University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Rally Falls Short to Texas Tech in Midland
3/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 23, 2004
MIDLAND, Texas - Josh Haney's leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted Texas Tech to a 12-11 win over the University of Houston baseball team on Tuesday at First American Bank Ballpark in Midland, Texas.
The loss spoiled a valiant comeback by the Cougars, who rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game. Trailing 11-8 and entering the final frame, UH started its rally when Kevin Roberts slapped a single to left field. Patrick Breen plated Roberts with his second triple of the evening, a line drive down the right field line.
After a Texas Tech pitching change, Rob Johnson pulled the Cougars to within a run when his RBI-single up the middle scored Breen. Johnson stole second base to move into scoring position and came around to score the tying run when pinch-hitter Thanos Papavasiliou laced an RBI-single up the middle.
In the bottom of the ninth, though, Haney worked his way to a 2-0 count and then blasted a Brandon Roznovsky offering over the center field wall to send most of the 5,463 fans in attendance into hysteria.
It was the second consecutive loss for the Cougars in their opponents' final at-bat. On Sunday, No. 18 Southern Miss rallied with single runs in the eighth and ninth inning to take the series victory.
With the win, the Red Raiders swept the regular season series after taking a 12-7 win in 11 innings over the Cougars on Feb. 14 during the second day of the Minute Maid Park College Classic.
Roznovsky collected the loss and dropped to 1-1 this season. Texas Tech reliever Steve Gooch improved to 3-0 with the win despite allowing a run off two hits and a walk in 0.2 innings of work.
Roberts went 4-for-4 with three runs to lead the Cougar offense, which outhit Texas Tech 14-12. Breen, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs, tied a UH single-game record with two triples, and Johnson batted 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Brett Logan also batted 2-for-3 with a pair of runs in the losing effort.
Haney, Jose Delgado, Michael Mask, and Ryan Andrews each had a pair of hits for Texas Tech, which pounded out seven extra-base hits in the game with four home runs.
The Cougars return to action this weekend when they host their first Conference USA series at Cougar Field against state rival TCU. The series begins with 7 p.m., games on both Friday and Saturday before wrapping up at 1 p.m., Sunday.
All three games can be heard live on KAXF 88.3 FM or over the Internet at www.UHcougars.com with Pat Cauley calling the action. Fans also can follow the action through live stats by clicking on the Gametracker at the bottom of the main page at www.UHCougars.com.
The Cougars erupted for four runs in their first at-bat. Travis Tully drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on Roberts' single and moved up another base on Brett Cooley's single. Breen then slapped a triple over the head over center fielder Michael Mask.
Breen scored two batters later on Patrick Gaylord's sacrifice bunt for a 4-0 Cougar lead.
However, that big lead would vanish in the next half inning. Dallas Braden's RBI-double down the left field line scored Delgado, who led off with a double. Mask then blasted a two-run homer to left field to bring the Red Raiders to within a run, and Josh Brady tied the game on the next pitch with a home run to left.
In the third inning, Matthew Coco blasted a two-out, two run homer to give Texas Tech a 6-4 lead.
UH cut that deficit in half with a single run in the fourth inning. Logan led off with a walk and moved all the way to third base on Brad Lincoln's single to center field. Dustin Kingsbury then grounded into a double play but not before Logan scored for a 6-5 Texas Tech lead.
In the fifth inning, UH regained the lead with two runs off a pair of hits. Roberts was hit by a pitch to lead off, stole second and moved to third on a fly ball to right field. Johnson then plated Roberts with an infield single and stole second base to move into scoring positions. Gaylord followed with a double down the right field line to give the Cougars a 7-6 lead.
After taking the lead in the fifth, Texas Tech broke the game open in the seventh on Cooper Fouts' two-RBI single to right center. UH answered with a run in the eighth when Logan scored on a TTU misplay in the outfield. That set the stage for the Cougars' rally in the ninth inning.
