University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Plays Host to Sam Houston State on Tuesday
4/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 24, 2006
HOUSTON - Riding a four-game winning streak, the 13th-ranked University of Houston baseball team wraps up its homestand when it plays host to area-rival Sam Houston State on Tuesday in a non-conference showdown.
The game begins at 7 p.m., at Cougar Field and 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.
The Cougars (28-15, 12-3 C-USA), who have won 16 of their last 20 games, come into the game after outlasting Conference USA Memphis 8-7 on Sunday in a game that lasted 16 innings and took nearly five hours to finish. The win gave UH their second C-USA series sweep and fifth straight league series win of the 2006 season.
Just as importantly, the win kept the Cougars two games behind current league leader Rice with the showdown against the Owls looming closer on May 12-14 at Reckling Park.
With a perfect 4-0 record last week, the Cougars improved to 13 games over the .500 mark and jumped into the Top 25 of all five national polls. It was the first time that UH had accomplished that feat during the regular season since Feb. 17, 2003.
The Cougars moved up to No. 13 in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll while improving to No. 16 in the latest edition of The Rosenblatt Report. UH also entered the Baseball America Top 25 for the first time since 2003, breaking into the poll at No. 19. The Cougars stood at No. 24 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll and moved up to No. 21 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.
Senior southpaw Matt Farrington will make his eighth start of the season when he takes the hill Tuesday. This season, Farrington has compiled a 3-4 record with 23 strikeouts and a 4.85 ERA in 42.2 innings of work. Tuesday's game will be his 13th appearance but eighth start.
Although he allowed two runs off three hits in one inning of relief, Farrington picked up the win as the Cougars rallied to take a 9-6 win at Texas A&M on April 18.
Tuesday's game will be Farrington's second career start and appearance against the Bearkats. In his only previous outing against SHSU, Farrington allowed three runs off two hits with a strikeout in six innings during a 10-5 Cougar win on April 27, 2004 at Cougar Field.
Junior outfielder Jake Stewart leads the Cougars with a .351 batting average, while junior Brad Lincoln is tops with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs.
For the sixth consecutive season, the Cougars will face Sam Houston State on the baseball diamond. The Bearkats own a 71-67 (.514) lead in the all-time series, which began in 1947 and was played at least once every year from 1982 to 2000.
However, the Cougars can boast of the most recent success and enter Tuesday's game on a seven-game winning streak against the Bearkats. And those games have not been close with UH winning by an average of more than four runs per game.
SHSU has not defeated the Cougars since a 7-5 decision on March 10, 1999, in Huntsville, Texas.
The Cougars are 30-28 (.517) all-time against SHSU on their home field. In addition, UH has won its last six home contests in the friendly confines of Cougar Field.
The last Bearkat win in Houston came with a 10-4 score on April 29, 1998.
SHSU head coach Chris Rupp had not announced his probable starter for Tuesday, but righthanders Zach Golden and Zach Duncan were listed as the likely candidates.
The Bearkats (22-20, 11-10 SLC) come into the game after losing two of three to Southland Conference rival Texas State last weekend.
Senior outfielder Dustin Martin leads the Bearkats with a .360 batting average, while junior Karl Krailo is tops with six home runs and 51 RBIs.
