University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Opens Conference USA Play At Tulane
3/31/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 31, 2011
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team will begin its 2011 Conference USA schedule this weekend when they travel to New Orleans, La., to play Tulane.
The series begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, continues at 2 p.m. Saturday and concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday. Fans can follow the entire series through the gametracker link on the baseball schedule page at UHCougars.com. The online radio broadcast will also be available through the schedule page.
This weekend's series marks the 15th season that the Cougars have played baseball in Conference USA. Overall, UH is 244-127 in league action and has won the regular season title three times. Last season, Houston finished fifth with an 11-13 record.
The trip to Tulane also marks the first league opener on the road for the Cougars since 2008. That season UH began the league slate at East Carolina, going 2-1. All-time Houston has opened league play on the road seven times and is 16-5 in those series.
The Cougars are 12-14 entering the series after falling to the Rice Owls, 7-0, in game two of the Silver Glove Series. Sophomore Chase Jensen leads the team with a .393 batting average. He has seven doubles, a triple and a team-high three home runs. Jensen and senior Caleb Ramsey are tied for a team lead with 29 RBIs.
Junior Jordan Lewis leads the Cougar pitching staff with a 5.06 ERA in 32 innings. He has given up 18 earned runs with 18 strikeouts.
Tulane enters the series with an 18-7 record after losing to Florida International 6-1 on Wednesday night. In their Conference USA opener last weekend, the Green Wave went 1-2 against Southern Miss. Jeremy Schaffer leads the team with a .396 batting average. He has a team-high 17 doubles and 18 RBIs. On the mound, Conrad Flynn leads the Green Wave with a 3.21 ERA in 33.2 innings. He has allowed 12 earned runs and has 33 strikeouts.
This is the 53rd meeting between the two schools, with Houston holding a 28-24 lead in the all-time series. In the last meeting in New Orleans, the Cougars went 2-1 and are 10-13 all-time on the road against the Green Wave.
UP NEXT
Houston will play five games next week, beginning with a trip to College Station, Texas. The Cougars will play Texas A&M at 6:35 p.m. April 5 before returning to Cougar Field for a contest with Lamar at 6:30 p.m. April 6. UH will then continue league play with a three-game series against UAB, April 8-10.
