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University of Houston Athletics
Baseball To Play Host to TCU in Weekend Series
3/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 25, 2004
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team looks to return to its winning ways when it meets Conference USA rival TCU in a three-game series at Cougar Field this weekend.
The series begins with 7 p.m., games on Friday and Saturday and wraps up at 1 p.m., Sunday.
All three games can be heard live on KAXF 88.3 FM or over the Internet at www.UHCougars.com. Fans can follow live stats of all three games at www.UHCougars.com by clicking on the Gametracker link on the bottom of the main page.
The Cougars (8-15, 1-2, C-USA) come into the series on the heels of a disappointing 12-11 loss at Texas Tech at First American Bank Ballpark in Midland, Texas, on Tuesday. The loss spoiled an amazing comeback by the Cougars who scored three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game.
However, Texas Tech's Josh Haney blasted the third pitch in the bottom of the ninth over the center field to wall to lead the Red Raiders the regular-season series sweep. TTU claimed a 12-7 win in 12 innings on Feb. 14 during the second day of the Minute Maid Park College Classic.
It was the second consecutive loss for the Cougars during their opponent' last at-bat. No. 18 Southern Miss took advantage of Ryan Frith's RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday to break a 3-3 tie and claim the series victory over the Cougars in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Junior catcher Rob Johnson leads the active Cougars with a .295 batting average and has hit safely in his last seven games, a career high. The Butte, Mon., native also has added five doubles and 12 RBIs to rank among the Cougar leaders in each category.
Senior DH Brett Cooley tops the Cougars in the other Triple Crown categories with five home runs and 20 RBIs.
Junior righthander Garrett Mock (1-4, 6.57) makes his first C-USA start of the season in the series opener. TCU righthander Clayton Jerome (5-1, 2.56), who is the reigning C-USA Pitcher of the Year, is slated to start on the hill for the Horned Frogs.
After starting the season 1-4, TCU has rebounded to post a 15-8 overall record with wins in each of its last seven games. The Horned Frogs joined with Charlotte and USF as the league leaders at 3-0 after sweeping Memphis last weekend.
Chad Huffman leads TCU with a .448 batting average, while Shelby Ford is tops with seven home runs. Chris Neuman leads the team with 28 RBIs.
This marks the third consecutive season that the Cougars have met TCU as C-USA rivals. However, the two teams were regulars on each other's schedule from 1973-96 as member of the Southwest Conference.
UH leads TCU 48-33-2 in the all-time series and has posted a 6-1 all-time record against the Horned Frogs at the friendly confines of Cougar Field.
A year ago, UH won the regular-season series in Fort Worth with the series being decided by a total of seven runs, including a 6-5 Cougar win in the series finale.
