Houston Baseball Stays Undefeated In Puerto Rico With Narrow Victory Over Manhattan
Houston baseball put together a late rally to remain a perfect 3-0 on the season by defeating Manhattan 4-2 on Sunday morning in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
The Cougars have shined in the Puerto Rico Challenge by winning their first three games over No. 21 Wake Forest, Boston College and Manhattan.
Next up, Houston will face the Washington Huskies on Monday at 12 p.m., who are 0-2 to start the season. A win would make the Cougars the champions of the Puerto Rico Challenge.
Houston vs Manhattan Game Recap
Manhattan struck early in the first inning by scoring a run on an RBI double by Manhattan's Vincent Samuel to take a 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, the Cougars responded with two runs of their own. Sophomore left fielder McClane Helton smoked an RBI ground rule double to right field, which scored senior shortstop Carter Sintek.
Redshirt sophomore right fielder Xavier Perez then singled to advance Helton to third, and he scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to give Houston a 2-1 lead.
Just as the Cougars were rolling on the mound, Manhattan's Hunter Sute hit a two-out single to right field to knot the score at two each.
The turning point of the entire game came in the eighth inning, when Houston managed to plate two important runs to seal the game.
Sophomore third baseman Jackson LaLima began the rally by recording an RBI single to center field, which scored freshman outfielder Peyton Dickens.
With two outs in a one-run game, senior infielder Cade Clime came up big by smoking an RBI triple to right center to score LaLima, which propelled Houston to victory.
While the Cougars only managed to record six hits in the game, their pitching staff had an outstanding performance to pick up the slack.
Junior pitcher Alex Solis recorded the win by tossing three innings, where he allowed one earned run and three hits. In his outing, he was also able to strike out four batters.
Junior pitcher Richie Roman also impressed as he was dominant in his five innings against Manhattan. He finished the game allowing one earned run on four hits, while striking out five hitters.
Overall, veteran head coach Todd Whitting has his team playing well early, and they are on the verge of being named the Puerto Rico Challenge champions.
Houston will finish off its time in Puerto Rico will one final game against the Washinton Huskies on Monday, at 12 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).