University of Houston Athletics
Houston Baseball Team Falls To Rice, 3-2
5/9/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 9, 2001
Houston, TX - For the fifth-straight time this season the University of Houston baseball team out-hit nationally-ranked Rice in its head-to-head games for the Sterling Bank Silver Glove Trophy, but with slightly better timely hitting Wednesday night at Reckling Park that resulted a 3-2 Rice win, the Owls wrested the 2001 award from Houston's grasp.
Wednesday night the Cougars out-hit Rice 8-6, but a two-run homer by Owl outfielder Austin Davis in the fifth and his game winning RBI double in the seventh were enough to win the game and the five game series by the identical result of 3-2. For the full five games Houston outhit Rice .285 to .208 and the Cougars even outscored the No. 9 ranked Owls by a final margin of 25-21. UH might have done even more offensive damage but the freshman-heavy squad stranded a total of 42 men on base and was a composite 1-for-6 in bases-loaded situations during the series.
Houston struck first with two runs on three hits in the top of the first inning off senior All-American Kenny Baugh. Freshmen outfielders Michael Bourn and Gabe Lucas both singled and scored on a double by Chris Snyder. The Cougars however managed only five hits the rest of the way as Baugh and reliever Philip Tribe combined to hold UH scorless for the next seven frames.
Cougar senior Sean Allen slugged a base hit off reliever Philip Barzilla in the top of the ninth and he advanced to scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, but Barzilla preserved the win and earned his ninth save of the season. Houston fell to 28-24 on the year while Rice improved to 39-15.
After the contest junior Keith Whatley and sophomore Chris Snyder led a total of six Houston players to the All-Silver Glove Team. As a pitcher Whatley was 1-0 and he worked a total of 17.0 innings on the mound. He also hit for a .417 batting average with two doubles. Snyder led both teams with a .444 batting average, three doubles and a home run. UH freshmen Michael Bourn, Hyung Cho, Gabe Lucas and Thanos Papavasiliou were all named to the 2001 team. Rice honorees included Hunter Brown, Austin Davis, Billy Jacobson, Steven Herce, Philip Tribe and Philip Ghutzman.
Houston will next face C-USA rival South Florida on the road in Tampa for a three-game weekend series, May 11-13. First pitch on Friday is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Red McEwen Field on the USF campus.
College Baseball LinescoreHouston 200 000 000 -- 2 8 0Rice 000 020 10x -- 3 6 0
Keith Whatley, Bryan Harris (7), Nick Torina (8), Nathan Mitchell (9) andChris Snyder. Kenny Baugh, Philip Tribe (5), Philip Barzilla (9) and PhillipGhutzman. WP- Tribe (3-2). LP - Harris (3-2). Save- Barzilla (9). 2B- UH:Snyder, RU: Davis. 3B- UH: none, RU: Brown. HR- UH: none, RU: Davis (6).Time- 2:49. Att- 2,470. Team Records- Houston 28-24, Rice 39-15.
