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Baseball Rallies Before Falling One-Run Short in Extras

Houston Falls 8-7 in 10 Innings to Southern Miss at C-USA Championship

Landon Appling with record-tying performance
 
Landon Appling with record-tying performance
  
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FEATURE from Cougar Tracks Magazine: Overcoming the GRIND

Pruitt Named to ABCA South Central All-Region Second Team

May 24, 2012

Final Stats

FINAL
Southern Miss
(31-24)		 8   Houston
(17-35-1)		 7

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Southern Miss 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 8 13 0
Houston 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 2 0 7 13 1

W: Bradley Roney (2-1)
S: Chase Horn (1)
L: Mo Wiley (2-2)

PITCHING

Houston IP H R ER BB SO
Austin Pruitt 6.2 9 5 5 1 6
Mo Wiley 2.2 3 3 3 3 3
Aaron Stewart 0.2 1 0 0 0 0
Southern Miss IP H R ER BB SO
Jake Drehoff 6.1 7 4 4 2 3
Cameron Giannini 0.0 3 1 1 0 0
Bradley Roney 3.0 3 2 2 3 4
Chase Horn 0.2 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING

Houston AB R H RBI BB SB
Landon Appling 6 3 5 1 0 0
Michael Pyeatt 6 1 3 2 0 0
Codey Morehouse 4 1 2 0 0 0
Chase Jensen 5 0 2 1 0 0

NUMBERS OF NOTE

20 Landon Appling extends his reach base streak to 20 consecutive games with his single in the first inning on Thursday.

5 Appling tied a C-USA Tournament record with six other former players with five base knocks in a single game.

PEARL, Miss.—Suffering its second straight gut-wrenching loss at the C-USA Championship this season, the University of Houston baseball team fell 8-7 in 10 innings to Southern Miss at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.

The Cougars dropped to 17-35-1 this season, while the Golden Eagles improved to 31-24 with the win. 

Sophomore Landon Appling showed well in a career outing at the plate, producing a 5-for-6 effort, scoring three runs and driving in one. His five hits surpassed his previous high of three hits, which came on six different occasions. The five hits recorded by Appling tied a C-USA Tournament record in a single game with six other players. With his single in the first inning, Appling has now reached base safely in 20 straight games.

Houston connected on 13 hits. Following Appling in base knocks was freshman Michael Pyeatt with a 3-for-6 performance with a run scored and two RBI. Junior Chase Jensen (2x5, RBI) and senior Codey Morehouse (2x4, R) each added a two-hit effort, while freshman Price Jacobs (1x5, R) added a hit and junior Jacob Lueneburg (0x4, RBI) drove in a run.

Southern Miss jumped on board early with a three-spot in the third inning on two hits and two free passes. Down 3-0, Houston starter Austin Pruitt (6.2,9,5,5,1,6) settled in and began to shut the Golden Eagle hitters down in the fourth and fifth without issuing a hit.

The Golden Eagles used six hits over the sixth and seventh innings to add two insurance runs to go up 5-1 after Houston scored its first in the bottom of the sixth on a wild pitch. 

The Cougars made it a game in the seventh when it rallied to plate four runs and tie the game at 5-5. Seven straight Houston hitters reached base safely with one out to plate four, led by a two-run double by Pyeatt and RBI hits by Appling and Jensen.

All tied, Southern Miss plated runs in the eighth and ninth to go up 7-5. Houston was down to its last chance in the latter half of the frame when Appling opened the frame for his fifth hit. He was followed by singles off the bat of Pyeatt and Jensen to load the bases. The Cougars would plate Appling on a wild pitch and later Pyeatt on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Lueneburg. Southern Miss escaped the frame and forced extras after Houston left two on in the final frame.

A leadoff walk and two hits led to the game-winner for Southern Miss in the 10th.

Pruitt worked 6.2 innings as Houston’s starter, allowing five runs on nine hits and one walk with six strikeouts. Senior Mo Wiley (2.2,3,3,3,3,3) entered in the seventh for Pruitt. The righty would go on to suffer the loss, falling to 2-2 on the season after allowing three runs on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 2.2 innings of relief work. Junior Aaron Stewart (0.2,1,0,0,0,0) pitched the final two outs for Houston, surrendering one hit. 

Southern Miss’ Bradley Roney (3.0,3,2,2,3,4) earned the win in relief, while Chase Horn (0.2,0,0,0,0,0) picked up the save.

Houston Head Coach Todd Whitting Opening Statement
“The one thing about our team is that they never quit.  They’ve been kicked and knocked down as many games as I’ve ever seen, whether that be through losses or injuries, and they continue to play hard the last pitch.  I’ve got Mo Wiley playing with a broken jaw, I’ve got Codey Morehouse with a separated shoulder.  Guys are just gutting it out and playing through it.  They’re giving me everything they’ve got.  I can’t doubt their effort at all.  It just didn’t work out for us today.”

On the final game of the tournament against Memphis…
“We may end up playing a spoiler role.  For a bunch of seniors, it’s going to be the last time they ever get to put the Uni­versity of Houston uniform on.  That’s what I told them after the game.  I was really proud of them today.  Tomorrow is going to be their last crack in this program.  I told them to go out there and play for pride, and they have a lot of it.”

On the effort of senior pitcher Mo Wiley…
“He’s got a huge heart, and he loves the University of Houston.  That’s why I stayed with him as long as I did.  It would have been a great story for Mo Wiley as a year senior with a broken jaw to pick up a win in the conference tourna­ment.  You never know what could have happened.  We could have won today’s game and moved to the championship game due to that effort. It was a great story that didn’t quite work out.”

On the effort of sophomore center fielder Landon Appling (Tied C-USA Tournament record with five hits in a game)
“I’m really proud of Landon.  He’s progressed as much as anybody has since he stepped into the program.  Especially the last half of the season, he’s played really well.  He’s gone through some position changes playing second base some.  I think he is the best center fielder in our conference, maybe one of the best in the country.  There’s a lot to look forward to with him coming back at the top of our order next year.”

Sophomore Center Fielder Landon Appling
On the never-say-die attitude of the Houston Cougars… “The main thing I know about these guys is that nobody’s going to quit on our team.  We’re always going to play hard even if we are up 10 or down 10.  We’re always going to keep playing until the end. Once we get guys on base and we get a little momentum going, we get some confidence and someone steps up with a big hit.”

On the game Friday against Memphis…
“There’s no game you don’t want to win.  You don’t ever want to come out with any other attitude. It doesn’t matter if it’s for last place or first place in the conference.  We’re hoping to send a message for next year with a win.”

UP NEXT
Houston will wrap up the 2012 season on Friday against Memphis at 7 p.m. at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. at the C-USA Championship.  


 

 

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