WICHITA, Kan. – Houston scored six times in the top of the third and did not trail the rest of the way, fending off Wichita State 11-8 on Sunday afternoon at Eck Stadium.
The big third inning erased a 3-2 Wichita State lead, as the Cougars (32-16) got to starter
Payton Tolle (3-6) and reliever
LJ McDonough. Five straight Houston hitters reached in the middle of the frame, with Alex Lopez and Ryan Hernandez each singling home one, Cameron Nickens plating two with a single, and Ian McMillan cashing in one more with an RBI double. The final run of the inning scored on a throwing error, giving Houston an 8-3 lead.
Wichita State (16-32) started to chip away at the deficit in the bottom of the inning when
Garrett Kocis doubled and came around to score on an RBI single from
Ross Cadena. A three-run fifth pulled the Shockers within one at 8-7;
Couper Cornblum doubled and scored on a wild pitch, and later in the inning
Brock Rodden dumped a two-run double into left.
Rodden followed up his two-homer game on Saturday with three more hits and four RBI in the series finale, including a two-run blast in the bottom of the first that tied the game at 2-2, answering a two-run homer from Anthony Tulimero in the top half of the inning.
Houston added three runs of cushion in the top of the sixth. Brandon Uhse had the big blow in the inning with a two-run single, and Zach Arnold made it 11-7 with an RBI groundout.
Reliever Ben Sears was excellent for the Cougars, tossing 4.1 innings to earn the save. He allowed just one run on a solo homer from
Ross Cadena with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for the game's final margin.
Logan Clayton (4-3) earned the win for Houston.
Four Shockers recorded multi-hit games in the contest, as
Sawyre Thornhill and
Andrew Stewart joined Rodden and Cadena as part of a 13-hit attack.
Robert Cranz and
Will Stevens each worked a scoreless inning in relief for Wichita State.
The Shockers do not have a midweek game this week, returning to action next Friday with a home series against Tulane at Eck Stadium. First pitch of Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6:00 pm.
