University of Houston
<b>MEMPHIS</b>
Cesario Home Run Lifts Baseball Past Memphis on Friday
5/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 2, 2008
Houston-Memphis Game Book (May 2, 2008) in PDF Format 
HOUSTON - University of Houston junior infielder Jimmy Cesario blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the Cougars to a 7-4 win over Memphis on Friday during the opener of a Conference USA series at Cougar Field.
After the Tigers tied the game with two runs in the seventh inning, the Cougars used a one-out rally to win their 16th straight home game against Memphis in Houston. Senior outfielder Jake Stewart started the rally with a sharp single to left field and moved all the way to third base on senior third baseman Bryan Pounds' single through the right side.
After working to a 2-2 count, Cesario smashed his fifth home run over the wall in right field for the final margin of victory.
The Cougars used the long ball throughout the game. Freshman shortstop Blake Kelso led off the Cougar first inning with a home run to right field, becoming the first Cougar since Stewart against C-USA rival Marshall to lead off a game with a home run. Stewart added a solo home run in the third inning, recording his fourth long ball in the last five games and pushing his team-leading total to 13 home runs.
That would be all the run support that freshman closer Chase Dempsay would need, although the Tigers staged a rally of their own. After two quick outs to start the top of the ninth, K.K. Chalmers and Chad Zurcher drew back-to-back walks to bring the tying run to the plate. But Dempsay struck out Brett Bowen to end the threat and extend his UH freshman record to eight saves.
Junior reliever Chris Wright collected the win and improved to 1-0 after pitching a shutout eighth inning with two strikeouts.
Stewart went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, while Cesario batted 2-for-4 with a game-high three RBIs. Senior second baseman Ryan Lormand and senior outfielder Bryan Tully each batted 2-for-4 with a run, while sophomore catcher Chris Wallace finished with two RBIs.
Memphis reliever Marcus Barnes picked up the loss and fell to 1-4 after allowing three runs off four hits and a walk with two strikeouts in two innings.
Memphis first baseman Trey Wiedman went 2-for-4 with a two-run, first-inning homer, while second baseman Eric Farrell batted 2-for-4 to lead the Tigers, who posted eight hits.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 28-18 overall and 9-7 in C-USA games. The Cougars also equaled their win total from the entire 2007 season. Memphis fell to 16-29 overall and 4-11 in league games.
The series continues at 6:30 p.m., Saturday before wrapping up at noon, Sunday. Fans should note that Sunday's starting time recently was moved up to accommodate Memphis' travel plans and may differ from earlier published schedules.
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.
Sophomore righthander Scott McGregor is scheduled to throw for Memphis. UH head coach Rayner Noble had not announced Saturday's probable starter as of press time.
The Tigers struck for the game's first runs in the first inning when Wiedman smashed a two-run homer to left center.
The Cougars used the long ball in the bottom of the inning when Kelso led off with a home run to left field. He became the first player since teammate Stewart against Marshall on March 26, 2006 to lead off with a home run.
The Cougars grabbed their first lead in the second inning with two runs. After back-to-back, leadoff singles by Lormand and Tully, Presley's sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base. Wallace then lined a single up the middle to plate both runners for a 3-2 lead.
In the third inning, the Cougars pushed their lead to 4-2 when Stewart led off with a home run to left center.
The score remained that way until the seventh inning when the Tigers tied the game at 4-4 off Chris Newsom's one-out, solo home run to left field and a sacrifice fly from Chad Zurcher that scored Chris Kirkland.
