University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Opens Play at NCAA Regional at Mesa on Friday
5/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 30, 2002
MESA, Ariz. - The University of Houston baseball team opens play during the 2002 NCAA Regional at Mesa at 2 p.m. (CDT) - noon, Arizona time -- Friday when the Cougars face New Mexico State at Hohokam Park in Mesa, Ariz.
The Cougars (44-15), who are the No. 1 seed at the Mesa Regional, will face the No. 4 Aggies - the Sun Belt Conference Tournament champions - for the first time in school history on the baseball diamond. No. 2 seed and host Arizona State faces No. 3 seed San Diego at 8 p.m. (CDT) Friday at Hohokam Park.
The winner of the NCAA Regional at Mesa advances to an NCAA Super Regional against the champion of the NCAA Regional at Austin on June 7-9.
Sophomore righthander Brad Sullivan, the 2002 C-USA Pitcher of the Year, will start on the mound for UH, which is making its 15th NCAA postseason appearance in school history and the fourth straight berth. The Nederland, Texas, leads the league in all three pitching Triple Crown categories with an 11-1 record, 2.08 ERA and 142 strikeouts.
The Cougar offense is led by junior catcher Chris Snyder who leads the team with a .349 batting average and a school single-season record 68 RBIs in 2002. The Houston native ranks among the C-USA leaders in nine offensive categories and three defensive categories and is only one of four players in the league to rank among the top 10 individual leaders in average, home runs and RBIs.
Junior Brett Cooley leads UH with 17 home runs, the third-highest total in school single-season history, and has teamed with Snyder to blast a combined 31 home runs, the highest home run tally by a Cougar duo since 1986.
Meanwhile, sophomore outfielder Michael Bourn continues to climb the Cougar stolen base charts with 31 thefts in 42 attempts this season. The Humble native recently moved into sole possession of third place in UH career history with 66 stolen bases in less than two full seasons.
Junior Jesse Crain has also emerged as both an offensive and defensive leader for the Cougars this season. At the plate, Crain has compiled a .317 batting average with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs on the way to earning All-C-USA First Team honors at shortstop.
However, Crain has also established himself as the team's closer with a 4-0 record, a UH single-season record nine saves and no earned runs allowed in 32.1 innings. In addition, the Boulder, Colo., native has not allowed any runs to score in his last 31.1 innings, the second longest streak in school history and only 5.1 innings shy of the school record set by Kyle Crowell in 1999.
For those impressive numbers, Crain was also named to the All-C-USA First Team as a relief pitcher. He became the first player in league history to be named to the First Team at two different positions in the same season.
New Mexico State (37-23) earned the SBC's automatic bid to the school's first-ever NCAA Regional after sweeping through the league's tournament. The Aggies boast one of the nation's most potent offenses with a .323 team batting average and 95 home runs.
Senior outfielder Ryan Kenning leads the way with 24 home runs and 96 RBIs, while Gabe Veloz and Erik Winegarden are second with 15 home runs apiece.
Junior righthander Jason Williams is expected to start game one of the Regional for the Aggies on the mound. This season, Williams has posted an 8-1 record with 73 strikeouts and a 4.16 ERA in 88.2 innings.
