Hyung Cho hit his first home run and drove in three runs to pace No. 25
Houston to a 9-4 win over No. 17 USC in the Kia Baseball Bash at Goodwin
Field Saturday night.
The Cougars (8-4) have won five of their last six, with all five wins
coming over ranked teams. USC (6-6) fell to 1-1 in the tournament.
Houston jumped on USC starter J.P. Howell (2-2) for five runs in the third
inning with Cho providing the big blast – a three-run homer to left-center
field to give the Cougars a 4-0 lead.
The Cougars scored two more runs in a controversial fourth inning which
saw the ejections of USC Head Coach Mike Gillespie and assistant coach
Rob Klein.
Without their skipper, however, the Trojans showed some life in the sixth,
rallying for four runs to chase Keith Watley (3-1) and close the gap to
8-4. Brian Barre drove in two with a single to left and another pair scored
on a two-base fielding error by Houston left fielder Gabe Lucas.
But in the end, the Houston bullpen proved too tough to crack for the
second straight night. Four Cougar relievers combined to hold the Trojans
scoreless on one hit over the final 3.1 innings.
Houston will try to clinch the tournament title when it plays Miami on
Sunday at 2 p.m.
