University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Set to Open PETCO Park on Thursday
3/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 10, 2004
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Cougars will invade the West Coast for the seventh consecutive season when they compete at the Aztec Invitational at PETCO Park this weekend.
UH opens the tournament at 9 p.m. (CST), Thursday when they meet host San Diego State. The Cougars and Aztecs will square off in the first-ever game played at PETCO Park, home of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres.
In addition, both teams are expected to play in front of the largest crowd ever to watch a single college baseball game. More than 33,000 tickets have been sold to Thursday's game, topping the previous high of more than 27,000 between LSU and Tulane at the Louisiana Superdome during the 2002 season.
The largest single-game attendance ever to watch the Cougars play was 11,761 against Arizona State in the championship game of the 1967 NCAA College World Series.
The game also will be played in front of a national television audience on College Sports Television. Mike Crispino is scheduled to call the play-by-play with Kevin Stocker providing color commentary. Fans can tune into the telecast on DirecTV channel 610 or by checking their local listings.
The game can be heard live on KAXF 88.3 FM or over the Internet at www.UHcougars.com with C.B. Devoy and Pat Cauley calling the action. Fans also can follow the action through live stats by clicking on the Gametracker at the bottom of the main page at www.UHCougars.com.
UH continues its stay at the tournament at 1 p.m. (CST) Saturday when it meets San Diego and wraps up the event at 1 p.m. (CST) Sunday against UCLA.
Senior righthander Brett Cooley makes his second consecutive start against SDSU on Tuesday. The season, Cooley has compiled a 1-0 record with nine strikeouts and a 3.72 ERA in 9.2 innings.
In his last start, he helped set the tone in a 10-4 win over No. 25 Baylor on March 2. Cooley faced only one batter over the minimum through five innings and allowed only one run off two hits with a career-best six strikeouts.
That was the first collegiate start of his career and earned him Conference USA Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday. Combined with his C-USA Hitter of the Week award for Feb. 16, Cooley became only the third player and second Cougar in history to win the league's hitting and pitching awards in the same season.
UH enters the tournament on the heels of a disappointing 8-7 loss to No. 12 Texas A&M on Tuesday at Cougar Field. In that game, the Cougars exploded for five runs in the sixth inning to take a 7-4 lead but saw the Aggies score four runs in the eighth inning to take the win.
Senior infielder Cole Bruce continues to lead the Cougars with a .362 batting average but is trailed closely by junior shortstop Stuart Musslewhite, who extended his hitting streak to a season-best tying five straight games against the Aggies.
In addition to his pitching duties, Cooley has established himself as one of the Cougars' most consistent hitters, batting .333 with three home runs and 14 RBIs. The Round Rock, Texas, native tops the Cougars in the last two categories.
San Diego State enters the tournament with a 9-15 mark after falling 10-9 against Cal State Northridge on Tuesday. Brock Ungricht leads the Aztecs with a .337 batting average, while Jake McLintock has added a team-best 15 RBIs. Nine different SDSU players have blasted homers in 2004 with Curt Mendoza's two leading the way.
Righthander Scott Shoemaker is scheduled to make the start for the Aztecs against UH. This season, the senior has compiled a 1-5 with a 5.85 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 40.0 innings of work.
The series is tied between these two teams at 3-3 with both squads alternating wins and losses. IF history is any indication, the Cougars should do well as SDSU took a 5-4 win on Feb. 11, 2001, during the Moores Cup in San Diego.
