University of Houston Athletics
Baseball To Face Stephen F. Austin on the Road Tuesday
5/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 1, 2006
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Coming off its sixth consecutive Conference USA series victory, the 13th-ranked University of Houston baseball team will look for its win in the 23 games when they hit the road to meet Stephen F. Austin.
The game begins at 3 p.m., Tuesday at Pete Smith City Park. Fans can follow play-by-play action by clicking on the "Live Stats" link on the schedule at www.UHCougars.com.
The Cougars come into the game after splitting a doubleheader at C-USA rival UAB on Saturday. UH dropped a surprising 7-4 decision to the Blazers in the first game after allowing five runs to across in the eighth inning. However, the Cougar rebounded in the nightcap and series finale with a 9-4 win.
With a 31-16 overall record to date this season, the Cougars stood 15 games over the .500 mark. It marked the first time since the end of the 2002 season that UH stood that high over the .500 mark. That 2002 Cougar squad tied a school single-season record in wins and finished with a 48-17 overall mark.
Senior southpaw Matt Farrington will make his ninth start of the season when he takes the hill at Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday. This season, Farrington has compiled a 4-4 record with 29 strikeouts and a 4.50 ERA in 50.0 innings of work. Tuesday's game will be his 14th appearance but ninth start.
He is one of only two lefthanders to start for the Cougars on the hill since Brian Henderson in the championship game of the 2003 NCAA Houston Super Regional on June 9, 2003.
In his last start, Farrington scattered two runs off six hits with a season-high six strikeouts in 7.1 innings to help lead the Cougars to a 4-3 win over Sam Houston State on April 26. It also was his third straight win this season.
Tuesday's game will be Farrington's first career appearance against the Lumberjacks
Junior outfielder Jake Stewart leads the Cougars with a .349 batting average and has hit safely in 12 of the team's last 13 games. Junior Brad Lincoln is tops with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs, but senior Matt Weston has made a big jump and ranks second in both categories with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs.
For the second time during the 2006 season, the Cougars will meet Stephen F. Austin on the baseball diamond. Houston owns a 30-9 (.769) all-time record against SFA in a series, which dates back to 1947.
The Cougars enjoyed an 8-1 win on Feb. 14 at Cougar Field. That game was the first meeting between these two teams since the 1994 season.
The Cougars have enjoyed tremendous success against the Lumberjacks in recent years and enter Tuesday's game on an 18-game winning streak and as winners in 23 of the last 24 games against SFA.
SFA's last win in the series came on Feb. 22, 1990, with a 4-3 decision in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Cougars are 9-2 (.818) all-time against the Lumberjacks in Nacogdoches, Texas. UH enters Tuesday's game on an eight-game road winning streak against the Lumberjacks and have not lost in Nacogdoches since falling 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader on Feb. 22, 1990.
Stephen F. Austin (8-39, 3-21 SLC) comes into the game after being swept at Southland Conference rival Texas-San Antonio last weekend to extend their losing streak to seven games.
David Jeans leads the Lumberjacks with a .338 batting average, while Steven Hill is tops with 12 home runs and 34 RBIs. Freshman righthander Erich Lehmann is scheduled to take the hill for Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday. This season, Lehmann has compiled a 5-3 record with 38 strikeouts and a 4.73 ERA in 45.2 innings.
