University of Houston Athletics
Tough Competition Against No. 1 Arizona State Awaits Cougar Baseball
3/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 18, 2010
Tempe, Ariz. - The University of Houston baseball team will conclude its 10-day road trip with a three-game series against No. 1 Arizona State on March 19-21.
The series against the Sun Devils begins at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, continues at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and will conclude at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Live stats will be available for all three games of the series by logging on to UHCougars.com.
Houston enters the weekend with a 9-6 overall record after knocking off California 12-9 in 11 innings on Wednesday. Joel Ansley continues to lead the Cougars at the plate with a .439 batting average with six doubles, two triples and a home run. On the mound, Taylor Hammack posts a team-low 3.18 ERA in 17 innings. He has given up eight runs with 14 strikeouts.
The Sun Devils are 17-0 this season, after winning two games against Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday and Wednesday. Zack MacPhee leads the ASU offense with a .500 batting average on a team-high eight triples with two doubles and two home runs. In 11 innings, Jordan Swagerty posts a team-low 1.64 ERA with 13 strikeouts.
This will be the 13th meeting overall between the two programs. ASU leads the series 9-3 and has won the last four meetings. Houston traveled to Tempe in 2006 and was swept in a three-game series and the two teams met in the Houston College Classic in 2007, resulting in an 11-1 Sun Devil win.
The first ever meetings between these two programs was in 1967 at the College World Series. Houston won the first game, 3-0, before the Sun Devils knocked off UH, 11-2, en route to claiming the Championship.
Following the series at Arizona State, Houston will return to Texas for a game at Stephen F. Austin on March 23 before returning to Cougar Field for a game against the Lumberjacks on March 24.
