HOUSTON – Wichita State brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning after trailing 5-0, but could not complete the comeback as Houston evened the series with a 5-3 victory on Saturday night at Schroeder Park.

Wichita State (12-14) made things interesting with a run in the eighth and two more in the ninth. Sawyre Thornhill got the rally started with an RBI double in the top of the eighth against Houston starter Nathan Medrano (4-1), trimming the Houston lead to 5-1. In the ninth, Couper Cornblum reached on a one-out infield single and Xavier Casserilla followed with a booming two-run homer down the left field line, making the score 5-3. 

Brock Rodden came off the Wichita State bench with a pinch-hit single, but Houston closer Ben Sears got a groundout and a lineout to end the game. 

Medrano earned the win with 7.1 strong innings, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out nine and walking two. 

Houston did most of their damage in the bottom of the second inning against Shockers starter Payton Tolle (2-3), getting an RBI single from Malachi Lott and a two-out, two-run home run from Ian McMillan for a 3-0 lead. The Cougars (18-9) added two more to their tally in the seventh, courtesy of a sacrifice fly and then a solo home run off the bat of Zach Arnold that stretched the advantage to 5-0. 

Tolle took the loss despite a strong finish to his outing. Following the three-run second, the freshman lefty kept Houston off the board for the next four innings, finishing his night with three strikeouts and only one walk. Ryan Stuempfig also pitched well in relief, recording four outs with a pair of strikeouts.

Casserilla finished the night 3-for-4, the first three-hit game of his young career.

The Shockers and Cougars conclude the series with the rubber match on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm.