Junior infielder Connor McGinnis (17) celebrates in the dugout after being driven in during the fifth inning of Wednesday’s 9-2 win versus Kansas State | Ashton Grissom/The Cougar

Junior infielder Connor McGinnis, redshirt sophomore outfielder Xavier Perez and redshirt freshman outfielder Evan Haeger each batted in two runs, the bulk of what powered No. 11 seed Houston, in its Big 12 baseball tournament debut, to a 9-2 opening round upset win over No. 6 seed Kansas State at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday.

“Having Connor back in the lineup showed he was a big force tonight,” coach Todd Whiting said. “We’ve gone most of Big 12 play without him and I think that just kind of energized our team the last couple of weeks. He’s going to be here for the postseason run.”

McGinnis, who went 3-for-5 on the night with two doubles, provided the start of the Cougars’ unanswered cushion with his two-out, two-run double in the top of the second, which capped off the crooked five-run frame for Houston. 

“It’s huge,” McGinnis said. “Me being out for some of the season, being able to come back and being there for my guys is really huge.”

Scoring opened in the contest when sophomore infielder Dee Kennedy laced a two-out two-run single into center to give Kansas State an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as the result of junior Paul Schmitz’s early bases-loaded jam. 

What ensued in the following frame was the beginning of a response the Cougars would leave unanswered for the night. 

Junior infielder Tyler Cox’s one-out double allowed for junior outfielder Brandon Bishop’s RBI double down the line in right to score him and cut Houston’s deficit in half at 2-1.

Senior two-way player Malachi Lott followed on the next pitch with an RBI single through the right side to knot the contest up 2-2. 

With two outs, junior catcher Kenneth Jimenez gave the Cougars a 3-2 lead on an RBI single to left, which set the table for McGinnis’ two-run double.

“I thought that showed the resiliency of our ball club,” Whitting said. “We’ve been in that spot before in a lot of times, in a lot of situations this year, having come back and won that game.”

In the top of the fifth, after McGinnis led off with a single, Perez recorded his first hit of the night on an RBI triple that scored McGinnis from first to make it 6-2. 

The 1-2 punch provided more insurance in the top of seventh, as McGinnis’ second double of the night allowed Perez to roll him home on an RBI single up the middle. 

Haeger, who replaced Bishop in right field, broke the contest wide open on a two-run single up the middle, giving the Cougars their firmly-held 9-2 lead. 

Despite Schmitz recording a season-low three outs, the Houston bullpen took the baton to keep the offensive efforts unanswered and save graduate reliever and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Antoine Jean for later work. 

“I was expecting to go in and do my job for sure,” graduate Andres Perez said. “But it’s really good that we have Antoine tomorrow.”

The bulk of work out of the pen came from Perez, who pitched a career-high four innings on 61 pitches and tied a career-high with four strikeouts. His shutout efforts earned him the winning decision to improve him to 3-1 on the season.

“If you look at Andres’ numbers over the course of Big 12 play, it’s really not a surprise of what he did tonight,” Whitting said. “It’s similar to what Antoine’s been doing.” 

Senior Brady Fuller took on the final three innings to record his first save on the season.

The Cougars, who reached their first 30-win season as a member of the Big 12, will look to continue their postseason run, as they prepare to take on No. 3 seed TCU in the quarterfinals Thursday at approximately 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU. 

sports@thedailycougar.com

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“Survive and thrive: Houston baseball upsets Kansas State in Big 12 Tournament debut” was originally posted on The Cougar