University of Houston
UCF
Brown Leads Baseball in C-USA-Opening Win at UCF
3/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 23, 2007
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ORLANDO, Fla. - Junior righthander Aaron Brown limited UCF to only two unearned runs in eight innings to help lead the University of Houston baseball team to a 10-2 win in the opener of a Conference USA series Friday night at Jay Bergman Field.
Brown allowed only two runs off five hits with three strikeouts in a UH-season-best eight innings of work. The League City native retired 15 of 16 batters early in the game to set the tone as the Cougar offense continued to add to their lead. In addition, Brown held the first five batters in the UCF lineup to a combined 0-for-15.
Meanwhile, the Cougar offense took advantage of three hits, four walks and a hit batter to jump out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back in winning their third straight C-USA opener.
Senior infielder Dustin Kingsbury went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs while adding a game-high six assists from the field at third base. Senior first baseman Josh Stirneman batted 2-for-5 with a run and RBI, while freshman outfielder Zak Presley batted 3-for-3 with a run, stolen base and RBI to lead the Cougars, who outhit the Golden Knights 12-5.
UCF starter Brett Bordwine collected the loss and fell to 2-1 after surrendering five runs off three hits and four walks with a strikeout in only one inning of work.
UCF shortstop Eric Kallstrom batted 2-for-5 with a run, accounting for nearly half of UCF's hit total by himself.
With the win, the Cougars evened their season record at 12-12 and, more importantly, improved to 1-0 in C-USA play. UCF fell to 14-11 overall and 0-1 in C-USA games.
The series continues at 5:30 p.m. (CDT) Saturday before wrapping up at noon (CDT) Sunday. Most 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.
Redshirt freshman southpaw Wes Musick will make his team-leading eighth start when he takes the hill against UCF on Saturday. This season, the Lufkin native has compiled a 3-3 record with 28 strikeouts and a 3.76 ERA in 38.1 innings of work. He leads all Cougar hurlers in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched and ERA and ranks among the Top Five individual leaders in C-USA in the first three categories.
In his last start, Musick allowed four runs (two earned) off six hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks in eight innings during the middle game of the series at No. 22 San Diego on March 17. However, he did not pick up a decision as the Cougars rallied to tie the game in the ninth inning before falling 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth. His innings pitched total was the highest by any Cougar pitcher in 2007.
Saturday's game will be Musick's first career appearance against UCF.
UCF is scheduled to counter with sophomore southpaw Mitch Houck. This season, Houck has compiled a 1-4 record with 33 strikeouts and a 4.23 ERA in 27.2 innings.
The Cougars struck for the game's first runs in the first inning with five runs off three hits, four walks and a hit batter. Felix Fanaselle drew a one-out walk and moved into scoring position after Jimmy Cesario was hit by a pitch. Kingsbury then laced an RBI-single through the right side to plate Fanaselle. Stirneman followed with an RBI-single down the right-field line. Bryan Pounds and Presley followed with back-to-back, bases-loaded walks, and Ryan Lormand's RBI-single up the middle plated Luis Flores for the final run of the frame and a 5-0 UH cushion.
The score remained that way until the fourth inning when the Cougars added to their lead. Fanaselle led off with a double down the left-field line and moved to third following Cesario's bunt single. Kingsbury then lined another RBI-single through the right side to plate Fanaselle. After Stirneman reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases, Bryan Tully singled through the right side to score Cesario. Luis Flores then grounded into a double play but not before Kingsbury scored from third to hand the Cougars an 8-0 advantage.
UH pushed its lead to double digits in the fifth inning without the benefit of a hit. Presley walked to lead off, moved to second following a UCF error on a failed pickoff attempt and caught the UCF infield napping to steal third base. With the infield drawn in, Lormand hit a ground ball that was misplayed, allowing Presley to score, and moved to second base after UCF interference. Two batters later, Cesario laced a line drive into center field that was caught but allowed Lormand to score easily for a 10-0 UH lead.
UCF puts its first mark on the scoreboard in the seventh inning with a pair of unearned runs. Ryan Richardson reached on a two-out single and eventually came around from first base on a UH miscue in the outfield. Dwayne Bailey followed two batters later with an infield RBI-single that allowed Kallstrom to score and trim the Cougar lead to 10-2.
