Houston Drops Midweek Game Against Sam Houston to Even Don Sanders Cup
The Houston Cougars have been one of the more intriguing Big 12 baseball teams so far this season. After beginning the season 5-0 with wins over No. 21 Wake Forest, Washington, and UTRGV, the Cougars have now lost three of their last four games.
The program's most recent loss comes at the hands of the Sam Houston Bearkats, who defeated Houston on Tuesday night by a score of 5-2. Despite outhitting their opponent, the Cougars struggled to drive in runs, leaving nine runners on base.
Carsten Sabathia and Dylan Maxcey were the only two hitters to get Houston on the scoreboard, both doing so via the homerun. The Cougars' pitching staff kept the game intact by recording a combined 13 strikeouts, but struggled to keep the Bearkats off the basepaths with eight walks.
It was in the sixth inning that things really got away from the Cougars. The Bearkats didn't record a hit in the inning, but came away with two runs anyway. A walk and two errors from the Houston infield allowed Sam Houston to take a 5-2 lead heading into the later innings.
Free Passes Could Shape Houston's Season
If there's one thing that's been concerning about this Houston pitching staff, it's been the free passes. Through their first 12 games, the Cougars have walked a total of 53 batters. That mark is tied with BYU and TCU for the fifth-most walks allowed in the Big 12.
Despite allowing runners to get on base, Houston's pitchers have been able to work out of tough innings. The pitching staff as a whole has an earned run average (ERA) of 3.79. That mark ranks fourth in the conference behind teams like West Virginia, Cincinnati, and UCF. It also proves that the Cougars have much more capable arms than last year's squad.
It's raining strikeouts at Schroeder Park 🌧️ @paulschmitz27 picks up his fourth in a row! pic.twitter.com/oVvl0K1mS5
— Houston Baseball (@UHCougarBB) February 21, 2026
One of the biggest differences between this year's Houston team and last year's squad is that the Cougars now appear to have a starting weekend rotation that they can rely on. While dropping a midweek is never necessarily okay, arms like Paul Schmitz and Kendall Hoffman give Houston a fighting chance when Big 12 play starts.
Chris Scinta is another name to watch on Houston's pitching staff as he went toe-to-toe with No. 18 Oregon State's Dax Whitney, one of the best pitchers in college baseball. In his lone start this season, the senior left-hander threw 5.0 solid innings against the Beavers while recording five strikeouts.
Nothing better than a 6-4-3 double play ⭐️
— Houston Baseball (@UHCougarBB) February 27, 2026
💻 https://t.co/lrlq0aaknX pic.twitter.com/sA1u8frpFu
It's when they start taking on conference opponents that Houston has a chance to make some major noise. Under head coach Todd Whitting, the Cougars have continued to get better in conference play since joining the Big 12.
In 2024, Houston finished the season with a league record of 7-21. In 2025, the Cougars shocked multiple conference opponents by putting together a 12-17 record. If the Houston pitching staff can find just a little stability in the bullpen, it wouldn't be a shock to see Whitting's squad finish conference play above .500.
