University of Houston Athletics
Houston College Classic On Tap For Cougar Baseball
3/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 3, 2011
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team will be making its 10th-consecutive appearance in the Houston College Classic this weekend at Minute Maid Park.
The Cougars (5-3) kick-off the tournament at noon on Friday against Baylor and continue at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday against Kentucky. The tournament will conclude against Texas A&M at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Fans can hear all of the tournament's action live on UHCougars.com through the online radio link and livestats will also be available via the internet by clicking on the Gametracker link on the baseball schedule page.
UH is 13-17 all-time in the Houston College Classic, including a 3-0 finish last season. A season ago Houston shutout Texas (1-0) and Missouri (3-0) and defeated Texas Tech (15-8). With the two shutouts, Houston became the first team in tournament history to shutout back-to-back opponents.
The Cougars will continue to use the same pitching rotation as they did during the first two weekends of the year. Junior RHP Codey Morehouse will lead UH against Baylor. He is 1-1 on the season with a 2.25 ERA. In 12 innings of work, Morehouse has allowed four runs with 12 strikeouts and no walks.
Junior lefty Jordan Lewis will earn the start against Kentucky. Lewis is 1-0 in two starts. He has gone 11 innings on the mound, allowing two runs with six strikeouts.
The Cougars have not designated a starter for the Sunday finale against Texas A&M.
At the plate, Caleb Ramsey is leading the team with a .444 batting average. He leads the team with five doubles and has a triple and 10 RBIs.
BAYLOR
Houston will open tournament play against the Baylor Bears at noon Friday. The contest will mark the 146th meeting between the two programs. Baylor holds a 60-85 record in the all-time series, including a 3-2 win at the tournament in 2009.
The Bears enter the Houston College Classic with a 4-4 record and are led at the plate by Brooks Pinckard. He is batting .378 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs.
RHP Logan Verrett will make the start on the mound in Friday's game. He is 1-1 on the season with a 6.00 ERA. In nine innings of work, Verrett has allowed six runs with nine strikeouts.
KENTUCKY
Tournament play will continue against Kentucky at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Wildcats stand at 4-4 on the season and are currently on a two-game win streak. They are led at the plate by Luke Maile who is batting .419. He also has four doubles and five RBIs.
RHP Alex Meyer will be UK's starter on the mound. He is 1-1 in two starts with a 3.00 ERA. In 12 innings, Meyer has allowed five runs and has struck out 20 batters.
TEXAS A&M
The Cougars will close out tournament play at 6 p.m. Sunday against the Texas A&M Aggies. In this long-standing series, the two programs will meet for the 164th time this weekend. TAMU leads the series 54-108-1. In their last meeting at the College Classic, the Aggies defeated Houston 5-3.
Tyler Naquin leads the Aggies at the plate with a .333 batting average. He has a double, three triples and six RBIs. Matt Juengel paces the team with 11 RBIs.
Texas A&M has not named a starter for the Sunday contest.
UP NEXT
Houston will host two midweek games against McNeese State and Texas Southern on March 8-9. Following the two games at Cougar Field, the Cougars will travel to San Marcos, Texas, for a three-game series against Texas State on March 11-13.
