Baseball Rolls Past Marshall in Series Finale on Sunday

May 16, 2010

HOUSTON - University of Houston starting pitcher Eric Brooks allowed only one run with a career-high six strikeouts in 7.2 innings to help lead the Cougars to a 10-1 win during the finale of a Conference USA series against Marshall on Sunday at Cougar Field.

Brooks, who improved to 5-2 this season, did not allow any runs until the eighth inning as the Cougars built a 6-0 lead. The freshman righthander scattered eight hits during his career-long outing and allowed only one baserunner past second base through the first seven frames.

Meanwhile, the Cougar offense pounded out 11 hits in the contest and seized control of the game early with four runs in the second inning. Freshman M.P. Cokinos led the way, going 3-for-5 with a run and RBI, while senior catcher Chris Wallace batted 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Junior outfielder Caleb Ramsey batted 2-for-5 with a run, and junior shortstop Blake Kelso finished the day 2-for-5 with a run, RBI and stolen base.

With the win, the Cougars won the regular-season series against the Herd and improved to 22-28 overall and 9-12 in C-USA games. Marshall ended the C-USA regular season with a 12-12 mark in league games and a 23-28 overall mark.

Marshall outfielder Kurt Lipton was the only member of the Herd with multiple hits, batting 3-for-4 with a double and the team's lone run.

Marshall starter Arik Sikula collected the loss and fell to 6-4 after surrendering six runs (five earned) off eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

Houston jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, taking advantage of four runs and a pair of Marshall errors. Zak Presley and Cokinos led off with back-to-back singles, and Presley advanced to third following the first Herd miscue. Wallace then lined an RBI-single into left field to plate Presley for the first run.

After another Marshall error on Austin Gracey's sacrifice bunt attempt, Ryan Still grounded out to second, allowing Cokinos to score from third. Wallace later scored on a wild pitch, and Kelso's RBI-single to center field scored Gracey for a 4-0 Houston lead.

The Cougars padded their lead in the fifth inning with a pair of runs. Ramsey reached on a one-out single to left and advanced to second when Presley reached on a fielder's choice. Cokinos then brought Ramsey in with a looping single into center field. With runners on the corners, Cokinos was caught in a rundown trying to steal second but the play allowed Presley to score from third for a 6-0 Cougar advantage.

The scored remained that way until the eighth inning when both teams put marks on the board. In the top of the frame, Eric Semeniuk's RBI-single to center field plated Lipton who led off with an infield single. The Herd continued to threaten, loading the bases with two outs, but reliever Matt Creel forced Alfredo Brito to ground out to end the rally.

In the bottom of the frame, Wallace led off with a towering opposite-field shot to right field. The rally continued as Jake Runte drew a walk, moved to second following a groundout and scored on a Marshall error on Still's fly ball. After Kelso's infield single, Matt Murphy lifted a sacrifice fly into center field to score Still. Kelso then scored easily on a wild pitch for the final margin of victory.

UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
The Cougars wrap up their 2010 regular season home schedule when they play host to No. 21 Rice at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, at Cougar Field in the finale of the Silver Glove Series.

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

From there, the team heads to Greenville, N.C., to close out the regular season with a three-game series at C-USA rival East Carolina. The Cougars must perform well against the Pirates to secure their berth at the 2010 C-USA Championship, hosted by Houston at Cougar Field on May 26-29.

The top six teams in the final regular-season standings qualify for the four-day postseason event.

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