University of Houston Athletics
PREVIEW: Houston-Rice Set for Tuesday Game at Home
3/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| #21 HOUSTON (13-7) vs. #8 RICE (15-6) | |
| SERIES BREAKDOWN |
| LOCATION | Houston, Texas - Cougar Field (3,500) |
| TICKETS | Tuesday |
| LISTEN LIVE | UHCougars.com/baseradio | ESPN Deportes |
| WATCH LIVE | Houston All-Access |
| GAMETRACKER | |
| SERIES HISTORY | Houston and Rice will meet for the 175th all-time meeting. |
| LAST MEETING | Houston swept the 2014 season series. |
| GAME NOTES | Houston Notes |
| PITCHING MATCHUP | |
| 6:30 PM - TUESDAY | HOU | TBA RICE | TBA |
HOUSTON - No. 21 Houston Baseball will welcome cross-town rival and No. 8 Rice to Cougar Field for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Tuesday for the first game of the three-game Silver Glove Series played this season.
You can follow all the action by listening in live at UHCougars.com/baseradio with Jeremy Branham on the call or on ESPN Deportes 1180 AM in Houston ... or by following via GAMEDAY CENTRAL at UHCougars.com/gameday.
QUICK HITS ON HOUSTON
Houston, under fifth-year head coach Todd Whitting, owns a 13-7 record and is coming off a 4-0 week which was capped by a series sweep of Buffalo at home. The Cougars are now riding a five-game win streak and will play one of their final two home games this month at home when it hosts Rice Tuesday.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Houston scored 40 runs in its last four games and totaled 48 hits, which saw four homeruns, two triples and five doubles. The Cougars upped their team batting average to .276 following the strong offensive week and are now 36-for-42 on the base paths after stealing 14 bases in the last four games.
An offensive effort for the ages erupted last Tuesday at Sam Houston State when the Cougars saw a 19-hit performance lead to 17 runs and 16 RBI as every Cougar starter recorded a base hit in the win.
Junior Josh Vidales - who was recently named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll - is leading the offensive charge with a .394 average on a team-leading 28 hits and 17 RBI to accompany his .506 on-base percentage and 13 walks.
Junior Chris Iriart belted his fourth homerun of the year on Sunday and is now hitting .329 with 23 hits and 14 RBI, while junior Jacob Campbell is hitting .327 with 18 hits, and 11 RBI in 17 games played.
On the base paths, Houston is 36-of-42 as junior Kyle Survance leads the way with a conference-best 14 stolen bases, while freshman Zac Taylor follows with 10.
As a team, Houston has drawn 128 free passes (102 walks, 26 HBP) to its 132 strikeouts.
ON THE BUMP
On the bump, Houston's pitching staff owns a 3.12 ERA and in 182.0 innings pitched, the Cougars have fanned 135 and walked just 39, while holding opponents to a .249 average.
Starter Andrew Lantrip leads the pitching staff with a 1.27 ERA and a 4-1 record. He has fanned 30 in his 35.1 innings of work, which includes a career-high 12 strikeout effort in a win over Buffalo last Friday.
Joining Lantrip with multiple wins is junior reliever Patrick Weigel - who was tabbed the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week - following his career-high 11 strikeout effort in 7.1 shutout frames en route to win No. 2 on the year. He holds a 1.83 ERA and in 19.2 innings, he has fanned 22.
Junior starter Jake Lemoine is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA, while senior Taylor Cobb is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and in 12.2 innings, has fanned 12 after making his first start of his Cougar career in last Sunday's series finale vs. Buffalo.
Out of the pen, freshman Seth Romero has been a go-to for the Cougars as he is 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA and three saves, while junior Kyle Dowdy leads the team with seven appearances and is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA.
QUICK HITS ON RICE
Rice enters Tuesday's game with a national ranking among the nation's Top 10 and is 15-6 on the year. The Owls are coming off a weekend conference sweep of Louisiana Tech and have now won seven straight games.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Rice is hitting .317 as six Owls are hitting above the .300 mark, led by Kirby Taylor's .400 average. John Clay Reeves has been the most consistent hitter, hitting .388 and leading Rice with 31 hits, 26 RBI and three homeruns. Nine Owls have at least 10 runs scored, led by Ford Stainback's 20.
