University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Begins Practice on Tuesday
1/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 9, 2006
HOUSTON - The air around the University of Houston athletics complex will soon be filled with the pings of balls hitting aluminum bats as the Cougar baseball program officially begins the 2006 season with the start of practice Tuesday.
"We're ready to hit the start of the season fast and furious," said head coach Rayner Noble, who begins his 12th season at the helm of the UH program in 2006. "We're excited to play again, so hopefully this weather will hold out for us."
The Cougars, who are ranked No. 32 by Collegiate Baseball in that magazine's annual preseason poll, will be looking to return to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2003. While Noble is well into his second decade with the Cougar program, the lack of recent success alone keeps him and his coaching staff energized for the upcoming season.
"Because we have not been in the NCAA field for the last two years, that is motivation for us. We need to get back to where we need to be, and the NCAA Regionals are where we need to be," said Noble who needs only 10 wins to reach 400 during his career. "This entire staff is motivated to get things rolling again."
The first week of practice will be especially intense as the school remains closed for semester break until Jan. 17 As a result, Noble and his coaching staff can work out the team for as long as necessary without the usual NCAA restrictions that come down once classes begin.
The team will work through two-a-days Tuesday through Friday with bullpen and hitting work in the morning and a full team practice later in the afternoon. The team will hold only one workout each day on Saturday and Sunday before concluding with their final two-a-day practice on Monday.
The Cougars begin their regular weekly schedule on Jan. 17 with practice beginning around 2:30 p.m. each day and lasting for about three hours.
Practice is open to the general public, and fans are invited to attend.
The Cougars return all but five players from last year's squad, which finished 29-30 but posted a third-place finish at the Conference USA Tournament after sporting a 2-2 record.
Leading the way for the team is junior righthander Brad Lincoln, who became only the seventh player in school history to throw at least 100 strikeouts in a season in 2005. After a successful summer season in the Cape Cod League, Lincoln was named a Preseason All-America Second-Team honoree by Baseball America magazine.
In addition, he posted a .337 batting average with seven home runs and 52 RBIs while hitting near the heart of the Cougar lineup.
Southpaw Matt Farrington returns for his senior season after emerging as the staff ace in 2005. A year ago, the Sugar Land, Texas, native pitched to an 8-5 record with 60 strikeouts and a team-best 3.24 ERA in 97.1 innings of work. Along the way he was named to the All-Conference USA First Team and was recently named to the Wallace Watch List for the award given to the nation's top college baseball player of the year.
Offensively, junior shortstop Dustin Kingsbury returns as the Cougars' leading hitter. Last season, Kingsbury finished with a .341 batting average, six home runs and team-best 58 RBIs on the way to being named to the C-USA All-Tournament Team.
The Cougars open the 2006 season at 2 p.m., Feb. 7 when they play host to Texas-San Antonio at Cougar Field. From there, the team will compete at Minute Maid Park on Feb. 10-12 in the Astros College Classic for the sixth straight year.
UH opens the round-robin tournament at 7 p.m., Feb. 10 when it meets No. 1 Texas. The Cougars also face No. 19 TCU at 3:30 p.m., Feb. 11 before wrapping up their stay at 11 a.m., Feb. 12.
