University of Houston Athletics
Baseball to Meet East Carolina in C-USA Weekend Series
3/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 30, 2006
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Thanks to Mother Nature, the University of Houston baseball team took a break from non-conference games this week before traveling to their first Conference USA road series of the season at East Carolina starting this weekend.
The series begins at 6 p.m. (CST), Friday, continues at 5 p.m. (CST) Saturday and wraps up at 11 a.m. (CST), Sunday at ECU's Clark-LeClair Stadium. All three games can be heard live over the Internet at www.UHCougars.com with former UH letterwinners Nick Torina and Pat Cauley calling all the action. Fans also can follow play-by-play action by clicking on the "Live Stats" link on the schedule at www.UHCougars.com.
UH enters the series as winners of four of their last five games following a series sweep of Conference USA rival Marshall last weekend. As a result, the Cougars boosted their overall record to four games over the .500 mark for the first time in 2006.
The Cougars (16-12, 3-0 C-USA) erupted for 15 runs off 18 hits in the series finale against the Thundering Herd on Sunday and will be looking to ride that offensive wave of momentum into their second conference series of the young season.
Junior righthander Brad Lincoln will take the hill for the opener of the East Carolina series on Friday. This season, Lincoln leads the Cougars with 63 strikeouts and only 11 walks in 49.2 innings of work.
In his last outing, Lincoln was dazzling as he limited new C-USA rival Marshall to only three hits with eight strikeouts over nine shutout innings in a 7-0 UH win on March 24 at Cougar Field. For that impressive performance, he was honored earlier this week as the C-USA Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season.
He faced only two batters over the minimum for the entire game and faced the minimum during the final six innings. In addition, he recorded his eight straight start with at least seven strikeouts to open the season.
Friday's opener will be the first time that Lincoln has faced East Carolina.
Besides his pitching prowess, Lincoln also is a regular in the heart of the Cougar lineup, playing DH or at first base on the days he does not pitch. This season, he has compiled a .270 batting average with team highs of five home runs and 24 RBIs.
In the season opener against Texas-San Antonio on Feb. 7, Lincoln blasted a three-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to lead UH to an 11-10 win over the Roadrunners. He finished 2-for-3 with two runs, a home run, double and two RBIs against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 14.
Junior infielder Dustin Kingsbury leads the team with .339 batting average and eight stolen bases and is tied with junior outfielder Jake Stewart for the team lead with seven doubles.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Cougars will meet East Carolina on the baseball diamond. The Pirates own a 10-5 (.667) lead in the all-time series, which began in 2002 and has been played at least two times every year since.
The two teams missed one another during the regular season but squared off twice during the C-USA Tournament at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Miss. While the Pirates won the first game with a 6-5 decision in the first round on May 25, 2005, UH had the last laugh, winning a 6-4 decision two days later to eliminate ECU from the league's annual postseason event.
The Cougars are 1-5 (.167) all-time against the Pirates and will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak to the Pirates. The lone Cougar win on enemy soil was a 7-3 decision in the series finale on April 7, 2002.
ECU (17-10, 1-2 C-USA) enters this weekend's series after falling 5-4 at North Carolina State on Wednesday night
Sophomore righthander T.J. Hose is scheduled to make the series-opening start for ECU. This season, Hose has compiled a 3-1 record with 41 strikeouts and a 2.51 ERA in 43.0 innings of work.
Jake Smith leads the Pirates with a .316 batting average and 30 RBIs and is tied with Adam Witter for the team lead with five home runs.
