University of Houston Athletics
Baseball to Begin Fall Practice Wednesday
9/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
HOUSTON - Houston Baseball will officially begin fall practice on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. at Cougar Field, announced by head coach Todd Whitting, who is set to begin his fifth season at the helm of the Cougars. All fall practices and scrimmages are open to the public.
Houston is scheduled for a two-hour workout this Saturday from 2-4 p.m. at Cougar Field. Fans planning on attending the Houston Football game vs. UNLV at 7 p.m. are encouraged to swing by Cougar Field prior to tailgating that afternoon.
Following this first week of practice (Sept. 17-21), Houston will take the field every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday until Friday, Oct. 31.
- Monday and Wednesday practices will begin at 3 p.m.
- Friday and Sunday practices will begin at 2 p.m.
"Our players and coaches are all extremely excited to begin fall practice," Whitting said. "We feel we have tremendous momentum coming off a season in which we played into the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The team has worked hard in the off-season and is looking forward to continuing to work towards our goal of playing in OMAHA for a National Championship. We return a great nucleus from last year's 48-win team and signed, what we feel is our best recruiting class since our staff came on board in 2010."
A LOOK BACK
Houston finished ranked No. 11 in the nation and notched one of the best seasons in program history, tying a program-record with 48 wins and earning its first trip to the NCAA postseason since 2008. The Cougars were ranked nationally for 13 straight weeks during the season, polling in as high as No. 5 in the nation during week 17.
Houston captured the Baton Rouge Regional title with back-to-back wins over LSU to advance to the Austin Super Regional (vs. Texas) - a first since 2003. 2014 also saw Houston win the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship tournament title with a win over Louisville. The Cougars posted the nation's No. 1 RPI in non-conference, regular-season play with an impressive 27-5 record.
The 27 regular-season, non-conference wins was the most since 27 in 2002 for the program. Houston posted a home record of 25-8 for the most home wins since Cougar Field was redone in 1995. The Cougars opened 2014 with four straight home weekend sweeps, marking the first time in program history to accomplish that feat. Houston saw itself earn a season sweep of Rice - first since 1991 to reclaim the Silver Glove trophy, which has been with the Owls since 2000.
The Cougars were led by one of the nation's top pitching staffs as senior relievers Chase Wellbrock (5-0, 12 SV) and Tyler Ford (9-0, 4 SV) combined for a 14-0 record and 16 saves. Freshman RHP Andrew Lantrip was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and the conference's Rookie of the Year, while eight other Cougars earned All-League honors.
The postseason saw sophomores Josh Vidales and Kyle Survance earn American Baseball Championship and Baton Rouge Regional Most Outstanding Player honors, respectively. Three Cougars were tabbed All-Region led by seniors Casey Grayson and Chase Wellbrock on the First Team and senior Tyler Ford on the Second Team. Off the field, the Cougars continued to excel in the classroom, led by sophomore Justin Montemayor, who was tabbed a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District award winner.
A LOOK AHEAD
The 2015 Houston Baseball season will once again be highlighted by the returning core the Cougars welcome back to the field, led by five position starters, including the entire outfield core and all four starting pitchers from a year ago. The loss of four key relievers may be the biggest hit for the Cougars, but Houston has four arms returning who saw significant experience out of the pen in 2014.
Of the 20 returners, 16 earned letters from last season.
The Cougars welcome in 19 newcomers, six of which transferred in from a previous school and 13 who will appear on a collegiate roster for the first time in their playing careers as a true freshman.
RED-WHITE WORLD SERIES
Houston will host its annual Red-White World Series on Oct. 29-31 at Cougar Field. Times are TBD. The Cougars will pair off into two teams and compete for the World Series title, which officially wraps up the fall season.
INTERVIEW REQUESTS
To speak with players and/or coaches during fall practices, please contact Associate Director of Athletics Communications Allison McClain at ammcclai@central.uh.edu. We ask that interviews be held prior to the start of practice.
STAY CONNECTED
Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /HoustonCougarBaseball. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter or visiting the Houston Fall Baseball Central page at UHCougars.com.
