University of Houston
Stephen F. Austin
Baseball Comeback Falls Short Against SFA, 11-7
4/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 21, 2009
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team couldn't complete the comeback against Stephen F. Austin Tuesday night, falling to the `Jacks 11-7 at Cougar Field.
Trailing 11-5 in bottom of the ninth, the Cougars attempted to rally with right fielder William Kankel reaching base on his third single of the night to set the table for first baseman Ty Stuckey, who blasted his first career home run to right field. The two-run shot brought UH to within four at 11-7, but they could climb no closer as SFA's Richard Folmer retired the next two batters to collect his seventh save on the year.
The `Jacks didn't wait long to get things started in the game's opening moments. On the second pitch of the game, leadoff hitter Zach Gardner sent the ball sailing over the left field fence for a home run and the early 1-0 lead.
A five-run top of the second put the `Jacks firmly in control of the contest as they held a 6-0 advantage until the Cougar offense finally awoke in the home half of the fifth.
After back-to-back singles by the top two hitters in the UH line-up, Zak Presley and Blake Kelso, the Cougars were finally able to make their mark on the scoreboard with two runs courtesy of a sac fly from Caleb Ramsay and a RBI single from Matt Murphy.
UH added a run in the bottom of the sixth to climb within three runs at 6-3 with a run-scoring single off the bat of Kelso. Stephen F. Austin put two runners in scoring position in the seventh inning and would go on to score Tanner Hines on a fielder's choice from Ryan Priest. They added two more runs to their inning total to pull ahead 8-3.
The Cougars scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Presley reached base on a walk, stole second base and scored on a Kelso single to left center. Caleb Ramsey followed that up with a triple to left center putting the Cougars within three entering the ninth. The Cougars couldn't stay within three runs, giving up three runs to the `Jacks in the top of the ninth.
Houston falls to 17-22 on the season and 1-1 against Stephen F. Austin.
LOOKING AHEAD
Houston will continue their home stand tomorrow against Lamar at 6:30 p.m. before traveling to Marshall for a weekend series. Friday's game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start. The series will continue at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday and conclude at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
