University of Houston
San Diego
Baseball Swept at No. 22 San Diego on Sunday
3/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 18, 2007
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. - No. 22 San Diego jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first three innings and never looked back in taking an 8-3 win over the University of Houston baseball team Sunday during the final of a non-conference series at Cunningham Stadium.
The Cougars, who were swept in a non-conference series on the road for the first time since dropping three straight at Arizona State in 2006, pulled to within 3-2 after scoring a pair of runs in the fifth inning. But the Toreros answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take control of the game.
Making his first weekend start since his freshman season in 2004, righthander Shea Hancock collected the loss and fell to 1-1 after giving up four runs off six hits with three strikeouts in four innings.
USD starter Ricardo Pecina earned the win and improved to 4-2 after limiting the Cougars to two runs off four hits with a strikeout in six innings.
UH infielder Ryan Lormand went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Cougars, who were outhit 13-5 in the game.
Shane Buschini went 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs to lead San Diego, while Jordan Abruzzo batted 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Josh Romanski batted 2-for-3 with a triple, while Sean Nicol finished 2-for-4 with a double and solo home run. Kevin Hansen also finished 2-for-3 with a run in the winning effort.
With the loss, the Cougar fell to 11-12 overall, while San Diego improved to 18-9.
The Cougars continue their road swing and, more importantly, open Conference USA play next weekend when they travel to Orlando, Fla., to face UCF in a three-game series. That series opens with 5:30 p.m. (CDT) games on both Friday and Saturday, before wrapping up at noon (CDT), Sunday at Jay Bergman Field.
Cougar Baseball games can be heard live on UHCougars.com with former Cougar letterwinners Nick Torina and Pat Cauley calling all the action. Fans 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 Toreros struck for the game's first run in the second inning when Nicol's two-out, solo homer cleared the wall in left field.
USD loaded the bases with two outs in the third inning and plated two more runs on Buschini's two-run single up the middle.
The Cougars put their first mark on the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Chris Joseph was hit by a pitch with one out and moved up a base following Zak Presley's walk. Lormand then lined a single into left center to plate Joseph and moved to second following a USD error in the outfield. Bryan Tully then reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop, and Lormand was tagged out in a rundown between second and third but not before Presley scored from third base to pull the Cougars to within 3-2.
But the Toreros answered the next half inning with three runs of their own, thanks to Justin Snyder's sacrifice fly, Abruzzo's one-out, RBI-single past a drawn-in Cougar infield and Daniel Magness' two-out, RBI-single.
The score remained that way until the seventh inning when the Cougars pulled to within 6-3. Pinch hitter Felix Fanaselle drew a one-out walk and moved up a base following Presley's walk. Lormand then lined a shot that was misplayed in the USD infield, allowing Fanaselle to score from second base.
Again, the Toreros answered in the next half inning, scoring runs on Abruzzo's RBI-single to center field and Buschini's triple to right center.
