It didn’t take the University of Houston long to finish off its weekend sweep of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on the baseball diamond after play resumed Sunday.
UAPB managed one hit in the series finale as Houston won 10-0 in seven innings at Schroeder Park in Houston.
Houston (10-5) led 7-0 midway through the fifth inning on Saturday when lightning forced the game to be delayed at 5:35 p.m. Play resumed at 12:04 p.m. Sunday.
UAPB (5-12) turned to infielder Zach Wieder to pitch for the second time in the series. He allowed two base runners in the bottom of the fifth but got a strikeout and a pop-up in foul territory to strand them.
The Cougars had more luck in the bottom of the sixth, when third baseman Jackson LaLima hit a three-run home run to move the game into run-rule territory. They then ended the game in the top of the seventh with a 6-4-3 double play.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Houston reliever Caleb Kimble pitched Sunday’s two innings without allowing a hit after starter Connor Udland (1-0) held UAPB to one hit and a walk with five strikeouts in five innings Saturday. Wieder had UAPB’s only hit, a single, with two outs in the fourth inning.
The Cougars scored three runs in the first inning, chasing UAPB starter Ryland Morin (0-1) with one out. Houston designated hitter Carsten Sabathia hit a grand slam in the second to make it 7-0 before UAPB reliever Troy McLeese entered the game and held Houston scoreless and hitless for 2 2/3 innings.
Sabathia hit 2 for 4 with five RBI and two runs and was the only Cougar with multiple hits.
Houston’s run-rule win in the finale came after winning two more competitive games. The Cougars rallied from a 7-0 deficit to win the opener 13-9 before walking-off UAPB 6-5 in Saturday’s first game.
This was the Golden Lions’ final non-conference weekend series. UAPB split a pair of four-game home series before being swept in a pair of three-game road sets.