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Sports

Toreros win series 2-1

San Diego, rain challenge Cougars; Tully wins third game with home run

by RONNIE TURNER
The Daily Cougar

The UH baseball team entered Sunday's game against San Diego at Cougar Field looking to avoid being swept in their three-game series, but towards the end, the Cougars found themselves trying to avoid another enemy: the rain.

The two teams entered the bottom of the ninth tied 2-2 with extra innings and dark clouds looming on the horizon, but UH sophomore centerfielder Bryan Tully ended the threat with one swing of the bat, a walk-off solo home run to left field off a hanging curveball from San Diego sophomore reliever Russell Holzhauer, with one out that sent the Cougars to a 3-2 win.

"It was a couple of tough games on Friday and Saturday, (but) I'm really proud of our team for hanging in there," head coach Rayner Noble said. "The last game of the series is sometimes the most critical one, especially if you've lost the first two games."

The hitting has been slow to come around for the Cougars (13-11), but the pitching has not. Over the weekend, the starters posted a 1.78 ERA over 25.1 innings, a performance capped by freshman Luis Flores' efficient outing on Sunday. Flores received his third straight no-decision after tossing 8.1 innings and allowing two runs on nine hits. Junior reliever Clayton Boone (2-1, 3.55 ERA) was awarded the win after tossing a scoreless two-thirds of an inning, while Holzhauer (2-2, 8.22) took the loss.

"I feel very good about our starting pitching," Noble said. "Our bullpen is okay, and I think it'll be good enough if we just use guys the right way. It's just a matter of getting some offense and getting (injured) second baseman Isa Garcia back in the lineup."

Saturday's game showcased a pitching duel between UH starter sophomore Ricky Hargrove and San Diego junior starter Josh Butler, but the Toreros (15-10) managed to scratch out runs in the fourth and ninth innings en route to taking a 2-0 victory. Butler (5-2, 0.72) went the distance in the shutout, allowing only five hits and striking out nine batters. Hargrove (2-2, 1.85) took the loss despite a strong outing, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts in a career-best 8.2 innings.

On Friday night, the two teams battled to a 4-4 tie until the top of the 11th when San Diego took advantage of junior Jake Stewart's error to score five runs and win 9-4. Sophomore Scott DeNault (1-0, 4.66) picked up the victory after tossing a scoreless tenth. Sophomore Aaron Brown (1-2, 3.79) was charged with the loss after going 2.1 innings and allowing three runs (all unearned) on four hits. 

UH will take a day off before facing off against Texas A&M at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Cougar Field.

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