University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Announces 2005 Schedule
1/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 13, 2005
HOUSTON - With less than a month before the start of the season, University of Houston baseball head coach Rayner Noble announced the team's 2005 schedule on Thursday.
No stranger to challenging schedules, the Cougar Baseball program continues that trend in 2005. The schedule features 25 games against teams that competed at the 2004 NCAA Regionals and 11 games against squads that advanced to the 2004 NCAA Super Regionals.
In addition, the Cougars will play 23 games against eight teams that are currently ranked in at least one national preseason poll.
"It sets the tone for what we really want to accomplish, and it's paid dividends in the past," Noble said. "That's one of the reasons we were able to go to three NCAA Super Regionals."
Cougar fans should have plenty of chances to see their team in action early in the season with UH not leaving the Houston area until mid-March. The 2005 schedule features 29 home games at Cougar Field.
After opening the season at the Minute Maid Park College Classic on Feb. 11-13, the Cougars start the annual Sterling Bank Silver Glove Series against crosstown-rival Rice on Feb. 15.
Those two teams will square off again in the best-of-5 Series at Cougar Field on March 29 and May 17. The Series switches to Rice's Reckling Park on Feb. 22 and April 26.
In addition, the Cougars will play host to Pepperdine (Feb. 18-20), LSU (Feb. 25-27) and Loyola Marymount (March 4-6) at the friendly confines of Cougar Field in non-conference weekend series. Sam Houston State (March 8) and Texas A&M (March 22) also will pay weekday visits to Cougar Field in non-conference action.
The Cougars will make mid-week trips on the road to Baylor (April 8), Sam Houston State (April 19) and Texas A&M (May 10). In addition, the Cougars will face Texas Tech at First American Bank Ballpark in Midland, Texas, on March 15.
Once the early non-conference schedule is complete, the Cougars look to improve on their fourth-place finish in Conference USA a year ago. This season, UAB (March 25-27), Louisville (April 8-10), USF (April 22-24), Saint Louis (May 6-8) and Southern Miss (May 19-21) will visit Cougar Field.
UH will go on the road to meet C-USA rivals Cincinnati (April 1-3), Tulane (April 15-17), TCU (April 29-May 1) and Charlotte (May 13-15) with the regular season ending at the C-USA Tournament, hosted by Southern Miss, on May 25-29.
The winner of the league's annual postseason tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional.
