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Cougs approach historic mark
with 19th win
From staff and electronic reports
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Junior righthander Daniel Poncedeleon handcuffed East
Carolina on two runs over eight innings and his Houston teammates out-hit
the Pirates 13-6 to capture a 7-2 victory Friday night at Cougar Field in
the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Poncedeleon struck out eight while parceling out five
hits as the Cougars upped their overall record to 19-4, the program's best
23-game start since 1989's 21-2 mark.
As Poncedeleon tamed the ECU bats,
Houston (19-4, 1-0 C-USA) scored runs in the first, second and fourth
innings to build a 3-0 lead.
After the Pirates (11-11, 0-1) put up a run in the top
of the fifth on Jay Cannon's RBI groundout, the Cougars responded in the
bottom of the inning by breaking the game open.
In its turn at bat, Houston chased ECU starter Jeff
Hoffman with a four-run outburst. The offensive sparks were fueled by a
single, a double, a triple, a walk and a pair of wild pitches.
Junior outfielder Dylan Brown's eighth inning home run
gave the Pirates a play for the highlight reel, but it had no impact on the
win-loss ledger.
Junior shortstop Frankie Ratcliff went 3-for-3, scored
three times and had a pair of RBIs to lead the Houston batting attack.
The loss was ECU's third in a row and the sixth in its
last eight games.
Poncedeleon improved to 3-2 with the victory, while
Hoffman, a sophomore righthander, fell to 2-3.
The teams will face off again Saturday night (7:30 pm).
The three-game set will conclude on Sunday (2 p.m.). |
