University of Houston Athletics
Baseball to Square Off With Texas State Tuesday
2/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 25, 2008
HOUSTON -- The University of Houston baseball team returns to action at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, when the Cougars square off with Texas State at Cougar Field.
For the third straight game, Houston will turn to a freshman pitcher making his first career collegiate start. Right-hander Chase Dempsay will take the mound for UH against the Bobcats.
Dempsay started all three games against Pacific over the weekend at designated hitter and in right field, rapping out four hits, scoring four runs and slugging his first career home run.
Fans can hear the game live on UHCougars.com with first-year announcer Jeremy Branham calling the play-by-play action and former UH letterwinner Pat Cauley providing the analysis.
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.
The Cougars enter Tuesday night's match-up after an emotional, comeback win over Pacific on Sunday. Houston rallied to score five runs over its final two at-bats to take a 10-9 victory over the Tigers.
Senior outfielder Jake Stewart sent the Cougar faithful home happy after delivering a two-out RBI-single down the right-field line to plate the winning run. Stewart finished the weekend hitting 7-12 (.583), scoring two runs and smashing a double.
After three games, senior second baseman Ryan Lormand leads Houston with two home runs, four RBIs and a blistering 1.417 OPS.
The big story over the weekend, however, was the emergence of the freshmen Cougars. In addition to Dempsay, shortstop Blake Kelso led Houston to a 3-1 win on Opening Day after driving in all three UH runs. Infielder Matt Murphy went 5-10 over the weekend, ripping two doubles and driving in a pair of RBIs Saturday.
Houston holds a 25-7 edge in the all-time series against Texas State. UH also has posted wins in seven of the last eight meetings at Cougar Field, but the two teams have split the last four contests overall.
Sophomore centerfielder Laurn Randell helped lead the Bobcats to a 3-0 start over the weekend. Randell went 7-14 (.500), scoring three runs, knocking in three RBIs and lacing two doubles.
Following the showdown with the Bobcats, the Cougars will square off with Conference USA- and crosstown-rival Rice at 4 p.m., Wednesday at Reckling Park. Wednesday's game will mark the first of five games against the Owls this season.
