University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Places Three on South Central All-Region Team
6/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 12, 2008
HOUSTON - Three University of Houston baseball players recently were named to the 2008 South Central All-Region Team.
Senior third baseman Bryan Pounds received First-Team recognition, while sophomore southpaw Wes Musick and senior outfielder Jake Stewart were named to the Second Team.
Pounds was a consistent offensive force for the Cougars throughout the 2008 campaign, regularly batting in the heart of the UH lineup.
After sitting out the first two games of the season-opening series against Pacific, the Houston native joined the lineup in the finale. He batted 4-for-5 against the Tigers during his season debut and has never relinquished the team leading in batting average.
Pounds also blasted his first grand slam and finished with a career-high seven RBIs against No. 12 Rice during an 8-5 win on March 12. He also rattled off a 19-game hitting streak, the sixth longest in UH history, while adding 10 home runs and a team-high 67 RBIs, the latter tying for the second-highest total in school single-season history.
Stewart emerged as one of the Cougars' and league's most versatile players in 2008 with the rare combination of power and speed. The Santa Fe native topped the team in runs scored (74), doubles (24), home runs (14), slugging percentage (.605), on-base percentage (.449) and finished second with a .332 batting average and 25stolen bases.
Against C-USA rival UAB on April 18, Stewart became only the third player in school history to smash three home runs in a game, accomplishing that feat on the final three pitches he saw.
Musick posted an 8-4 record with 87 strikeouts and a 4.35 ERA in 97.1 innings. He led all Cougar hurlers and ranked among the C-USA individual leaders in wins, ERA and strikeouts and won his first five decisions to open the season.
It was the first All-Region award for each player.
All three players played key roles in helping lead the Cougars to the 2008 Conference USA Tournament championship --- the program's first since 2000 - and the championship game of the 2008 NCAA College Station Regional against No. 9 Texas A&M.
