UH’s rally comes up short in a 5-4 loss to Sam Houston State at Constellation Field.

SUGAR LAND — The mistakes came in all forms, the hits absent for most of the night.

By the time the University of Houston finally figured things out, it was too late.

Sam Houston State jumped on the No. 24 Cougars’ miscues and held off a late rally for a 5-4 victory Tuesday at Constellation Field.

“We have to get better coming out of the gate and attacking people instead of sitting back and putting our toe in the water when the game starts,” UH coach Todd Whitting said.

Sam Houston State freshman righthander Hayden Wesneski threw five shutout innings to improve to 6-1 this season.

The Cougars (25-11) had more errors (three) than hits (two) entering the sixth inning.

And the Cougars found different ways to dig a hole. Back-to-back fielding errors led to two runs in the first inning. A misplay of a ball in the left-field corner pushed across another. There was the miscommunication on an infield hit with nobody covering first, and the Bearkats runner caught in a rundown who slid safely back into second. UH even had a baserunner thrown out at first base for tagging up early.

UH came alive with four runs in the seventh, sparked by RBI triples by Wendell Champion and Corey Julks and a single by Jake Scheiner.

UH could get no closer, stranding a runner to end the seventh and another in the eighth. Nick Mikolajchak retired the final four batters for his eighth save for the Bearkats (26-11).

Blair Henley and four relievers combined to throw a six-hitter, Ryan Reynolds went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and the Longhorns (25-15) shut out the Bobcats (2216) in Austin.

Omar Salinas went 3-for-4, four pitchers combined for seven innings of two-hit, scoreless relief, and the Mavericks (20-17) edged the No. 23 Aggies (26-12) in Arlington.

Kameron Esthay and Davis Wendze hit backto-back homers in the bottom of the ninth, and the Bears (23-14) beat the Lumberjacks (22-17) in walkoff fashion at Waco.