University of Houston Athletics
Baseball to Play at McNeese State on Tuesday
4/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 30, 2007
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team wraps up its season-long, nine-game road swing at 7 p.m., Tuesday when it squares off against McNeese State at Cowboy Diamond.
In one of the toughest stretches of their 2007 season, the Cougars have posted a 5-3 record during this swing and will be looking for their sixth win against the Cowboys. UH also will be looking to sweep the regular-season series against the Cowboys after enjoying a 12-4 win on Feb. 20 at the friendly confines of Cougar Field. The Cougars hope to extend their winning streak over the Cowboys to seven consecutive games.
The Cougars come into the game after a surprising series loss at Conference USA rival Marshall last weekend in Charleston, W.Va. Despite the loss, the Cougars maintained their hold on second place in the competitive Conference USA but saw their lead over third-place Memphis shrink to just a game.
Following the showdown against the Cowboys, the Cougars finally return to Cougar Field for a four-game homestand.
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. Tuesday's game will not be broadcast on the Internet at UHCougars.com.
Freshman southpaw Donnie Joseph makes his 10th start of the season Tuesday when he toes the rubber. This season, the Buda native has compiled a 1-1 record with 19 strikeouts and a 6.50 ERA in 44.1 innings.
Joseph ranks third among all Cougar pitchers in starts and innings pitched. Tuesday's game will be Joseph's seventh consecutive midweek start.
In his last start, Joseph earned his first collegiate win with an impressive outing against Texas-San Antonio at Riverside Stadium in Victoria on April 24. He allowed only two runs off four hits with a pair of strikeouts in a career-best six innings of work.
Tuesday's game will be Joseph's first career appearance against the Cowboys.
Sophomore outfielder Jimmy Cesario continues to lead the Cougars and Conference USA with his .381 batting average. The Metairie, La., native saw his career- and UH-season-best 20-game hitting streak come to an end at Marshall during the series finale Sunday. He joined Brandon Caraway, Ike Lucas, Brett Cooley and Travis Tully as the only players in school history to record a 20-game hitting streak during their careers.
Sophomore catcher Luis Flores is tops with nine home runs, while senior third baseman Dustin Kingsbury - who has started each of the last 163 games - paces the Cougars with 36 RBIs.
For the second straight season, the Cougars will face McNeese State in a home-and-away series. The Cougars have posted a 38-12 (.760) lead in the all-time series, which began in 1971 and was played at least once every year from 1989 to 1997.
In addition, the Cougars enter Tuesday's game on a six-game winning streak against the Cowboys and have won nine of their last 10 games against MSU.
The Cougars erupted for seven runs in the fifth inning to claim a 12-4 win over the Cowboys at Cougar Field on Feb. 20. It was' UH's fourth straight home win over McNeese State.
McNeese State has posted a 5-4 (.556) record against the Cougars on its home field. However, the Cougars have won each of the last three games in Lake Charles dating back to 1996 and four of the last five games there.
McNeese State (16-27, 12-8 Southland) comes into the game after sweeping at Southland Conference rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last weekend. Those wins snapped a four-game losing streak.
Senior southpaw Danny Davis is scheduled to start for the Cowboys on the mound. This season, Davis has posted a 2-2 record with 28 strikeouts and a 6.67 ERA in 28.1 innings.
Senior outfielder Charlie Kingrey leads the Cowboys in all Triple Crown categories with a .363 batting average, 13 home runs and 41 RBIs.
