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Houston Baseball Staying Hot As The Coogs Down Southern At Home, 16-7

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Baseball

University of Houston Baseball extended its season-long win streak to five games, defeating Southern 16-7 on Wednesday evening from Sanders Field at Schroeder Park.

The win streak is Houston's longest in non-conference play since winning six consecutive matchups from Feb. 22-March 4, 2022. Over the stretch, the Cougars (10-11) are outscoring opponents 37-19 with the five wins coming in a seven-day span. The loss dropped Southern to 5-14 on the season.
 
Right-handed graduate pitcher Braden Forsyth (1-0) earned the win in relief after striking out four in 2.0 scoreless frames. Cougar right-handed sophomore Kyle Ayers fanned nine and allowed a pair of runs in the start. Houston pitching struck out 15 batters and allowed just two extra-base hits. Southern starter Daren Smith (1-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in 3.0 innings.
 
Game Highlights

  • Ten different Houston batters combined to produce 17 hits including three-hit contributions from senior Brandon Uhse and sophomore Cameron Nickens with the top four in the order combining to go 9 for 18 with 7 RBIs.
  • The Jaguars collected eight hits but could not cash in when it matters most. Houston pitching held its opponents to 2 for 12 (.167) with runners in scoring position, 2 for 9 (.222) with two outs and .235 (4 for 17) with runners aboard.
  • Houston finished 8 for 20 (.400) with runners aboard, 6 for 16 (.375) with runners in scoring position and 5 for 14 (.357) with two away. Eleven different Cougars scored at least one run. The squad drew seven walks and struck out four times.

Player Highlights:

  • Cameron Nickens: 3 for 6, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR
  • Brandon Uhse: 3 for 5, 2 R
  • Alex Lopez: 2 for 4, 2 R, 2 RBI
  • Drew Bianco: 2 for 4, 2 R, 2 RBI
  • Kyle Ayers: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K
  • Braden Forsyth: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Key Innings:
3rd | Trailing 2-0, Houston evened things up with one swing of the bat. Sophomore Cameron Nickens clubbed his second home run in as many games, directing a game-tying, two-out, two-run home run over the left center field wall.
 
4th | Houston broke things open in the fourth, scoring seven runs on as many hits highlighted by a pair of home runs. Junior Justin Murray led off with his second home run in four games during a frame in which the Cougars sent 12 batters to the plate. Graduate student Drew Bianco, who moved his hit streak to four games, swatted a two-run homer over the center field fence. Juniors Alex Lopez and Anthony Tulimero added RBI-singles.
 
6th | Southern battled back in the sixth, scoring three times to trim its deficit to four runs but Houston returned a part of the favor in the home half, grabbing one run back on a Tulimero sacrifice fly following Nickens' one-out double and advancement to third on a wild pitch.
 
7th | The Cougars tacked on six more runs in the seventh, capitalizing on Southern miscues. Junior Jack Duffy registered a two-out, two-run triple as the Cougars batted around in the inning.
 
UP NEXT
Houston wraps its four-game homestand this weekend with matchups against Northwestern and UTA at Schroeder Park.