Houston Claims Walk-off Win in Game One; Game Two Suspended due to Weather

Saturday, March 7

Houston, Texas

Noon

University of Houston

9-5

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

5-11

Ark.-Pine Bluff

Houston

Xavier Perez points while rounding the bases.

Houston Claims Walk-off Win in Game One; Game Two Suspended due to Weather

3/7/2026 7:58:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Savattere hits walk-off single to win the first game of the doubleheader; Game two will resume at noon, Sunday

HOUSTON – Senior Antonelli Savattere played the hero, lifting Houston past Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 6-5, with a walk-off single in the first game of a doubleheader while game two was paused due to inclement weather at Don Sanders Field at Darryl and Lori Schroeder Park on Saturday.

GAME ONE | HOUSTON 6 – ARKANSAS PINE BLUFF 5
The Cougars took game one with a walk-off single from Savattere in the ninth. Freshman Max McCraray (1-0) claimed the victory, tossing the last third of an inning for Houston. Brendan Hamlin (1-2), who came in for the last 1.1 innings of work, took the loss for the Golden Lions.

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Xavier Perez: 3-5, HR, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R
Carsten Sabathia III: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
Antonelli Savattere: 2-3, 2 RBI

NOTABLES

Savattere collected Houston's first walk-off hit since then-redshirt freshman Xavier Perez hit a walk-off double against Utah on May 2, 2025.
Perez tallied his 20^th career multi-hit game and his 15^th career multi-RBI game.
Senior Dylan Maxcey pushed his hitting streak to five games.

KEY INNINGS
2^nd | Houston claimed the first lead of the game with a sac-fly off the bat of Savattere to take a 1-0 lead.

3^rd | The Golden Lions tied the game with a leadoff homer in the top of the frame off the bat of Konner Giddley.

Houston reclaimed the advantage with a pair of runs of its own in the home half of the inning. Perez hit his third homer of the year, a 430-foot blast to center. The Cougars went on to add another run to its edge as Maxcey scored on a Riley Jackson double.

4^th | Arkansas-Pine Bluff hit another solo homer to cut its deficit to one in the fourth, but Houston immediately answered as Perez singled home freshman McClane Helton to make the score 4-2.

7^th | Houston broke a streak of five frames of scoreless baseball as senior Carsten Sabathia III laced a single up the middle to drive home Perez, pushing its lead to three.

9^th | After the Golden Lions tied the game with three runs in the eighth, Houston walked the game off in the ninth. Sabathia III started the rally with a double to center field that narrowly missed being a home run. Arkansas-Pine Bluff intentionally walked Jackson to bring up Savattere, who found the gap in left-center to drive home Sabathia, giving Houston a 6-5 win.

GAME TWO | SUSPENDED IN THE FIFTH INNING
With Houston leading 7-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, game two of the doubleheader was suspended after the Golden Lions completed its offensive half of the inning. The game will be resumed at noon, Sunday. Fans will not need a ticket to watch the conclusion of the contest.

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