University of Houston Athletics
Baseball Preps For Series Against UCF In Orlando
4/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 28, 2011
Orlando, Fla. - The University of Houston baseball team will return to Conference USA action this weekend when they travel to Orlando, Fla., to play a three-game series against UCF. The series will begin at 5:30 p.m. CT Friday, continue at 3 p.m. CT Saturday and conclude at 10 a.m. CT Sunday.
Fans can follow all of the weekend's action through the gametracker and online radio links on the baseball schedule page at UHCougar.com. The online video streaming links are also available on the All Access site.
The Cougars are looking to rebound from a tough weekend of league play last weekend at Cougar Field. Houston played host to the East Carolina Pirates and lost the series opener 5-4 in 12 innings. They were able to bounce back and even the series with a 4-2 win in game two but the Pirates took the series 2-1 with a 12-2 win in the finale.
UH is 20-22 on the season and 7-5 in league action. They are currently in a tie for third place with Memphis in the Conference USA standings. Southern Miss is in first place with a 9-3 record, while Rice is second with a 9-6 record.
Junior Matt Creel leads the Cougars with a .342 batting average, 11 doubles, one triple and a home run. Sophomore Chase Jensen leads the team with 38 RBIs and three home runs, while senior Caleb Ramsey has a team-high 13 doubles.
UCF enters the weekend with a 26-15 overall record and a 6-9 mark in league action. D.J. Hicks, the reigning C-USA Hitter of the Week, leads the team with a .356 batting average, 10 doubles, 10 home runs and 42 RBIs.
In Friday night's series opener, junior Mo Wiley has been named the Cougars starter. He will face off against Brian Adkins of UCF. Wiley is 2-2 in seven starts this season with a 4.91 ERA. He has allowed 22 earned runs with 19 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. Adkins is 5-2 this season with a 3.11 ERA. He is given up 19 earned runs with 30 strikeouts in 55 innings.
The reigning C-USA Pitcher of the Week, junior Jordan Lewis will guide UH on the mound in Saturday's contest. He leads the team with a 4-1 record and a 3.53 ERA. In a team-high 58.2 innings, Lewis has allowed 23 earned runs and posts a team-high 37 strikeouts. UCF's Ray Hanson will start opposite Lewis. He is 3-1 in nine starts with a 2.94 ERA and has 31 strikeouts.
Junior Jared Ray will be making his second appearance and start this season in the finale on Sunday. In his first action since 2009, Ray pitched four innings last weekend against East Carolina. He gave up one run with a strikeout. The Knights will send Danny Winkler to the mound in the finale. He is 3-2 in eight starts with a 5.70 ERA. He leads the team with 49 strikeouts.
The weekend series marks the 26th overall meeting between the two schools, with the Cougars holding an 18-7 lead. Houston last traveled to Orlando during the 2009 season, where they finished 1-2. However, UH is on a two-game win streak, having won the last two games in last season's series at Cougar Field.
UP NEXT
The Cougars will have a few days of rest, as they will not play a mid-week game next week. They will be back in action May 6-8 for a three-game series against cross-town rival Rice at Cougar Field. The series begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, continues at 3 p.m. Saturday and concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games of the series will air on Comcast Sports Southwest.
