University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Ready to Meet No. 7 East Carolina This Weekend
4/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 29, 2004
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Two of the hottest teams in Conference USA will square off this weekend as the University of Houston baseball team squares off against No. 7 East Carolina in a three-game series at Harrington Field in Greenville, N.C.
After enduring a slow start, the Cougars have come alive recently and enter the series as winners of their last seven games. However, the host and C-USA leading Pirates bring a league-record 16-game winning streak into Friday night.
The series begins at 6 p.m. (CDT) Friday and continues at Noon (CDT), Saturday, before wrapping up at 11 a.m. (CDT) Sunday. Fans should note that Sunday's game time was moved up one hour from its original time earlier this week to accommodate the Cougars' travel plans.
All three games 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 link at the bottom of the main page at www.UHCougars.com.
Senior righthander Matt Varner makes his team-leading ninth start of the season when the Cougars meet the Pirates in game one. This season, the West Columbia, Texas, native has compiled a 5-3 record with 45 strikeouts and a team-best 3.84 ERA in 61.0 innings.
In his last start, Varner was masterful against Cincinnati in the series opener on April 25. He struck out a career- and UH-season-best-tying eight batters while scattering only four hits over eight shutout innings. He faced only three batters over the minimum and allowed only one baserunner beyond first base.
This will be the first time that he has faced East Carolina.
Sophomore utility player Kevin Roberts leads the Cougars with a .389 batting average and ranks second on the team with five home runs after blasting bombs in four of his last five games. Senior DH Brett Cooley, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since April 2, continues to lead the Cougars with six home runs and 26 RBIs.
Sophomore outfielder Travis Tully brings a career-best 11-game hitting streak into this weekend's series. After enjoying a 10-game streak, Tully became only the 11th player in school history to record two 10-game hitting streaks in one season.
For only the third consecutive year, the Cougars meet ECU on the baseball diamond. The Pirates own a 6-3 lead in the all-time series, which began in 2002 when ECU joined Conference USA. ECU is one of only two C-USA teams (Tulane) against whom the Cougars have an all-time losing record.
The series has been relatively close, with five of the nine games being decided by two runs or less. The two teams have split the last four games. A year ago, ECU came into Cougar Field and walked away with the series victory. After splitting the first two games, the Pirates took a 7-5 win in 10 innings to win their second straight season series against the Cougars.
ECU owns a 2-1 all-time lead in the series at Greenville, N.C. In the teams' only previous meeting, the Pirates were victorious in the first two games of the series before UH rallied with a 7-3 win in the finale.
East Carolina enters this weekend on a 16-game winning streak dating back March 27. Trevor Lawhorn leads the Pirates with 19 home runs and 53 RBIs while Ryan Jones is tops with a .431 batting average.
Junior righthander Greg Bunn is scheduled to start the series opener. This season, Bunn has assembled a 6-0 record with 80 strikeouts and a 3.07 ERA in 67.2 innings of work.
