Hi 80 / Lo 57
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Volume 72, Issue 132,
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Sports Joseph takes one on the chin against A&M Cougars lose their third consecutive game; record falls to 19-17 by RONNIE TURNER
There may not be a member of the Cougars baseball team unluckier than freshman left-hander Donnie Joseph. Almost nothing has gone his way this season. Joseph, who began the week as the only member of the starting rotation without a victory, couldn't find his way into the "W" column against Baseball America No. 16 Texas A&M on Tuesday night, either. The Aggies knocked him around and sent him packing early in the Cougars' 8-3 loss at Olsen Field in College Station. Unlike his five-inning, one unearned run outing against Texas A&M on Feb. 10, Joseph (0-1) never stood a chance. The Aggies (31-8) tagged him for six runs (five earned) on eight hits and three walks. Joseph was pulled from the game in the third inning and replaced by junior right-hander Shea Hancock. Play was halted with two outs in the bottom of the third after lightning and rain detected in the area forced the two teams to retreat back to their respective dugouts. At the time, Texas A&M had built up a commanding 6-2 lead. When the contest resumed after a 1-hour, 5-minute rain delay, the Cougars still couldn't find any offensive rhythm. They scuffled around for the next four innings against Aggie reliever Scott Migl (5-1), before finally scratching a run across the scoreboard in the ninth. That would be all the offense Houston (19-17) could manage en route to losing its third consecutive decision. Starting pitching has been the Cougars' downfall during this losing streak, but there was no reason to think that Joseph would fall in this line. He had tossed four shutout innings against Stephen F. Austin on Apr. 10, and had overall pitched decently in his last two starts. However, Joseph's outing on Tuesday was ill-fated from the start. The Aggies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, capitalizing on two errors committed by Joseph. The Cougars got a run back in the top of the second after sophomore catcher Luis Flores cracked a solo home run to left field. Texas A&M outfielder Ben Feltner pushed the Aggies' lead back to two with an RBI-single in the bottom frame. The Cougars cut the deficit in half after scoring a run in the top of the third. After that, things started to unravel for Houston. The Aggies scored three runs in the bottom half to move ahead by four, taking advantage of three hits, two walks, a passed ball and a wild pitch. Aggie second baseman Parker Dalton drove in the final run of the inning with an RBI-double to left-center. The frustration only kept rising for the Cougars, who continued to come up short at the plate against the Texas A&M bullpen. The Aggies tacked on insurance runs in the fourth and seventh innings to seal the victory. Things boiled over in the bottom of the eighth when Houston skipper Rayner Noble was ejected from the game by first base umpire Doug Williams for arguing a call. Game notes Texas A&M has won 15 of its 24 meetings with Houston…Sophomore outfielder Jimmy Cesario went 2-for-4 with a double to extend his career-best hitting streak to 14 games and increase his team-leading batting average to .371…Tuesday's victory was the Aggies' eighth in their last 10 contests…This season, the Cougars have a 2-8 record in games against opponents ranked in the Top 25. Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu |
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