University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Ready to Go against Lamar
3/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 5, 2007
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team continues its season-long, eight-game homestand as it plays host to Lamar in a non-conference showdown at 7 p.m., Tuesday at Cougar Field.
UH comes into the game on the heels of a surprising 6-5 loss in 10 innings to Northwestern State last weekend at Cougar Field. The Demons scored twice in the top of the ninth to force extra innings and then scored a run in the 10th to win the game and the weekend series.
Cougar Baseball games can be heard live on UHCougars.com with former UH letterwinner Nick Torina calling the play-by-play action and Pat Cauley providing color analysis. To access the free broadcast, fans should click on the "Schedules and Results" link on the baseball main page. From there, fans can click on the "Audio Broadcasts" link, which will bring up the 2007 radio schedule.
Fans also can follow live stats via the Internet by clicking the "Gametracker" link on the UH front page or on the Cougar Baseball schedule page.
Freshman southpaw Donnie Joseph returns to the starting lineup when he toes the rubber against Lamar on Tuesday at Cougar Field. This season, Joseph has compiled six strikeouts and an 8.59 ERA in 14.2 innings of work.
The Buda native made starts during each of the first three weekend series before coming out of the bullpen in each of his last three outings.
In his last game, Joseph came out of the bullpen in the first game of the Northwestern State series on March 2, allowing a hit to the only batter that he faced in the eighth inning.
In his last start, he allowed eight runs off eight hits in 3.1 innings against Texas-San Antonio during the first day of the Southwest Diamond Classic in Frisco on Feb. 22 He did not pick up a decision, though, as the Cougars jumped out to a 11-4 lead after the first four innings during a 12-10 win over the Roadrunners.
Tuesday's game will be Joseph's first career appearance against Lamar.
Sophomore DH Jimmy Cesario has emerged as one of the Cougars' and Conference USA's premier sluggers during the 2007 campaign. This season, the Metairie, La., native has posted a .391 batting average with three home runs and 12 RBIs.
He is the only player in Conference USA to rank among the Top Five individual leaders in all Triple Crown categories. His .391 average is third best, while he is tied for fifth in RBIs. Finally, his RBI total ties for the fourth most in the league.
Sophomore utility player Luis Flores is tied for the team lead with four home runs, while senior infielder Dustin Kingsbury has added a team-best 16 RBIs.
Memphis' Bill Moss is the only other player in C-USA to be ranked in two categories, batting average (.438, 1st) and home runs (3, t-4th).
For the second straight season, the Cougars will meet Lamar on the baseball diamond. The Cougars own a 44-22 (.667) lead in the all-time series, which began in 1952 and was played at least once every season from 1987 to 1996.
A year ago, the two teams split the regular-season series with each team winning on its home field. UH enjoyed a 4-3 win at Cougar Field on March 7, a week after falling to the Cardinals 5-4 in Beaumont.
The Cougars can boast of a 24-9 (.727) all-time record against Lamar in Houston. In addition, UH has won each of its last seven home games against the Cardinals.
Lamar's last win over the Cougars in Houston was an 11-10 decision on April 28, 1992.
The Cardinals (9-5) come into the game after dropping back-to-back games against Kansas State and St. John's to cap the weekend. Sophomore righthander Brian Needham is slated to take the mound against the Cougars. This season, he has posted a 1-0 record with six strikeouts and a 3.86 ERA in seven innings of work.
Erik Kanaby leads the Cardinals with a .418 batting average, making him one of three players with a mark higher than .400 and one of eight above .300. Michael Ambort tops the team with 17 RBIs, while Jeff Vickers has blasted a Lamar-best two home runs.
