Baseball Splits C-USA Twinbill vs. Marshall on Saturday

May 15, 2010

HOUSTON - Outfielders Joel Ansley and Zak Presley each rapped out three hits to help lead the University of Houston baseball team to an 11-6 win against Marshall in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Cougar Field.

In the nightcap, the Thundering Herd jumped out to a 3-1 lead through six innings and held off a late Cougar rally to take a 5-3 win and split the twinbill.

UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
The series wraps up at 10 a.m., Sunday at Cougar Field. Fans should note that Sunday's starting time was moved up due to the threat of weather later in the day.

In the finale, Houston's Eric Brooks will make his seventh start this season against Marshall's Arik Sikula. Brooks is tied with a team-leading four wins and a 7.78 ERA. Sikula is making his seventh start this season and is 6-3 with a 3.41 ERA.

Live stats and the live audio broadcast will be available for all three games of the series by logging on to UHCougars.com. The live video stream will also be available on the Houston athletics web site.

With the changes to the schedule, the Cougars also made alterations to their Senior Day plans. Instead of Saturday night, the Cougars will honor their four seniors prior to Sunday's series finale at 9:30 a.m. Houston will honor the four members of the 2010 senior class: William Kankel, Barry Laird, Zak Presley and Chris Wallace.

GAME ONE

In the first game, all but one starter recorded at least one hit as the Cougars pounded out 16 hits. The Cougars scored two runs in each of the first two innings and never trailed in the contest.

Ansley went 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs, while Presley batted 3-for-4 with two runs and a pair of RBIs. Left fielder Caleb Ramsey, DH M.P. Cokinos and second baseman Ryan Still also rapped out a pair of hits apiece.

Houston starter Michael Goodnight earned the win and improved to 5-7 after limiting the Herd to five runs (four earned) off seven hits and five walks with seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings.

Reliever Chase Dempsay collected his first save of the season after allowing one run off two hits with a strikeout in 2.1 innings.

Marshall starter Ian Kadish collected the loss and fell to 2-6 after giving up seven runs (five earned) off 10 hits and two walks in 4.1 innings.

The Cougars struck for the game's first runs in their first at-bat. After reaching on a one-out fielder's choice, Ansley moved to second following Ramsey's single to right and scored easily when Cokinos slapped an RBI-single into right field. Presley followed with an RBI-single to right field to plate Ramsey for a 2-0 Houston lead.

Houston added two more runs in the next frame, thanks to three hits and another Marshall miscue. Chris Wallace and Ryan Still reached on back-to-back 1-out singles, and Blake Kelso loaded the bases after reaching on catcher's interference. Ansley then laced a single into center field to plate Wallace, and Ramsey's sacrifice fly to center field scored Still for a 4-0 Cougar advantage.

Marshall put its first marks on the scoreboard with three runs in the fifth inning off RBI-doubles from Ben Jurevicius and Victor Gomez and the first Cougar miscue of the game.

However, the Cougars answered in the next half inning with three runs of their own. Presley drew a leadoff walk and made his way all the way to third after Matt Creel's infield single and the Herd's fifth error of the game. Austin Gracey then laid down a bunt single to score Presley.

After Wallace's sacrifice bunt, Still smashed an RBI-single up the middle to score Creel, and Blake Kelso's sacrifice fly to right field plated Gracey to push the Cougar lead to 7-3.

Houston padded its lead to 8-3 in the sixth inning. Ramsey led off with a single to right field and moved all the way to third on Cokinos' single to right. The Houston native then scored easily on a Marshall wild pitch.

In the seventh inning, Gomez blasted a two-run homer to left center to bring the Herd to within 8-5.

Houston built its lead back to 9-5 in the seventh when Ansley's RBI-single took a fortunate bounce in the infield, allowing Still to score from third.

The Cougars added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Cokinos drew a leadoff walk, and pinch runner Taylor White moved to third after a pair of Marshall passed balls. Presley then drilled an RBI-single into center field.

Presley moved to third following a wild pitch and stolen base and scored on Wallace's sacrifice fly to center field. In the top of the ninth, Alfredo Brito's pinch-hit RBI single to left scored James Lavinskas but that would be as close as the Herd would get.

GAME TWO
For the second straight game, the Cougars jumped ahead in the first inning, courtesy of a two-out rally. After a walk to Presley, a hit from Cokinos and a wild pitch put runners at second and third, Ramsey slapped a single into left to score Presley for a 1-0 Cougar lead.

Marshall wasted little time in tying the game in the next half inning when Josh Valle's groundout plated Rhett Stafford from third base.

The Herd then took its first lead of the series in the third inning with a two-out rally. Kurt Lipton started it with a single to right and gave Marshall a 2-1 lead on Gomez' double off the right field wall.

The score stayed that way until the seventh inning when Marshall took advantage of Lipton's two-out RBI-single to right to score Kenny Socorro.

The Cougars answered in the bottom of the frame and pulled to within 4-2 when Ansley's triple down the right field line plated Wallace who led off with an infield single.

In the eighth inning, Kenny Socorro's safety squeeze scored Rhett Stafford, who led off the frame with a walk.

The Cougars threatened in the bottom of the ninth, scoring a run on Ramsey's RBI-single through the right side and had runners on first and second. However, that would be as close as the Cougars would get.

Marshall starter Mike Mason earned the win after allowing only two runs off six hits with six strikeouts in seven innings. Reliever Austin Coan picked up his team-leading ninth save despite allowing a run off two hits and a pair of walks in the ninth inning.

Houston starter William Kankel picked up the loss and fell to 2-6 after giving up four runs off six hits and five walks with six strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

Gomez went 4-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBIs, while Kurt Lipton batted 3-for-4 with a run and RBI to lead Marshall.

Wallace went 2-for-3 with a run, while Ansley and Ramsey each went 2-for-5.

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