University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Set to Face Memphis This Weekend
5/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 8, 2003
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - After a four-day break, the University of Houston baseball team returns to action this weekend as it faces Conference USA rival Memphis in a three-game series at Nat Buring Stadium in Memphis, Tenn.
The series begins at 7 p.m., Friday and continues at 2 p.m., Saturday before wrapping up at 1 p.m. Sunday. Fans can hear the game live on KAXF 88.3 FM or over the Internet at www.UHcougars.com.
With final examinations hitting the UH campus this week, the Cougars took a break from their non-conference schedule. In late February, the Cougars went four days without playing a midweek game and responded well to the rest, sweeping Louisiana-Lafayette in a three-game series at Cougar Field.
Junior righthander Brad Sullivan makes his team-leading 15th start of the season Friday in the series opener. All Cougar fans' eyes will be on the Nederland, Texas, native who needs only six strikeouts to become UH's career strikeout leader. He enters this weekend's series with 383 strikeouts, only five away from tying the record of 388 set by Shane Nance from 1997 to 2000.
A year ago against Memphis, Sullivan set a school record with 16 strikeouts against the Tigers in only seven innings of work.
Junior third baseman Hyung Cho continues to be an offensive force for the Cougars, leading UH in all three Triple Crown categories with 12 home runs, 48 RBIs and a .388 batting average. The Toronto, Canada, native enters the Memphis series on a UH season-best 12-game hitting streak.
He is one of only three players in Conference USA to rank among the league's Top Five individual leaders in each Triple Crown category.
Junior center fielder Michael Bourn has been on a tear of late as well and brings a seven-game hitting streak into this weekend's series. A week ago, Bourn swiped seven bases in as many attempts during five games against 20th-ranked Baylor, Texas-San Antonio and Louisville.
With his recent hot hitting, the Humble, Texas, native has raised his batting average to a .324 level and is reaching base 43.5 percent of the time.
The series has been dominated by the Cougars since 1997, the year that UH began play as a C-USA member. UH owns a 17-2 all-time record against the Tigers and brings a nine-game winning streak into this weekend's series.
A year ago, the Cougars rolled to a three-game sweep of the Tigers in Houston, outscoring their opponent 46-10 and winning by an average of 12.0 runs per game. However, the Cougar pitchers were equally impressive, striking out 47 batters out of 81 possible outs during the series.
UH also has posted a 7-2 all-time record in Memphis against the Tigers and has won each of the three series previously played there.
Memphis (17-30, 8-15 C-USA) enters the series on the heels of a three-game sweep of league rival Saint Louis last weekend. Ryan Martin leads the Tigers with a .336 batting average and six home runs, while Kevin House is tops with 31 RBIs.
Righthander Jarrett Grube is scheduled to start on the hill for Memphis. This season, Grube has recorded a 3-5 record with a 4.47 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work.
