Houston Tops Conference Stands with Win Over Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Behind a five-hit performance from junior first baseman Justin Murray, the Houston baseball team secured its fourth-straight conference series win beating Memphis 11-1 on Sunday afternoon at FedEx Park.

The Cougars (23-17, 8-4) are tied with Wichita State at the top of the standings in the American Athletic Conference. Houston currently holds the edge against the Shockers after beating them in the first of two weekend series this season.

Sophomore starting pitcher Cade Citelli (3-4) threw 6.0 shutout innings allowing only two hits while striking out three batters to earn the win. Combined with junior reliever Owen Woodward, the two pitchers held Memphis' batters to a .107 average while junior catcher Anthony Tulimero threw out three runners. Woodward closed the game for Houston working 3.0 innings allowing one run and retiring four batters for the save. Memphis' (20-20, 4-8) Seth Garner (1-3) threw 3.2 innings tallying four earned runs to earn his third loss of the season.

Game Highlights:

Houston has now won all four of its conference series beating ECU, Wichita State, USF and Memphis. The last time the Cougars won their first four conference series was in 2006 when Houston competed in Conference USA and won every single conference series that season.
Zach Arnold extended his reached-base streaks to 36 straight games. He has reached base in every single game he has played in this season.
In the fifth inning, Ian McMillan recorded his 150^th career hit with an RBI-single down the right field line.
Justin Murray recorded a career-high five hits going a perfect 5-for-5 while tying his career-high two stolen bases.
With his 6.0 inning appearance, Cade Citelli recorded his first career shutout.
With 16 hits in the game, the Cougars have recorded 21 games this season with 10+ hits including eight of the last 10 games.

Player Highlights:

Justin Murray: 5-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 SB
Anthony Tulimero: 2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3B,
Cade Citelli: W, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
Owen Woodward: S, 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Key Innings:
1^st | Houston capitalized on two Tigers errors in the top of the first inning to bring home two runs. With runners on the corners, junior first baseman Justin Murray singled to the third baseman to bring one run home. A throwing error from Memphis' catcher as Murray stole second gave Houston the opportunity to bring home its second runner of the inning for a 2-0 advantage.

4^th | In the top of the fourth inning, the Cougars' bats exploded as Houston scored seven runs. The Cougars batted around and Murray continued to connect with the bat recording two singles in the seventh. Freshman second baseman Thomas Lyssy posted the first RBI of the inning singling to right field which was immediately followed by an RBI-single from senior shortstop Ian McMillan. Tulimero clocked a two-out two-RBI triple down the right field line before Murray closed the scoring with an RBI-single to make the score 10-0.

7^th | After plating their 10^th run in the top of the fifth inning, the Cougars threatened to close the game in the seventh inning due to the run-rule. With the Tigers down to their final two outs, Memphis broke apart the Houston pitcher's shutout sending a home run to right field making the score 10-1 to extend the game to the eighth inning.

9^th | Murray recorded his final hit of the game with an explanation point rocketing a ball over the fence to give Houston an 11-1 win.

UP NEXT:
The Cougars return home to Schroeder Park for their final midweek home game of the season. Houston will face Lamar on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The matchup will be $2 Tuesday where fans can take advantage of $2 tickets at the box office and $2 hot dogs at concessions. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with a radio broadcast on The Varsity Network.

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