University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Opens Home Season Friday vs. Cal State Fullerton
2/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 19, 2004
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team looks to return to its winning ways when it plays host to No. 14 Cal State Fullerton this weekend in a three-game, non-conference series at Cougar Field, beginning with a 4 p.m., contest Friday.
The game can be heard live over the Internet at www.UHcougars.com with C.B. Devoy and Pat Cauley calling all the action. The pre-game show is slated to begin about 15 minutes before first pitch. Fans also can view live stats at www.UHcougars.com by clicking on the "Gametracker" link on the Daily Calendar at the bottom of the main page.
The series continues at 7 p.m., Saturday before wrapping up at 1 p.m., Sunday.
Fans should note that Friday's game time was moved up three hours from the original schedule to allow fans to watch the UH women's basketball team in action during a pivotal Conference USA game at Hofheinz Pavilion at 7 p.m.
A pair of seniors leads the Cougar offensive attack, which is batting .293 as a team and has recorded four straight games with at least 10 hits. Designated hitter Brett Cooley leads all players with a .412 batting average and .647 slugging percentage, while third baseman Nick Bott is a close second at .400.
Junior shortstop Stuart Musslewhite leads the Cougars with seven RBIs and is batting .368.
Senior righthander Matt Varner is expected to make his second start of the season for the Cougars. In his last outing, Varner struck out three and allowed three runs off eight hits in 4.2 innings of work against Kansas State during the season opener at the Minute Maid Park College Classic.
The West Columbia, Texas, native became the first first-year Cougar pitcher since 1991 to make the team's Opening Day start.
Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series against the Cougars 7-1 but UH can boast of the most success against the Titans after taking a 7-3 win during the 2002 Kia Baseball Bash. UH would go on to defeat nationally-ranked USC and Miami on consecutive nights to win the tournament championship.
However, UH will be looking for revenge against the Titans, who swept the Cougars at Cougar Field during a three-game series in 1999.
The Cougars come into the game on the heels of an 8-4 loss at No. 1 Rice on Tuesday during Game One of the 2004 Silver Glove Series. In that game, senior infielder Cole Bruce enjoyed a career day as he batted 4-for-4 with a home run and RBI.
Cal State Fullerton enters the series after losing two of three games at No. 15 Arizona last weekend. The Titans are expected to start righthander Jason Windsor, who will be making his first start of the 2004 season.
Kurt Suzuki leads the Titans with a .517 batting average and 11 RBIs through the first nine games. Felipe Garcia leads the team with a pair of home runs.
