Wichita State baseball fell to the Houston Cougars, 5-3, in the opening game of a four-game American Athletic Conference series Thursday at Schroeder Park.
Corrigan Bartlett and Garrett Kocis each had a hit and drove in a run, while Andrew Stewart tallied a double, leading the Shockers at the plate.
WSU right-hander Liam Eddy (2-4) suffered the loss on the mound after allowing five earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings of work.
Wichita State trailed the Cougars, 5-0, entering the top of the eighth inning before scoring three runs to cut the Houston advantage to 5-3.
Kocis drove in the Shockers' first run of the inning on an RBI single to left that scored Couper Cornblum. Paxton Wallace scored on a Houston throwing error for the second run of the inning, prior to Bartlett smacking an RBI single up the middle, bringing in Kocis for run number three in the frame.
WSU mounted a late comeback attempt in the top of the ninth but fell short. Hunter Gibson hit a one-out, pinch-hit single to left-center, then pinch-hitter Cooper Elliot worked a walk, but a strikeout and fielder's choice out thwarted the Wichita State rally attempt.
Cougar left-handed starting pitcher Robert Gasser (4-2) earned the win on the rubber after allowing no earned runs on just two hits with a career-high 12 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.
Luke Almendarez went 2-for-4, and Will Pendergrass added a double and scored two runs, pacing Houston offensively in the contest.
Wichita State (12-9, 0-1 American) and Houston (13-11, 1-0 American) are scheduled to continue the series with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. Friday. Mike Kennedy will have the call on 97.5 FM and 1240 AM.