University of Houston
<B>UC IRVINE</B>
Baseball Falls in Series Finale to UC Irvine on Sunday
2/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 18, 2007
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HOUSTON - Junior infielder Ryan Lormand went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs to lead the University of Houston baseball team during an 11-5 loss to UC Irvine on Sunday afternoon in the finale of a non-conference series at Cougar Field.
The Cougars jumped out to a 4-2 lead through two innings, scoring four runs in the second, thanks in part to Lormand's two-run single and an RBI-single from Austin Goolsby. But UC Irvine answered with four runs of their own in the next half inning and broke the game open with five runs in the final three innings to sweep the non-conference series.
With the loss, the Cougars dropped to 3-5 overall, while the Anteaters improved to 7-2-1. The Cougars also suffered their first series sweep at home since falling to No. 25 Cal State Fullerton during the 2001 season.
UH starter Wes Musick collected the loss and fell to 1-2 after giving up six runs (five earned) off eight hits with three strikeouts in six innings.
UC Irvine reliever Thomas Calahan picked up the win and improved to 4-0 after holding the Cougars to two hits with five strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
Ben Orloff went 3-for-4 with a run and three RBIs to pace the UC Irvine offense, which outhit the Cougars 14-6. Cody Cipriano batted 3-for-4 with a double and two runs, while Matthews Morris went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Taylor Holiday and Bryan Peterson added two hits and two runs scored apiece.
The Cougars return to action at 7 p.m., Tuesday, when they wrap up their five-game homestand against McNeese State at Cougar Field. Fans can hear the game live on UHCougars.com with former Cougar letterwinners Nick Torina and Pat Cauley calling all the action. Fans also can follow live stats by clicking on the "Gametracker" link on the front page of UHCougars.com or on the Schedule and Results page off the Baseball main page.
The Anteaters struck for the game's first run in the first inning on Matthew Morris' RBI-single, the third of three straight two-out hits by UCI, and a miscue in the infield that allowed Bryan Petersen to score.
The Cougars answered in the bottom of the second with four runs off three hits. Josh Stirneman struck out but reached on a wild pitch, and Bryan Pounds followed with a walk. After a sacrifice bunt by Felix Fanaselle put runners on first and third, Austin Goolsby slapped a single up the middle to plate Stirneman and give the Cougars their first run of the game.
Zak Presley walked to loaded the bases, and Ryan Lormand laced a two-run single into left center to hand the Cougars their first lead and put runners on the corners. Lormand was then thrown out attempting to steal second base, but Presley raced in from third base to give the Cougars a 4-2 lead.
The lead would not last long as the Anteaters answered with four runs of their own in the next half inning. Bryan Petersen started the rally with a two-out RBI-single, and Tony Asaro provided the big blast with a three-run homer to left field to hand the Anteaters a 6-4 lead.
The score remained that way until the seventh inning when the Anteaters struck for three more runs, thanks to Taylor Holiday's RBI-triple, Ben Orloff's subsequent suicide squeeze bunt and an RBI-double by Matthew Morris.
In the eighth inning, Orloff slapped a two-run single up the middle for an 11-4 UC Irvine lead. The Cougars added a single run in the ninth inning on Chris Joseph's pinch-hit RBI-single into left field to score Fanaselle, but that would cap all scoring in the game.
