UH opens season with 13-1 win over Villanova, while Rices falls to Arizona.
It’s a good job if you can find it. On Friday night, Andrew Lantrip took the mound and barely broke a sweat in six shutout innings.
“One work day out of the week,” said Lantrip, who was backed by a pair of home runs from Connor Wong and Jacob Campbell in 12th-ranked Houston’s 13-1 victory over Villanova in the season opener at Schroeder Park.
The job has been pretty much the same for the junior righthander every Friday night the past two seasons. Clock in. Chew up lots of innings. Clock out.
Lantrip is 16-3 in twoplus season, putting up a “No jobs available” sign on the mound every time he opens a series.
“He takes a lot of pride in being that Friday night starter,” UH coach Todd Whitting said. “He understands if he doesn’t perform in that role there are guys just waiting to be that guy. I think that motivates him. He likes being the first guy out on the weekend.”
Whitting likes the tempo Lantrip sets with his energy and emotion. He allowed a runner in each of the first three innings. Then he came right back and got the next batter each time. He allowed a pair of singles and retired 13 of the final 14 batters before exiting after six innings. He struck out five and did not issue a walk.
“He looked in midseason form,” Whitting said.
The Cougars need Lantrip to set the tone for the weekend, especially with some unknowns with the pitching staff.
Some of the questions (like which reliever takes over late in the games) have been around since the offseason. Others (like the indefinite suspension of No. 2 starter Seth Romero) became an issue three days before the opener.
At least for one game, another issue received some clarity: Where will the power production come from in the lineup? Chris Iriart, who hit a team-best 15 home runs, left for the Major League Baseball draft after one season. No other returner had more than six homers.
Wong walloped a fullcount pitch over the leftfield wall to begin the game. Campbell launched a three-run shot during a four-run third inning as the Cougars roughed up Villanova starter Hunter Schryver.
UH added two more runs in the fourth and Justin Montemayor had a two-run triple in the sixth. Four more runs scored in the seventh.
The top five spots in the UH lineup went 8-for-19 with eight RBIs and nine runs scored. Campbell had four RBIs. Connor Hollis, the replacement at second base with Josh Vidales out 3-5 weeks with a broken bone in his wrist, went 2-for-5 with three runs.
“I think this is a little more balanced team than we were last year, especially from a power standpoint,” said Whitting, who is hoping to guide the Cougars to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. “We have guys up and down the lineup that can drive the ball out of the ballpark.”