always can follow live stats by clicking on the "Gametracker" link on the front page of UHCougars.com or on the "Schedule and Results" page off the Baseball main page. Fans should note that the Southern Miss series begins on Thursday instead of Friday as in other weekend series to help team travel plans to next week's C-USA Tournament in Greenville, N.C. Friday's game will be televised live on CSTV with Carter Blackburn calling the play-by-play action and Scott Pose providing color analysis. This will be the fourth time in 2007 that the Cougars have appeared on television with wins over No. 5 Rice and No. 23 Tulane before a setback to C-USA rival East Carolina. The Bearkats struck for the game's first run in the first inning when Todd Sebek drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk to force home Clint Mann. However, the Cougars answered in the next half inning when Stirneman launched an 0-1 offering over the right-field wall. In the third inning, the Cougars claimed their first lead. Felix Fanaselle drew a one-out walk and moved all the way to third base following Cesario's single down the left-field line. Dustin Kingsbury then laced a sharp ground ball up the middle that was misplayed, allowing Fanaselle to score for a 2-1 Cougar lead. The scored remained that way until the sixth inning when the Cougars doubled their lead. Stirneman laced a one-out double off the wall in left center and moved to third after a passed ball. After back-to-back walks to Luis Flores and Bryan Tully loaded the bases, Zak Presley reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Stirneman to score for a 3-1 UH advantage. In the seventh inning, Ryan Lormand led off with a walk and stole second base to move into scoring position. Two batters later, Cesario ripped an RBI-single through the right side for a 4-1 Cougar lead. One inning later, Tully was hit by a pitch to lead off and, after moving with the pitch, made it to third on Presley's slow roller through the right side. Chris Joseph then moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt down the first-base line. After a 23-minute delay for lightning in the area, Fanaselle smashed a two-out RBI-single through the right side for a 6-1 UH lead. In the ninth inning, the Bearkats sent nine men to the plate and scored three runs, courtesy of Keith Stein's RBI-single, a bases-loaded walk to Bobby Verbick and Boggs' two-out, RBI-single to right field. SHSU continued to threaten with the bases loaded and the tying run in scoring position, but Brown struck out Todd Sebek to snuff the rally. |
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