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Sports

UH snaps up three wins in series vs. Hawks

Dustin Kingsbury and Luis Flores help Houston light up score board three nights in a row 

by RONNIE TURNER
The Daily Cougar

If UH shortstop Dustin Kingsbury keeps on driving in runs with two-outs remaining in an inning, he might want to consider changing his middle name to "Clutch." It was Kingsbury's clutch two-out RBI-doubles in the third and fifth innings of Sunday's game against Monmouth that propelled the Cougars to a 6-0 win and a resounding sweep in their three-game series.

"If you're going to do big things, you have to do it a lot of times with two outs," head coach Rayner Noble said. "This weekend we did a fabulous job of getting the big hit with two outs. We need guys stepping forward, like Kingsbury did today. He did a great job."

Sunday's win over the Hawks (0-3) also produced a reversal of fortunes for freshman right-hander, who primarily catches, Luis Flores (1-1, 3.18), who put up a sterling pitching performance in his first start. Flores entered the game sporting a 6.75 ERA, but shut out Monmouth on two hits over six innings with a career-high nine strikeouts, confusing the Hawks with a crisp fastball and sharp breaking ball. His offense also provided good run support, led by Kingsbury who batted 3-of-4 with three RBIs and a stolen base. 

"It was my first start, so I just wanted to come out here and throw strikes," Flores said. "I just threw the ball, they swung and missed, (so) I kept on throwing it around the plate." 

The Cougars took care of business in the first two games of the series, knocking off the Hawks 9-1 on Saturday and 3-1 on Friday in the opener. In Saturday's victory, UH relied heavily on its bats, notching 12 hits, and got an efficient outing from Matt Farrington (1-2, 3.94 ERA) who settled down after early control problems, tossing six innings and allowing one earned run on four hits.

Friday's game was won mostly on pitching, largely due to the efforts of junior right-hander Brad Lincoln. Lincoln (2-1, 2.22 ERA) didn't give Monmouth much of a chance; he threw seven innings allowing five-hits and one run work en route to striking out a season-high 11 batters.

UH will take a short break before facing Lamar at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night in Beaumont. Sophomore right-hander Ricky Hargrove (1-0, 0.61 ERA) will probably get the start. 
 

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