Feb. 24, 2008

Box Score

Houston, Texas - Leading 9-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Pacific baseball team suffered a 10-9 loss to Houston on Sunday, Feb. 24.

The loss dropped the Tigers to 1-2 on the season, while Houston moved to 2-1.

Scoring began early in this wild contest with the Tigers posting three runs in the top of the first. Junior Joe Oliveira (San Diego, Calif.) started the game off with a line drive single into left field. Senior Adam Ching (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) followed with a walk, then junior Mike McKeever (San Diego, Calif.) blooped a single into center to load the bases with nobody out.

Senior Greg Murray (El Cerrito, Calif.) drove in Oliveira with a fielder's choice, forcing McKeever at second. With two outs in the inning, junior Kurt Wideman (Fallbrook, Calif.) knocked a two-run double into left-center to take a 3-0 lead.

Houston came right back in the bottom of the second as Bryan Pounds hit a two-run home run over the left field wall to make it 3-2.

Both teams scratched across single runs in the fourth and the fifth as the Tigers took advantage of a bases loaded walk to Ching in the fourth and freshman Brian Martin (Livermore, Calif.) delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the fifth.

Houston tallied their runs on a solo home run from Jimmy Cesario and an RBI single by Brian Tully.

Leading 5-4 in the top of the sixth inning, the Tigers appeared to take control of the game with three runs on two hits, three walks and a hit batter. Olivier started the rally again, reaching on a hit by pitch. With two outs in the inning, McKeever smacked an RBI double into right center to plate Oliveira, then Murray drove in McKeever with a single up the middle. The next three batters drew walks, capped by an RBI walk to Martin to push Pacific's lead to 8-4.

The following inning Pacific added another run as sophomore Matt Fuson (Lodi, Calif.) led off with a solid single to center. After stealing second, Fuson scampered home on a single up the middle off the bat of Ching.

Staked to a 9-4 lead entering the bottom of the seventh the Tigers were unable to hold off a spirited Houston Cougar team.

Houston pushed across a single run in the seventh on two walks and an error. The Cougars got back in the game in a hurry in the eighth thanks to a three-run home run from Ryan Lormand to make it a 9-8 game.

The Cougars rally was capped with two runs in the ninth as Chase Dempsay connected on a solo home run to tie the game and Jake Stewart stroked a two-out, bases loaded, walk-off single to end the game, 10-9.

Pacific junior Larry Holscher (McArthur, Calif.) suffered the loss (0-1) as he allowed five runs on six hits in 1.1 innings.

Houston's John Touchton (1-0) notched his first win of the year by retiring the final two batters in the ninth inning.

Pacific returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 27 as Pacific hosts Santa Clara in the first night game in the history of Klein Family Field.