University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
18-24, 0
UAB
22-19, 0
Baseball Evens Series At UAB With 16-11 Win
5/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 1, 2010
Birmingham, Ala. - The University of Houston baseball team hit five home runs on their way to a 16-11 win against UAB to even the series Saturday afternoon at Young Memorial Field.
With the Cougars' five home runs, Houston now has eight through the first two games of the series. Matt Creel and M.P. Cokinos each hit a two-run home run to right field, Matt Murphy hit a solo shot to lead off the ninth inning and Chris Wallace turned in two.
With the Cougars trailing, 2-1, Creel pushed the Cougars to a lead in the fourth inning that they would never relinquish with a two-run home run just inside the right field foul line, plating Joel Ansley who reached on a lead-off walk. The home run was the first for Creel in a Cougar uniform.
Houston followed that with four runs in the fifth inning. Ryan Still led off with a walk before scoring on Zak Presley's single through the middle. Presley then advanced to second on a stolen base and scored on Caleb Ramsey's double to the left field fence. Ramsey would be thrown out at third base but that didn't hamper the UH offense. Ansley reach on his third walk of the afternoon and Cokinos plated the two runs on his home run to right field.
After going scoreless through the sixth inning, Wallace hit the third home run of the game to right field, scoring Ansley who reached on his fourth walk, to give Houston the 9-2 lead.
The Blazers posted a five-run seventh inning to pull within two, 9-7, before Chase Dempsay pitched pinch hitter Bradley Hicks into a bases loaded fly out to right field to end the inning. All five runs were unearned runs as a result of two Cougar infield errors. The Cougars would respond in the top of the eighth with two runs scored off a Presley double and a Ramsey triple with two outs on the board.
UAB cut into the deficit once again with one run in the bottom of the eighth but as they had done all afternoon, Houston had an answer. Murphy and Wallace hit back-to-back home runs to open the ninth inning and Austin Gracey scored on a wild pitch before Still and Presley scored on singles to right field.
The Blazers gave UH a scare in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs but Houston would be able to get out of the inning and hold on for the win.
Blake Kelso put the Cougars on the board in their opening at bat after reaching base on a walk and scoring on Presley's groundout to second base. Before the play, Kelso would move into scoring position on failed pickoff attempt at first base that moved him two bases.
Houston held UAB scoreless until the third inning, when the Blazers posted two runs on Luke Stewart's single to left field.
Ansley finished the contest going 1-for-2 at the plate with four walks and four stolen bases. He became the first Cougar since Michael Bourn did so in 2002 to steal four bases. Presley, Ramsey and Wallace added a combined seven hits and nine RBIs.
William Kankel pitched a career-long tying 6.2 innings to earn the win. He gave up just four hits on six runs with four of them unearned. Barry Laird, Chase Dempsay and John Cannon all turned in action in relief and Matt Creel earned his sixth save to close out the game.
UP NEXT
Game two of the doubleheader will begin at 3:15 p.m.
Following the series against UAB, Houston will return to Cougar Field for an eight-game home stand beginning May 7-9 against Tulane. It will continue against Texas A&M (May 11), Marshall (May 14-16) and concluding with Rice (May 18).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kankel, William (2-4)
L: Beau Pender (5-3)
S: Creel, Matt (6)
Batting:
2B: Presley, Zak 1 ; Ramsey, Caleb 1
3B: Ramsey, Caleb 1
HR: Cokinos, M.P. 1 ; Murphy, Matt 1 ; Wallace, Chris 2 ; Creel, Matt 1
RBI: Presley, Zak 3 ; Ramsey, Caleb 3 ; Ansley, Joel 1 ; Cokinos, M.P. 2 ; Murphy, Matt 1 ; Wallace, Chris 3 ; Creel, Matt 2
SH: Still, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kelso, Blake 1 ; Presley, Zak 3 ; Ansley, Joel 3 ; Cokinos, M.P. 1 ; Murphy, Matt 1 ; Wallace, Chris 2 ; Creel, Matt 1 ; Gracey, Austin 2 ; Still, Ryan 2
SB: Presley, Zak 1 ; Ansley, Joel 4 ; Gracey, Austin 2
CS: Ramsey, Caleb 2
Batting:
2B: Jonathan Merritt 1 ; Andrew Manning 1
3B: Jamal Austin 1
RBI: Jamal Austin 2 ; Nick Crawford 1 ; Jonathan Merritt 2 ; Luke Stewart 3 ; Andrew Manning 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jamal Austin 3 ; Nick Crawford 1 ; Jonathan Merritt 2 ; John Frost 1 ; Luke Stewart 1 ; Andrew Manning 2 ; Bradley Hicks 1
SB: Jamal Austin 1 ; Nick Crawford 1
