University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Opens Preseason Practice at Cougar Field
1/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 20, 2004
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball squad started preseason practice Tuesday afternoon at Cougar Field, as the Cougars begin preparing for their opener against Kansas State on Feb. 13 during the first day of the Minute Maid Park College Classic.
"We had a nice workout today," said UH head coach Rayner Noble, who is poised to become the second-winningest coach in program history in 2004. "We've got everybody healthy going into the season, so we want to keep that going. I hope we can continue that and continue to get the kinks out."
A year ago, the Cougars advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals for the third time in the last four years before bowing out. In addition, the Cougars' loss to crosstown rival Rice marked the second straight season that UH fell to the eventual national champion in the NCAA postseason.
The Cougars are ranked No. 27 in Baseball America magazine's Top 50 Preseason Poll and are receiving votes in the polls from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and ESPN/Sports Weekly.
Preseason workouts, which are open to the public, will feature several intrasquad games leading up to the Feb. 13 opener.
"We will probably intrasquad on Saturday, and that's where the fun starts," Noble said.
