HOUSTON – The Tigers of Texas Southern University will return to conference play this weekend brimming with confidence after winning 4-1 at Houston Baptist on Wednesday.
Junior lefthander Anthony Martinez tossed a complete game for the Tigers, scattering seven hits while only walking one batter as he picked up his first win in a Texas Southern uniform.
The Tigers improved to 10-20 and have now defeated two Southland Conference opponents in their last three games and four days. They concluded their weekend series at Nicholls State with a 3-2 win on Sunday before losing 17-9 at Incarnate Word on Tuesday.
HBU's record evened to 13-13 with the loss; the Tigers' win over the Huskies was their first since 2015, when TSU claimed two wins in a home-and-home series.
The Tigers took a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, scoring twice on wild pitches from HBU starter J.T. Jakubik. In between those two runs, scored by Horace LeBlanc and Blake Hicks, Sterling Motley recorded an RBI on a groundout that allowed Jose Camacho to score.
TSU later added an insurance run in the ninth inning when LeBlanc singled to center field with two runners on base, allowing Ryan Jackson to score from third. LeBlanc and Jackson each had two hits in the game.
Meanwhile, Martinez pitched solidly and efficiently, throwing a mere 106 pitches over the course of the nine-inning game – less than 12 pitches per inning. He didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning.
The defense behind him turned out to be a net positive: The Tigers committed three errors in the game, but also turned three double plays. They also stanched HBU's rally in the seventh inning. When the Huskies' Gianni Castillo knocked a two-out single to score Matt Heck, the Tigers caught Castillo on the base paths, retiring him 9-2-4-3, from rightfielder O.J. Oloruntimilehin, to catcher Ricky Urbano, to second baseman Gaudencio Lucca to first baseman Camacho.
The sudden turn of events prevented HBU from doing further damage in the inning, as they stranded a runner at third base. The Huskies would get no more than one baserunner on in the subsequent two innings, and the Tigers ended the game on a Lucca to Camacho double play.
The Tigers start the second round of Southwestern Athletic Conference play Friday when they open a three-game series at Southern. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
Junior lefthander Anthony Martinez tossed a complete game for the Tigers, scattering seven hits while only walking one batter as he picked up his first win in a Texas Southern uniform.
The Tigers improved to 10-20 and have now defeated two Southland Conference opponents in their last three games and four days. They concluded their weekend series at Nicholls State with a 3-2 win on Sunday before losing 17-9 at Incarnate Word on Tuesday.
HBU's record evened to 13-13 with the loss; the Tigers' win over the Huskies was their first since 2015, when TSU claimed two wins in a home-and-home series.
The Tigers took a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, scoring twice on wild pitches from HBU starter J.T. Jakubik. In between those two runs, scored by Horace LeBlanc and Blake Hicks, Sterling Motley recorded an RBI on a groundout that allowed Jose Camacho to score.
TSU later added an insurance run in the ninth inning when LeBlanc singled to center field with two runners on base, allowing Ryan Jackson to score from third. LeBlanc and Jackson each had two hits in the game.
Meanwhile, Martinez pitched solidly and efficiently, throwing a mere 106 pitches over the course of the nine-inning game – less than 12 pitches per inning. He didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning.
The defense behind him turned out to be a net positive: The Tigers committed three errors in the game, but also turned three double plays. They also stanched HBU's rally in the seventh inning. When the Huskies' Gianni Castillo knocked a two-out single to score Matt Heck, the Tigers caught Castillo on the base paths, retiring him 9-2-4-3, from rightfielder O.J. Oloruntimilehin, to catcher Ricky Urbano, to second baseman Gaudencio Lucca to first baseman Camacho.
The sudden turn of events prevented HBU from doing further damage in the inning, as they stranded a runner at third base. The Huskies would get no more than one baserunner on in the subsequent two innings, and the Tigers ended the game on a Lucca to Camacho double play.
The Tigers start the second round of Southwestern Athletic Conference play Friday when they open a three-game series at Southern. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics