University of Houston Athletics
Pair Of Midweek Contests Await Cougar Baseball
4/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 4, 2011
HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team, coming off a 3-0 sweep of Tulane over the weekend, will look to continue its winning ways when the Cougars take to the field this week for two midweek contests.
The Cougars (15-14; 3-0 C-USA) begin the week with a trip to College Station, Texas, for a meeting with No. 5 Texas A&M at 5:05 p.m. Tuesday. They will then return to Cougar Field for a 6:30 p.m. contest with Lamar on Wednesday.
Fans can follow all the midweek action through the gametracker link on the baseball schedule page at UHCougars.com. The online radio broadcast will also be available through the schedule page.
The game against the Aggies is the final game of nine-straight road games for the Cougars and all of those games have come against ranked opponents. Houston is 4-4 during that time, including the 3-0 sweep of the Green Wave over the weekend.
Houston is led by sophomore Chase Jensen, who is batting .364 this season. He has seven doubles, a triple and a team-high three home runs. Senior Caleb Ramsey and Jensen are also leading the team with 34 and 32 RBIs, respectively.
The Cougars got a boost from its pitching staff over the weekend. Houston pitched two shutouts against Tulane and allowed just two runs in 27 innings. Junior Matt Creel turned in seven shutout innings against the Green Wave in the series opener on Friday, while striking out a career-high six batters. Junior Mo Wiley closed out the series, turning in eight scoreless innings to help UH start 3-0 in league play.
Texas A&M enters the week with a 22-6 record after going 2-1 last weekend against Kansas State. Tyler Naquin leads the team with a .373 batting average, including seven doubles, five triples and a home run. On the mound, Michael Wacha is pacing the team with a 1.05 ERA in 51.2 innings.
This will be the second meeting this season between the two schools. Earlier this season, the Aggies beat Houston 11-4 at the Houston College Classic to take a 109-54-1 lead in the all-time series.
Following the game at Olsen Field, Houston will return home for a game with Lamar on Wednesday. It marks the first game at Cougar Field since March 20.
Lamar is 19-11 on the season after splitting games with Southeastern Louisiana over the weekend. The game on Wednesday will be the first of two meetings between Houston and Lamar, with the Cougars holding a 49-24 lead in the all-time series. Houston will make a trip to Beaumont, Texas, on April 27.
Wade Mathis leads Lamar with a .358 batting average. He has 10 doubles, two home runs and 24 RBIs. Blake Ford leads the Cardinals' pitching staff with a 2.18 ERA in 45.1 innings and is tied for a team-high with 30 strikeouts.
UP NEXT
Houston will continue Conference USA play with a three-game series against UAB, April 8-10. The series begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, continues at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday.
