University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Travels East on I-10 to Meet Louisiana-Lafayette
3/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 7, 2002
HOUSTON, Texas - The University of Houston baseball team begins its final tune-up for the upcoming Conference USA season when it meets No. 27 Louisiana-Lafayette in a non-conference, three-game series this weekend.
The series starts with a 6:30 p.m. game Friday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field and continues with a 2 p.m. game Saturday and a 1 p.m. game Sunday. All Cougar games can be heard live on KGBC Radio 1540 AM and are also available on the Internet at www.kgbcradio.cc.
This will be the final non-conference weekend series for the Cougars who open C-USA play at UAB on March 15-17.
The Cougars (9-4) jumped into the national spotlight last weekend after sweeping the nationally-ranked field at the Kia Baseball Bash. With wins over host Cal State Fullerton, USC and Miami, UH earned its new No. 10 ranking in Baseball America magazine and was ranked in the top 20 of all four national polls for the first time this season.
At the Kia tournament, senior reliever Nathan Mitchell was honored as Most Outstanding Pitcher after collecting a win against the Titans and providing key middle relief against the Hurricanes in the tournament finale. Freshman second baseman Stuart Musslewhite earned Most Outstanding Player honors, thanks in part to a three-run home run against Miami that helped lift the Cougars from a four-run deficit to a one-run lead.
Sophomore righthander Brad Sullivan will start game one of the series for the Cougars. This season, Sullivan has emerged as the leader of both the UH staff and Conference USA with a 2-0 record, 1.71 ERA and 27 strikeouts in only 21.0 innings.
Senior southpaw Keith Whatley is expected to start game two Saturday with sophomore righthander Gene Flores closing out the series finale Sunday.
Junior outfielder Anthony Scalise remains the team's leading hitter with a .388 batting average and 11 RBIs. Junior Jesse Crain is second on the team with a .370 average and has proven to be just as valuable on the mound where he has tallied two saves with 12 strikeouts and no runs in 9.0 innings as a reliever.
The Cajuns, ranked No. 27 by Collegiate Baseball, come into the game after taking a 10-1 win over Southern on Tuesday and have won their last six games. Corey Coles leads the squad with a .480 average with Chase Lambin and Bryan Sneed adding three home runs apiece.
Senior southpaw Justin Gabriel is scheduled to get the start in game one of the series. Gabriel has tallied a 2.19 ERA with 24 strikeouts and a 2-0 record in 24.2 innings this season.
