UH's bullpen allows UCF to rally for win in C-USA opener
Michael Goodnight was good. but when he called it a night, Friday quickly turned into a bad day for Houston.
Central Florida scored three runs off reliever Chase Dempsay and Ryan Breen's two-run home run in the ninth sealed a 7-4 setback for the Cougars in their Conference USA opener.
"We deserved to lose," said UH coach Rayner Noble, who blamed the loss on issuing too many walks (seven) and an inability to match the Golden Knights' hitting in the clutch.
"We played poorly, and when you play poorly you're going to lose."
The Cougars dropped to 10-10 overall and 0-1 in conference in the first of three games against the Knights (15-8, 1-0), whose six-game winning streak is their longest in two years.
Goodnight did his part, muzzling UCF's potent sticks through six innings of work. He struck out seven and allowed two earned runs on just three hits before leaving in the seventh.
Chris Duffy came in leading the country in hits, home runs and RBIs but was 0-of-3 against Goodnight, with an RBI on a groundout. but Duffy had the final say in their dual.
His RBI single in the eighth tied it 3-3, giving Goodnight (3-2) his first no-decision in six starts.
"(Goodnight) did OK," Noble said. "He just, like the rest of our guys, walked way too many of their batters and gave them a lot of opportunities."
Dempsay (1-1) tried to make a diving play on Duffy's game-tying shot instead of covering first base. later, Ronnie Richardson's RBI single zipped past Dempsay for a 5-3 lead — and all he could do was throw his glove at it. Dempsay walked three and allowed three hits in two innings.
"It was just one of those bad-luck nights," Dempsay said.
The Cougars had just three two-out singles and trailed 1-0 through four innings, but a leadoff walk in the fifth got them going. They went on to out-hit UCF 11-8.
With runners at first and third, lefty pinch hitter Matt Murphy slapped a single past third baseman Derek Luciano, plating Matt Creel for a 1-1 tie.
Zak Presley (2-for-5, RBI) then gave the Cougars a 2-1 lead with an infield shot the Knights couldn't play, allowing Chris Wallace to score.
UCF knotted the score 2-2 in the top of the sixth, but UH answered in the bottom on Austin Gracey's single, which plated Caleb Ramsey and gave Goodnight a 3-2 lead when he left.
Reliever Brian Adkins (1-3) earned the win for the Knights. Starter Owen Dew gave up three earned runs on seven hits across 5 2/3 innings.
Dew went in place of scheduled starter Nick Cicio, a late scratch due to illness. He was projected as today's starter. William Kankel (0-1, 4.91 ERA) is expected to start for the Cougars.
Goodnight Middle School celebrates Black History Month | VX50.com
Directed by Brigette Smith, the Goodnight Middle School boys chorus performed "My Girl," as a tribute to the Temptations. Left to right: Ellias Guerrero, Gus Trevino, Johnny Williams, Josh Heiser, Jake McGee, Ismael Sosa, Joshua Ramirez, and Victor Flores. Photos by Iris Campbell.
STAFF REPORT
At the end of February, Goodnight Middle School held a Black History Month celebration with special assemblies. The program featured speeches, art and music.
Goodnight Assistant Principal Beverly Smith moderated the event. Goodnight student Shelby Scott's contest-winning art was showcased. The poem "We Carry the Torch" by student Ismael Sosa was read.
Benjamin C. Smith, Dean of Boys at the San Marcos Baptist Academy, gave a motivational speech.
There were also performances by the boys chorus of the Goodnight Choir and the Anointed Voices Community Choir. Deliverance Ministry's Kenneth Young and Tremeka Dewo enacted a mime show.
Several Goodnight students read poetry and performed skits.
Deliverance Ministry's Kenneth Young and Tremeka Dewo performing.
Goodnight Middle School celebrates Black History Month
Tags: deliverance ministry, goodnight, motivational speech, sosa, staff report
Goodnight Middle School celebrates Black History Month | VX50.com
UH baseball opens season with 6-0 loss to Texas State
James Nielsen Chronicle
UH's Matt Creel, right, is tagged out at home plate by Texas State's Jordan Kopycinski in the fourth inning of Friday's season opener.
The Houston Cougars grudgingly acquainted themselves with the fine line between a good night, a great night and a grit-the-teeth-and-bear-it night.
UH pitcher Michael Goodnight was on his way from the mound to the dugout, convinced he'd snapped off just the breaking ball to get him out of a fifth-inning jam. Home-plate umpire Jesse Moreno didn't see it that way, prolonging an inning that sent UH into a 6-0 season-opening spiral against the Texas State Bobcats on Friday night at Cougar Field.
