University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Stephen F. Austin
Baseball Enjoys Shutout Win at Stephen F. Austin
4/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 15, 2008
Houston-Stephen F. Austin Game Book (April 15, 2008) in PDF Format 
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - University of Houston sophomore righthander John Touchton scattered four hits with a career-high six strikeouts in six shutout innings to help lead the 19th-ranked Cougars to a 5-0 win over Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday at Jaycees Field.
The Kingwood native retired 16 of the first 18 batters that he faced and did not allow any runners to reach second base until the sixth inning by which time the Cougars had built a 3-0 lead. Touchton struck out at least one batter in five of six innings, including each of the last four frames.
With the win, Touchton improved to 3-2 while making his second straight Tuesday start.
Relievers Barrett Bruce and Taylor Hammack tossed the final three shutout innings as the Cougars enjoyed their first shutout since a 7-0 win at Conference USA rival Tulane on April 20, 2007.
The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the third inning and added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to claim their fourth straight win over the Lumberjacks and the 22nd in the last 23 games.
Senior infielder Bryan Pounds went 3-for-5 with two runs, a double, home run and two RBIs to lead the Cougar offense, which outhit the Lumberjacks 7-5. Pounds also extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games. The Houston native became only the 13th player in UH history to enjoy at least two 10-game hitting streaks in the same season.
The Cougars also welcomed the return of junior infielder Jimmy Cesario, who made his first start since suffering a wrist injury against C-USA rival Rice on March 26 at Cougar Field. The Metairie, La., native finished the day 2-for-4 with a run
SFA starter Lance Luetge collected the loss and fell to 4-5 after giving up three runs off four hits and a walk in three innings.
Kai Kirby, Kevin Crabtree and Kevin Croft each went 2-for-4 for the Lumberjacks in the losing effort.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 23-12 overall, while Stephen F. Austin fell to 14-21.
The Cougars return to action at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, when they play host to Sam Houston State at Cougar Field. The Cougars look to sweep the regular-season series after taking a 14-8 win on March 12 in Huntsville.
Fans can hear all Cougar Baseball games live at UHCougars.com by clicking the appropriate links. Jeremy Branham will call the play-by-play action while former letterwinner Pat Cauley provides color analysis.
Fans always can follow live stats by clicking on the Gametracker link.
The Cougars grabbed the early lead in the second inning with a single run. Ryan Lormand led off with a double down the left-field line and moved to third following Cesario's single into left field. Chris Wallace then lined a single up the middle to plate Lormand for a 1-0 UH lead.
In the third inning, Blake Kelso drew a leadoff walk and came around to score when Pounds smashed a 2-1 offering off the top of the wall in left center.
The score remained that way until the sixth inning when the Cougars loaded the bases after a walk to Jimmy, Chris Wallace was hit by a pitch and Zak Presley reached on an infield single. After a wild pitch, Cesario raced in from third base to give the Cougars a 5-0 lead.
In the seventh inning, Pounds led off with a double to left field, moved to third following Bryan Tully's sacrifice bunt and scored on Lormand's sacrifice fly to left field.
