University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Plays Host to UC Irvine this Weekend
2/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 15, 2007
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team looks to continue to ride a wave of momentum when it plays host to UC Irvine in a non-conference series this weekend at Cougar Field.
The series begins at 4 p.m., Friday and wraps up with 1 p.m. games on both Saturday and Sunday. With temperatures in the lower 40s expected this weekend, the Cougars announced a pair of game time changes for this weekend's series against UC Irvine.
Saturday's game time was moved up to 1 p.m. to avoid the weather and a conflict with the UH men's basketball team which plays C-USA rival UAB at 5 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion.
UH comes into the series after upending Sam Houston State 16-9 on Tuesday at Cougar Field. In that game, the Cougars rallied from a 6-0 deficit after three-and-a-half innings, scoring five runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings to earn their 10th straight win over the Bearkats.
This will be the second straight season that the two teams have met in a weekend series. A year ago, the Cougars traveled west and won the first two games of the series before the Anteaters claimed a 3-2 win in the series finale.
Freshman southpaw Donnie Joseph makes his second weekend start this season when he toes the rubber in the series opener Friday. This season, the Buda native has thrown three strikeouts with a 1.50 ERA in six innings of work. His ERA total is the second best on the staff.
Joseph was impressive during his first collegiate start, limiting Texas A&M to only one unearned run off five hits with a pair of strikeouts in five innings during the second day of the Houston College Classic on Feb. 10. However, he did not pick up a decision as the Aggies rallied midway through the game to take a 6-2 win.
Friday's game will be the first time that Joseph has faced UC Irvine.
Sophomore DH Jimmy Cesario leads the Cougars with a .563 batting average, .875 slugging percentage and .682 on-base percentage and is the only Cougar slugger to hit safely in all five games this season. Junior infielder Ryan Lormand is second on the team with a .474 after going 4-for-4 with a pair of walks against Sam Houston State on Tuesday.
Junior infielder Bryan Pounds tops the Cougars with eight RBIs after recording a career-best five RBIs against the Bearkats.
For the second straight season, the Cougars will face UC Irvine on the diamond. The Cougars own a 2-1 (.667) lead in the all-time series, which first began in Irvine, Calif., in 2006.
Last year, the Cougars enjoyed 3-2 and 7-3 wins in the first games of the series before the Anteaters stormed back to take a 3-2 win in the series finale.
This weekend's series will be the first time that these two teams have met in Houston.
Sophomore righthander Scott Gorgen will make the Friday start for the Anteaters. This season, he has posted a 1-0 record with seven strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA in 12.0 innings.
Senior outfielder Matthew Morris leads the Anteaters in all Triple Crown categories with a .474 batting average, two home runs and six RBIs.
The Anteaters (3-2-1) comes into the game after splitting a weekend series with Loyola Marymount last weekend. UCI enjoyed a 2-0 win in the first game before falling 7-2 in the middle contest. The two teams then fought to a 15-15 tie in the series finale on Sunday.
