University of Houston
<b>MEMPHIS</b>
Baseball Earns 7-4 Win over Memphis On Saturday
5/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 3, 2008
Complete Houston-Memphis Game Book (May 3, 2008) in PDF Format 
HOUSTON - University of Houston sophomore righthander John Touchton struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing only one run in seven innings to help lead the Cougars to a 7-4 win over Memphis in the middle game of a Conference USA series on Saturday at Cougar Field.
Touchton, who improved to 4-3 with the win, retired 17 of 18 batters midway through his stint as the Cougars built a 4-0 cushion through five innings. The Kingwood native struck out at least one batter in five of the seven innings he worked with a pair of strikeouts in each of the final two frames.
Brett Bowen's RBI-double in the sixth inning was the only blemish on Touchton's line, but the Cougar starter retired four of the last five batters he faced - including three by strikeout to win for the second time in his last three starts.
Touchton tied his career high innings pitched, equaling the mark set against C-USA rival UAB in 2007.
Freshman southpaw Ty Stuckey endured some tense moments in the ninth inning but picked up his third save after tossing a shutout final frame.
Meanwhile, the Cougar offense continued its recent torrid hitting, rapping out 12 hits with five doubles. All but one Cougar starter recorded at least one hit in the game with four players pounding out two hits apiece. Sophomore catcher Chris Wallace went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, while freshman DH Caleb Ramsey batted 2-for-4 with a run and double.
Senior second baseman Ryan Lormand went 2-for-5 with a double and a run, while senior outfielder Jake Stewart went 2-for-4.
Memphis starter Scott McGregor collected the loss and fell to 1-6 after allowing four runs (two earned) off nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts in seven innings.
Outfielder K.K. Chalmers batted 2-for-5 , while Trey Wiedman went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Tigers, who posted eight hits in the loss.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 29-18 overall and 10-7 in C-USA games and surpassed their win total from the entire 2007 season. UH also won its 17th consecutive home game against the Tigers dating back to 1998. Memphis fell to 16-30 overall and 4-12 in league games.
The series wraps 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 southpaw Brach Davis is scheduled to throw for Memphis. Senior righthander Bryan Tully is scheduled to make his first start on the mound for the Cougars.
The Cougars put the first mark on the scoreboard in the first inning. Blake Kelso lined a single into left field to lead off and moved all the way to third base following two wild pitches. Bryan Pounds then lifted a high pop-up that was misplayed in the Memphis infield, allowing Kelso to score and hand the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
The score remained that way until the fourth inning when the Cougars pushed three more runs across. Lormand led off with a double down the left-field line and moved up after Tully was hit by a pitch. Following a Zak Presley sacrifice bunt, Wallace lined a double down the left-field line to plate both runners. Wallace moved to third following Memphis' second infield miscue of the night and scored easily when Kelso grounded out to shortstop.
In the sixth inning, the Tigers cut into the Cougar lead with a two-out rally after Brett Bowen's double to right center plated Chad Zurcher.
Memphis pulled to within a run in the eighth inning on a balk that scored Chalmers and Wiedman's RBI-single. The Tigers continued to threaten with runners on second and third, but UH reliever Chris Wright struck out Tyler Huelsing and Cole Shelton to end the inning.
That would be as close as the Tigers would get the rest of the night. The Cougars struck for three runs in the bottom of the frame for the final margin of victory. Presley led off with a double down the left field and, after a walk to Wallace and single by Ramsey loaded the bases, scored on a wild pitch. Stewart was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Bryan Pounds reached on a fielder's choice that plate Wallace.
Jimmy Cesario then lined a double down the right-field line to plate Ramsey and hand the Cougars a 7-3 advantage.
In the ninth inning, the Tigers again threatened, scoring a run on Zurcher's sacrifice fly to right field. But with runners on the corners and the tying run at the plate, Stuckey struck out Bowen to end the game.
