University of Houston Athletics
Baseball to Meet McNeese State on Tuesday at Cougar Field
4/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 3, 2006
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team returns to the friendly confines of Cougar Field this week as they play host in four straight games. The brief homestand begins at 7 p.m., Tuesday as the team squares off against McNeese State for the first time since the 2002 season.
The game 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 (18-13, 5-1 C-USA) come into the game after dropping a 3-0 decision at Conference USA rival East Carolina on Sunday. Despite the loss, the Cougars left Greenville, N.C., with an impressive series victory after winning the first two games of the series, including a 13-4 thumping of the Pirates in the middle game.
Sophomore righthander Aaron Brown will make only his third start of the 2006 season when he takes the hill against McNeese State on Tuesday
This season, Brown has compiled a 1-2 record with 23 strikeouts and a 4.43 ERA in 20.1 innings of work. In addition, he has made a team-leading 14 appearances this season with 12 of those coming out of the bullpen.
At 6-6, Brown ranks as the tallest player on the 2006 Cougar team and is the tallest player since Bryan Moore measured in at 6-8 for the 1999 team.
In his last outing, Brown came out of the bullpen in the ninth inning during the East Carolina series opener on March 31, allowing two runs off three hits in 0.2 innings of work. In his last start, he allowed three runs off three hits with four strikeouts in three innings of work at No.23 Arizona State in the series finale. However, he did not pick up a decision as the Sun Devils rallied late to take an 8-6 win.
Tuesday's game will be the first time that Brown has faced McNeese State.
Offensively, junior infielder Dustin Kingsbury continues to lead the Cougars, batting .331 with eight stolen bases. Junior infielder Brad Lincoln is tops on the team with six home runs and 26 RBIs.
For the first time in more than four years, the Cougars will meet McNeese State on the baseball diamond. The Cougars own a 35-12 (.745) lead in the all-time series, which was first played in 1971. The Cougars have won the last three games and six of their last seven games against the Cowboys.
UH has dominated the series, winning 18 straight games against MSU from 1976-89. MSU's longest winning streak has been three games in 1975-76 and 1990-92.
The Cougars are 32-7 (.821) all-time against the Cowboys on their home field. In addition, the Cougars have won their last two games and four of their last five against MSU entering Tuesday's game.
McNeese State (16-11, 4-5 SLC) comes into the game after losing two of three games at Southland Conference rival Texas-San Antonio last weekend. After dropping the first two games by one run in each contest, the Cowboys claimed a 15-9 win in the series finale to avoid the sweep.
Junior infielder Charlie Kingrey leads MSU with a .333 batting average and 21 RBIs and is tied with junior outfielder James Thibodeaux for the team lead with three home runs.
MSU head coach Chad Clement had not announced his probable starter as of press time.
