Sports
 

UH pitching falls apart against TCU

Mock pitches a gem in Game 1 but loses; Horned Frog bats explode for 18 in Game 3

by Tom Carpenter
The Daily Cougar

Texas Christian sent ten hitters to the plate and eight across it in the top of the ninth to salt away an 18-7 thrashing of the Cougars on Sunday at Cougar Field that gave the Horned Frogs a 2-1 series win.

"Our pitching, obviously, wasn’t very good today," UH baseball head coach Raynor Noble said. "The guys we put out there are a lot better than they showed."

Nathan Lindstrom/The Daily Cougar 

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UH pitcher Matt Varner and the UH pitching staff had no answers for Texas Christian on Sunday, as the Horned Frogs rattled off 18 runs in their defeat of Houston.

Sunday’s game featured more hits than a Paris Hilton Web site. TCU (17-9, 5-1 in Conference USA) pounded out 22 hits, including four home runs, while UH batters hammered 14 hits.

TCU first baseman Chad Hoffman, named Co-Hitter of the Week on March 22, continued to put the monster mash on C-USA pitching. Hoffman went 5-5, including a towering home run in the top of the ninth, scored five runs and knocked in three runs to lead the 22-hit Horned Frog onslaught.

UH senior reliever Brandon Roznovsky fell to 2-2 after surrendering three runs off six hits in two and one-third innings.

"I felt like this was a critical game for events to come," Noble said. "But we just didn’t get the pitching and when you don’t get the pitching it’s tough to overcome."

UH freshman shortstop Patrick Gaylord went 3-4 to lead the Cougar hitters. Sophomores Travis Tully and Kevin Roberts, freshman Brad Lincoln and senior Patrick Breen had two hits apiece.

The Cougars (9-17, 2-4 USA) took Game 2 of the series Saturday when they scored six runs in the first three innings on their way to a 9-2 win. Junior Rob Johnson belted a three-run homer in the first to lead the Cougar’s season high 15-hit barrage.

That was enough for right-hander Lincoln (2-1) to notch his second win of the campaign.

Junior Garrett Mock (1-5) pitched the Cougar’s first complete game of the season Friday, yielding one unearned run on four hits; but Horned Frog starter Clayton Jerome (6-1) did Mock one better by holding the Cougars scoreless to eke out a 1-0 victory in the series opener.

"We’re just trying everything we can to find out who can do it when the lights come on and we play," Noble said. "Some guys that were doing it earlier all of a sudden just quit doing it. We’re looking for guys who can pick up the ball club when they grab the ball and go out to the mound and get the job done.

"We’re capable of doing that," Noble said. "We’ve just got to go out there and do it."

The Cougars play No. 4 Rice at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Reckling Park in the third game of the Silver Glove Series. The Owls took the first game 8-4, but the Cougars bounced back 3-2 in the second game to tie the series.
 

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