Houston Baseball Falls To No.19 Oregon State In Frisco Classic Opener
Despite holding an early lead, the Cougars suffered a narrow 2-1 loss to the Oregon State Beavers in their first game of the Frisco Classic.
With the loss, Houston falls to 6-3 on the season, and the Cougars have two more tough games ahead of them in this tournament.
Next up, UH will take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 12 p.m., at Riders Field in Frisco, Texas.
Houston vs Oregon State Game Recap
Houston baseball looked to pick up its second ranked win of the season, after defeating No. 21 Wake Forest in the Puerto Rico Challenge earlier this season.
The Cougars began the scoring early when sophomore outfielder McClane Helton laced an RBI-double down the left-field line, scoring junior catcher Riley Jackson to take a 1-0 lead.
The Beavers responded in the fourth inning with a two-out rally to take a 2-1 lead. With just one more out needed to get out of the inning, senior outfielder Nyah Hayes got on base with a hit-by-pitch, and he later moved to second on a fielding error.
Senior infielder Jacob Kreig singled in the following at bat to even the score at 1-1, and sophomore outfielder Adam Haight returned the favor with a single of his own, scoring Kreig to take a one-run lead.
After several missed scoring opportunities throughout the game, the Cougars had their best chance to tie or retake the lead in the final inning.
Freshman infielder Blake Fields and senior infielder Cade Climie began the inning with walks, and senior infielder Carsten Sabathia III hit a single to load the bases with just one out.
However, senior pitcher Albert Roblez quickly ended Houston’s momentum by picking up back-to-back outs to secure the win for the Beavers.
Despite the loss, the Cougars pitching staff continues to prove that they will be a problem when Big 12 Conference play rolls around.
Senior pitcher Chris Scinta got the start for Houston and the lefty did not disappoint. He tossed five innings allowing six hits and two unearned runs in the fourth inning due to a fielding error.
The bullpen also closed the game out strong, allowing just one hit across the final three innings of the contest.
Helton led the offense with two hits, recording his second multi-hit performance of the season.
He also scored Houston’s lone run in the first inning, and he has made a big impact this season as a freshman.
Houston will wrap up the Frisco Classic with Iowa on Saturday at noon, and then take on Alabama at 3 p.m.
Ashton Grissom is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a senior at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Media Production with a minor in Marketing and Spanish. He also works for two student organizations: The Cougar and CoogTV. You can find Grissom on his Instagram (@ashtonagrissom8) or Twitter (@ashtongrissom8).