May 10, 2003

Box Score

Memphis, Tenn. - Houston used a seven-run eighth inning to defeat Memphis in Conference-USA baseball action Saturday at Nat Buring Stadium. The victory evened the series for Houston (29-22, 17-9 C-USA) as the Cougars pounded out 22 hits led by shortstop Stuart Musselwhite who went 4-for-4. Second baseman Cole Bruce went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs.

Memphis (18-31, 9-16 C-USA) centerfielder Kevin House extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a 3-for-5 effort at the plate. House has led off each game of the series witha home run in the bottom half of the first inning. House added a pair of doubles to go with his homer.

The Cougars took a 1-0 advantage on a RBI single by second baseman Cole Bruce int he first. Houston could have extended their lead, but Bruce was tagged out in a run down between third and home following a double by first baseman Brad Sullivan. House answered the Cougar's run by blasting a 1-0 pitch from Houston starter Garrett Mock over the centerfield wall to tie the game at one for the Tigers in the first. That would be the first of four runs the Tiger leadoff hitter would score on the afternoon.

The Cougars staged a two-out rally in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Catcher Nick Bott and Musselwhite started the rally with singles. Centerfielder Michael Bourn then reached on a fielding error giving leftfielder Gabe Lucas the chance to plate two runs after driving a single of the centerfield wall. Lucas would be the last batter Memphis starter Brandon Rowan would face as he was replaced by junior Corey Kines. Kines prevented any further damage by forcing Hyung Cho to pop out to shortstop.

The Tigers plated a run in the bottom of the third to cut the Cougars' lead to one. Catcher Kurt Welch led off the inning reaching safely on a bunt after an errant throw by UH third baseman Hyung Cho. Welch moved to second on a groundout by Josh Payne and scored on a RBI double to right-center by House.

After a solo home run by Bruce in the top of the fourth, Memphis evened the game at four as Mock ran into some control problems. House reached base safely after striking out and he scored on a RBI single by Ryan Martin. Kyle Scott was hit by a pitch to load the bases following a walk to Dlugach, then second baseman Michael Lewis drew a walk to tie the game at four. Mock was relieved at the point by right-hander Gene Flores, who was able to pitch out of the bases loaded jam by getting Welch to line out to leftfield.

The Tigers took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth off Flores. House drew a walk and advanced to third on an errant pick off throw by Flores. Moss drove House in with a sharp RBI single through the right side. Moss had his first-career three-hit game and also drove in two runs.

After failing to score with runners on the corners and no one out in the seventh, Houston cashed in on the same opportunity in the eighth. Memphis relievers Erik Filsinger, who took the loss (0-4), and Daniel de Armas were each tagged for three runs in the inning.The Cougars converted eight hits into seven runs to grab a 11-5 lead. The Cougars got an RBI single from Bott, a bases clearing, three-run double by Farrington, a two-run homer by Cho and a solo home run by Papavasiliou in the inning.

Memphis rallied for three runs in their half of the eighth. Moss had a RBI single, Dlugach drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Martin doubled home a run, but Houston closer Ryan Wagner put a stop to the rally as he pitched the final 1.2 innings for his 11th save of the season. Flores (1-0) picked up his first win of the season allowed three earned runs on four hits in 2.2 innings of work.