Saturday, April 30
Tampa, Fla.
9 a.m.
University of Houston
28-15, 9-5
13
at
2
USF
23-19, 4-10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Houston
0
0
2
7
0
2
2
13
16
0
South Florida
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
2
6
1
Cougars Crush USF in Run-Rule Victory
4/30/2022 11:39:00 AM | Baseball
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Houston struck for seven runs in the fourth inning and continued piling on, crushing South Florida 13-2 as part of a seven-inning run-rule victory in the middle game Saturday morning from USF Baseball Stadium.
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Houston (28-15, 9-5 American), which looks for its first American Athletic Conference series sweep at 9 a.m. CT Sunday, collected six hits in the fourth including a combined four RBIs from freshmen. Second baseman Brandon Burckel contributed a two-run double and left fielder Cameron Nickens crushed a two-run home run.Â
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The Cougars taxed the Bulls (23-18, 4-9 American) for 16 hits, tied for the most by the program against a league opponent this season. Nine different players logged at least one hit as Houston batted .476 (10 for 21) with runners aboard and .600 (6 for 10) with runners in scoring position.
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The run-rule victory was the first for Houston since trouncing Stephen F. Austin, 16-1 in seven innings on March 27, 2019. The Cougars struck out just twice in the win with redshirt sophomore Zach Arnold leading the charge. The third baseman produced four hits and three RBIs while finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
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Arnold clubbed his second home run in three games and eighth of the season, putting the Cougars up 2-0 in the third inning. The Bulls stranded eight runners and batted .167 (2 for 12) with runners aboard.
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Cougar junior starter Kyle LaCalameto cruised through the first three innings and stranded the bases loaded in the fourth. The southpaw worked around six hits, allowing two runs alongside two walks and five strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
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Redshirt junior Maddux Miller (3-0) earned the win, tossing 1.1 scoreless frames with a pair of strikeouts. Junior Logan Clayton closed things out, tossing a 1-2-3 seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts.
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South Florida freshman starter Austin Grause (0-1) allowed two runs on four hits in 3.0 innings. The bullpen could not contain the damage as redshirt freshman Nolan Hudi permitted five runs on three hits alongside a walk without recording an out.
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The Cougars continued to tack on late utilizing a sacrifice fly from senior Ryan Hernandez and RBI-single from redshirt junior Ian McMillan to take an 11-2 lead. One inning later, junior Alex Lopez delivered a sacrifice fly and redshirt sophomore Anthony Tulimero singled into center for an 11-run advantage.
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UP NEXT
The teams close the three-game series at 9 a.m. CT Sunday. Neither club has announced a starter. The contest can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on The Varsity app.
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JOIN THE DUGOUT CLUB Â
Fans can help support the Houston Baseball program directly by joining the Dugout Club. To find out more information about the Dugout Club, text UHBASEBALL to 71777, call Cougar Pride at (713) 743-GoUH or visit UHCougarPride.com. Â
 Â
STAY CONNECTED Â
Follow Houston Baseball on Twitter and Instagram at @UHCougarBB, and "Like" Houston Cougar Baseball on Facebook. Â
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Houston (28-15, 9-5 American), which looks for its first American Athletic Conference series sweep at 9 a.m. CT Sunday, collected six hits in the fourth including a combined four RBIs from freshmen. Second baseman Brandon Burckel contributed a two-run double and left fielder Cameron Nickens crushed a two-run home run.Â
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The Cougars taxed the Bulls (23-18, 4-9 American) for 16 hits, tied for the most by the program against a league opponent this season. Nine different players logged at least one hit as Houston batted .476 (10 for 21) with runners aboard and .600 (6 for 10) with runners in scoring position.
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The run-rule victory was the first for Houston since trouncing Stephen F. Austin, 16-1 in seven innings on March 27, 2019. The Cougars struck out just twice in the win with redshirt sophomore Zach Arnold leading the charge. The third baseman produced four hits and three RBIs while finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
Â
Arnold clubbed his second home run in three games and eighth of the season, putting the Cougars up 2-0 in the third inning. The Bulls stranded eight runners and batted .167 (2 for 12) with runners aboard.
Â
Cougar junior starter Kyle LaCalameto cruised through the first three innings and stranded the bases loaded in the fourth. The southpaw worked around six hits, allowing two runs alongside two walks and five strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
Â
Redshirt junior Maddux Miller (3-0) earned the win, tossing 1.1 scoreless frames with a pair of strikeouts. Junior Logan Clayton closed things out, tossing a 1-2-3 seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts.
Â
South Florida freshman starter Austin Grause (0-1) allowed two runs on four hits in 3.0 innings. The bullpen could not contain the damage as redshirt freshman Nolan Hudi permitted five runs on three hits alongside a walk without recording an out.
Â
The Cougars continued to tack on late utilizing a sacrifice fly from senior Ryan Hernandez and RBI-single from redshirt junior Ian McMillan to take an 11-2 lead. One inning later, junior Alex Lopez delivered a sacrifice fly and redshirt sophomore Anthony Tulimero singled into center for an 11-run advantage.
Â
UP NEXT
The teams close the three-game series at 9 a.m. CT Sunday. Neither club has announced a starter. The contest can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on The Varsity app.
Â
JOIN THE DUGOUT CLUB Â
Fans can help support the Houston Baseball program directly by joining the Dugout Club. To find out more information about the Dugout Club, text UHBASEBALL to 71777, call Cougar Pride at (713) 743-GoUH or visit UHCougarPride.com. Â
 Â
STAY CONNECTED Â
Follow Houston Baseball on Twitter and Instagram at @UHCougarBB, and "Like" Houston Cougar Baseball on Facebook. Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Miller, Maddux (3-0)
L: GRAUSE, Austin (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Arnold, Zach 1 ; Burckel, Brandon 1
HR: Arnold, Zach 1 ; Nickens, Cameron 1
RBI: Arnold, Zach 3 ; Lopez, Alex 2 ; Tulimero, Anthony 1 ; Nickens, Cameron 2 ; Hernandez, Ryan 1 ; McMillan, Ian 1 ; Lott, Malachi 1 ; Burckel, Brandon 2
SF: Lopez, Alex 2 ; Hernandez, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Uhse, Brandon 2 ; Arnold, Zach 3 ; Lopez, Alex 1 ; Tulimero, Anthony 1 ; Nickens, Cameron 1 ; Hernandez, Ryan 1 ; McMillan, Ian 1 ; Lott, Malachi 1 ; Burckel, Brandon 2
SB: McMillan, Ian 1 ; Lott, Malachi 1
HBP: Uhse, Brandon 1
Batting:
2B: BOSER, Bobby 1 ; MONQUE, Joaquin 1
RBI: RAO, Sonny 1 ; RIVERA, Nelson 1
SF: RAO, Sonny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BOSER, Bobby 1 ; GONZALEZ, Nick 1
HBP: CANTU, Daniel 1 ; MAYO, Jackson 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
3
H
4
RBI
3
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballUTL
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
C
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