Instead of getting the strikeout that would have ended the inning with a scoreless tie, Goodnight turned a bases-loaded jam over to the bullpen. two bases-loaded walks by lefthander William Kankel pushed across two more runs than UH coach Rayner Noble's lineup could muster.
"That call could have went either way," Noble said. "I can't say that was the ballgame right there, but the inning really started with that pitch."
Scuffling from the get-go
The Cougars never got much of anything started against Texas State righthander Michael Russo, who combined with Carson Smith on a six-hitter. A crowd of 1,538 saw the Cougars get shut out for the first time since an 8-0 loss to San Diego State on March 28, 2008. Russo tantalized the Cougars with off-speed stuff the first six innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out four.
"The two guys they pitched against us are two of the better arms we'll see all season," Noble said. "When you see that kind of pitching, it's difficult on your offense."
Goodnight was plenty difficult on the Bobcats, retiring 12 consecutive hitters before Kyle Kubitza led off the fifth with single. Unaccustomed to working out of the stretch, Goodnight balked Kubitza to second. Goodnight struck out Daniel Neumann and Kyle Livingstone before keeping the inning going by hitting Laurn Randall with a breaking pitch.
"I had most of my pitches working, putting them where I wanted to," Goodnight said. "The fifth inning, it just kind of got away. I felt good, but all of a sudden my pitches weren't going where I wanted them to go."
Clearly laboring, Goodnight froze Jordan Kopycinski with a 3-2 breaking ball that handcuffed catcher Chris Wallace. Goodnight stared in disbelief when Kopycinski started jogging to first base with a walk.
"I dropped the ball," Wallace said. "That's on me. If I catch the ball, I think he gets the strike."
Exit Goodnight after 79 pitches. Exit Kankel after nine pitches to pinch-hitter Andrew Lacombe and leadoff man Tyler Sibley later.
"I thought (the pitch) was there," Goodnight said. "You just have to on and play the game. It's bad luck, but it's part of baseball."
Finding middle ground
UH righthander Codey Morehouse restored order without any more damage in the fifth, only to create more disorder in the sixth by serving up a two-run homer by Livingstone that made the score 4-0. two walks and an error by Morehouse led to another Texas State run in the seventh that pushed the lead to 5-0.
Russo, meanwhile, allowed only two Cougars as far as second base during his six innings. Blake Kelso led off the first with a double to left-center and got stranded there. Matt Creel got thrown out trying to score on Austin Gracey's two-out-single to left in the fourth. the Cougars wound up with only two more hits than errors.
"We were pulling off the ball fierce," Noble said. "We've got to keep our shoulder in there and drive the ball back the middle. We're trying to hit the ball to McDonald's (out beyond left field) a little too much."
Sharon Jones performs to packed State Theatre
The crowd was up and out of its seats, dancing and cheering well before Sharon Jones even appeared on stage.
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings performed to a packed State Theatre Friday, touring to promote their new album, "100 Days, 100 Nights."
Jones began the night by asking the Dap-Kings to "give me some loosen up." she then sang "How Do I Let a good Man Down." State College native Ian Hendrickson-Smith, one of the Dap-Kings, improvised a baritone saxophone solo with Jones, who told him that since he was home, he had to "represent."
Audience member Sherri Orlofsky said Jones is a good performer and great singer who puts on a must-see show.
"I heard she is very dynamic on stage and interacts with the audience a lot," she said.
Jones made it a point to fully connect with the audience, asking several members to come on stage with her and dance.
She also asked the audience to sing, "Oh, oh" every time she pointed the microphone at them during the song, "Nobody's Baby."
Jones then performed a new song, "When I come Home," in which she showed an excited and energetic audience her "camel walk," "funky chicken" and "Mashed Potato" dances.
Though Jones said goodnight to the audience after she sang, "100 Days, 100 Nights," the crowd erupted into applause for minutes after the group exited the stage -- prompting an encore.
Jones ended the night with gospel tune "Answer Me," but not before talking about her love for dancing to a supportive and cheering crowd.
"Dancin's in my blood, it's in my genes, it's in my roots," she said.
Matt Steck (senior-telecommunications) said he first heard Sharon Jones at City Light Records.
"I thought it was completely out of the ordinary. Me and everyone in the store that heard it thought it was really cool," he said. "I don't know much about the genre, but it was enough to bring me here."
Chris Fenstermacher (senior-turfgrass science), who was looking for new music to
appreciate, said he first heard Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings a few nights before the show.
"It's something different," he said. "It's not something I'd normally go out of my way to see."
Orlofsky said Jones reminds her of other soul musicians.
"If James Brown were a woman, he'd be Sharon Jones," she said. "She's great."