University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Opens C-USA Tournament on Wednesday
5/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 20, 2003
NEW ORLEANS - The University of Houston baseball team begins play at the 2003 Conference USA Tournament at 9 a.m., Wednesday with a first-round showdown against fifth-seeded East Carolina at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans.
The game is a rematch of the 2002 C-USA title game, which the host Pirates won with a 4-0 decision at Grainger Stadium in Kinston, N.C.
While the Cougars are no stranger to the league's annual postseason event, they are breaking new ground in 2003 with their seeding. At No. 4, the Cougars will play as something other than a No. 1 or No. 2 seed for the first time in their seven-year history as a C-USA member.
Fans can catch the action on KAXF 88.3 FM or over the Internet at www.UHcougars.com with pregame slated to begin about 15 minutes before the first pitch. Fans can also catch the action batter-by-batter by visiting www.UHcougars.com and clicking on the "Gametracker" link on the Daily Calendar at the bottom of the main page.
Junior righthander Brad Sullivan is slated to throw for the Cougars in the tournament opener. This season, Sullivan has compiled a 6-6 record with a 2.76 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 107.1 innings of work. His season strikeout total is the second highest in UH history, trailing only the 157 Ks he tossed to lead the nation in 2002.
In addition, the Nederland, Texas, native needs just three strikeouts to become the first player in UH history and only the second in C-USA history to reach the 400-strikeout milestone during his career.
The Cougars come into the tournament after losing two of three to regular-season champion Southern Mississippi last weekend at Cougar Field. It was the second straight C-USA series loss for the Cougars, who also lost two of three at Memphis on May 9-11.
Junior third baseman Hyung Cho continues to lead the Cougar offense with a .366 batting average, 15 home runs and 55 RBIs. If he continues to hold that advantage over his UH teammates, he will become only the eighth player in school history to win the team's Triple Crown.
Freshman Travis Tully also has been a steady offensive player for the Cougars in 2003. With his current .352 batting average, he has posted the highest average by a Cougar freshman since J.J. Matzke led the 1993 UH team.
UH opened the 2003 C-USA season against East Carolina in the friendly confines of Cougar Field and dropped two of three to the Pirates for the second consecutive season. However, the Pirates were forced to extra innings in each of their wins, winning 1-0 in 12 innings in the series opener and 7-5 in 10 frames during the finale.
This is the second straight season that these two teams have met since ECU joined the league in 2002. With a 2-5 all-time record against the Cougars, East Carolina owns the best winning percentage by a C-USA team against UH.
East Carolina should be familiar with the city of New Orleans by the time the tournament begins Wednesday. The Pirates have been in the Big Easy since Thursday after facing Tulane in a three-game series.
Shortstop Darryl Lawhorn leads the Pirates with a .325 batting average and is tied with Ryan Norwood for the team lead with 13 home runs. Norwood tops ECU with 43 RBIs, one more than Lawhorn.
Righthander Will Brinson is scheduled to throw for East Carolina. This season, Brinson has compiled a 3-3 record with 62 strikeouts and a 4.83 ERA in 78.1 innings of work.
