Anna Sivadasan and
Mark Mayorga
Staff Writers
The No. 14-ranked Texas A&M Aggies wasted little time in snapping the UH baseball team's four-game winning streak Tuesday night at Cougar Field.
A&M double-dipped the Cougars, winning the first game by a score of 6-3 and the second game 7-4.
UH committed a combined six errors and numerous base- running mistakes that cost them in both games.
"When you give a team the caliber that they are numerous outs in each inning, they're going to take advantage of it and score a lot of runs, and that is what happened today," said Cougar head coach Rayner Noble.
In game one, UH sophomore lefty Alex Jackson (2-1) pitched his best game of the year (career-best seven innings, two runs), but it wasn't good enough as A&M's Chance Caple (5-0) went eight strong innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs in an extra-inning victory.
"I thought Chance Caple threw very well. He came here last year and didn't throw well. So it's good to see his maturity show a year later," said A&M head coach Mark Johnson.
UH played outstanding defense through seven innings in support for Jackson.
In the first inning, left fielder Brandon Caraway cut off a sure double down the line, holding designated hitter Daylan Holt to a long single and preventing A&M from scoring a run.
In the fifth inning, shortstop Shaun Skrehot made two fabulous back-to-back plays.
First going into the hole to rob Darren Heinrichs of a base hit, a batter later he stabbed a sharp shot off the bat of Steve Leonard and threw off balance to first to end the inning.
However, the Cougar defense failed the test in the pivotal eighth inning,
A&M scored five runs on four hits, and the Cougars aided the Aggie attack with three errors in the frame.
"When situations come around like that (errors), we need some plays in the clutch," said center fielder Mike Medrano.
In the bottom half of the eighth inning, shortstop Shaun Skrehot hit his first homer of the season, a two-run shot. But Caple retired Caraway, Bruce Rios and Medrano to end the game.
"We had that game won. We pretty much gave it to them," added Medrano.
In the second game, A&M first baseman John Scheschuk set the tone early, hitting starting pitcher Kyle Crowell's full-count, bases-loaded pitch over the right field wall for his fifth homer of the season and a 4-0 Aggie lead.
"We basically got into a hole early," said sophomore Shane Nance. "It's really tough to come back in a seven inning game."
Pitcher Robert Dieudonne came in to relieve Crowell, who was unable to retire the four batters he faced.
Dieudonne didn't get help from his defense. UH allowed three unearned runs to cross the plate in the top of the fifth inning, leading to a 7-1 deficit.
"We've basically got to do the little things to win and to get by teams like this," Caraway said. "Until we do that, we're just a ordinary or mediocre team."
The Cougars scored once in the third inning and rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Third basemen Kris Wilken hit a lead-off double and Justin Syfert followed with a single to left field. With one out and runners at the corners, Wilken was thrown out at home while attempting to score on a wild pitch.
After Skrehot walked, Brandon Caraway doubled in Syfert and Skrehot. Rios collected his second RBI of the game, bringing in Caraway from second base.
However, the UH rally was thwarted when A&M pitcher Clancy Fossum came in the game and struck out Jayme Sperring and Jason Pekar.
"Basically we shot ourselves in the foot," Rios said. "We didn't come out ready to play, we were low in our intensity and we didn't get after it like we should have."
Although UH is only three games over .500, A&M coach Johnson said the two wins were important for his team.
"Houston's a pretty good club, and to come in here and take two from them is great for our team," he said.
The Cougars fall to 16-13 and are now 4-9 against top 20 teams. UH will return to conference play when it begins a three-game series this Friday in St. Louis against the Billikens.