On the first night of a back-to-back on the road, Houston defeated UNLV by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas as they improve to 6-9 overall on the year.

The Cougars would get things going in the second inning, as junior outfielder Steven Rivas sparked the hitting with a one-out single to right field, before advancing to second base a few pitches later. 

After sophomore shortstop Ian McMillan was walked, freshman infielder Luke Almendarez doubled down the third-base line on an 0-2 pitch to bring to Rivas to home plate, giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead with Almendarez and McMillan at second and third base.

A passed ball on the next pitch would bring McMillan to home plate, doubling Houston’s lead to 2-0 with two outs, before a ground-out ended the second inning for the Cougars.

An RBI single from UNLV’s Eric Bigami would bring Austin Kryszczuk from second base to home plate, cutting their deficit in half to 2-1 in the bottom of the third. 

The Rebels would struggle to bring men to home plate, leaving eight runners on base as Houston’s pitching held UNLV’s offense to seven hits but no runs from the fourth inning onward.

A ninth-inning solo home run to right-center field from junior first baseman Ryan Hernandez regained Houston’s two-run lead before sophomore pitcher Derrick Cherry recorded the save and ended the game, with the Cougars taking the 3-1 victory.

A 13 strikeout night started with junior left-hander Nick Rupp, before senior right-hander Carter Henry aided in keeping the Cougar lead down the stretch, with Cherry ending the game in what was a winning performance for Houston’s pitchers.

sports@thedailycougar.com

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“Cougars take first game in UNLV series” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar