CLEARWATER, Fla. – Houston's Ryan Hernandez hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to break a 7-7 tie, and the Cougars held off Wichita State 10-7 on Tuesday night at BayCare Ballpark in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference Championship.
Hernandez provided the final momentum swing in a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams rally from multi-run deficits. After Houston took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Santiago Garcia RBi double, the Shockers battled back with a three-run third to take the lead at 3-1. Brock Rodden put Wichita State in front with a two-run homer, and on the next pitch Sawyre Thornhill cranked a solo blast of his own.