The team has draw 75 walks and been hit 14 times to its 98 strikeouts, while fielding .965 with 29 errors.
ON THE BUMP
Rice pitching owns a 2.61 ERA and in 189.2 innings, the Owls have fanned 183 and walked 72.
Rice's starting pitching is led by RHP Kevin McCanna's 2.43 ERA and 2-1 record and in 29.1 innings, he has fanned 25. Joining him with five starts is LHP Blake Fox, who is 2-0 with a 3.54 ERA. Six different Owls have made a start this season with McCanna and Fox leading the way with five each.
Out of the pen, LHP John Williamson is 1-1 with a 0.82 ERA in seven appearances, while RHP Matt Ditman is 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA in a team-leading 10 appearances and three saves.
SERIES HISTORY
- Houston and Rice will meet for the 175th time in program history, dating back to 1948.
- The Owls own the all-time series, 100-74, but the Cougars have won the last three meetings, including a season sweep in 2014 to reclaim the Silver Glove trophy for the first time since 2000.
- Houston leads the all-time series at Cougar Field, 43-42.
- This series is the longest against any opponent in Houston's program history.
- The two teams have played at least twice every year since 1972.
- The `official' Silver Glove Series began in 1998.
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Tuesday, March 17 - 6:30 p.m.
Houston: TBA
Rice: TBA
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS
With 31 home games set for 2015 at Cougar Field and a nationally-ranked program representing the University of Houston, the Cougars are proud to announce that single-game tickets are now on sale at UHCougars.com/Basetickets.
Along with the online option, fans can purchase tickets by visiting the Athletics Ticket Office at TDECU Stadium Monday through Friday, 10 a.m., to 5:30 p.m. or can call 713-GO-COOGS.
Houston Baseball will offer variable pricing on its single-game tickets and group rates.
For the first time ever, the pricing breakdown will be determined whether or not you purchase your single-game tickets online vs. at the gate the day of the game as well as whether the Cougars play on a weekday (Monday-Thursday) or weekend (Friday-Sunday).
| 2015 Houston Baseball Single-Game Ticket Prices | ||||
| Weekday | Weekend | Weekday Walk-Up | Weekend Walk-Up | |
| Reserved 1 | $7 | $8 | $9 | $10 |
| Reserved 2 | $6 | $7 | $8 | $9 |
| GA | $5 | $6 | $7 | $8 |
| 2015 Houston Baseball Group Rates | ||||
| Weekday | Weekend | |||
| 10-24 | $4 | $5 | ||
| 25+ | $3 | $4 | ||
Weekday: Monday-Thursday; Weekend: Friday-Sunday.
As noted in the table, variable pricing occurs. For weekday (Tuesday nights) online purchases, fans can take in a game, ranging from $5-$7 depending on the choice of seating. If you choose to purchase the day of the game as a Weekday Walk-Up, you will pay roughly $2 more than the online price ($7-$9).
Weekend (Friday-Sunday) online pricing will range from $6-$8 per game, while Weekend Walk-Up pricing the day of the game will run a fan anywhere from $8-$10.
GROUP RATES
Group rates are also available (as noted in the table). Weekday (Tuesday) and Weekend (Friday-Sunday) pricing occurs. Groups of 10-24 are set at $4-$5 per person, while groups of 25+ are $3-$4 per person.
With single-game tickets available now, Houston Baseball still encourages supporters to become Season Ticket members and enjoy the attractive pricing and rewards that come with up-front purchasing for the entire 2015 season.
WHY ARE SEASON TICKETS MORE ATTRACTIVE?
Season Tickets are as low as $99 for general admission seating and the program offers an Anytime Tickets package that allows fans to use the 31 tickets how they choose (1 per game, multiple per game or all in one game). The Anytime Tickets are only available in general admission seating.
For just $200, you can enjoy reserved chairback seating on the lower level of the concourse at the stadium.
A new additional "Reserved 2" seating option for the 2015 season is also available with an assigned seat in sections 200, 201 and 202 for $150.
If you breakdown the season ticket pricing of $99 General Admission, the pricing of $150 for Reserved 2 or even the pricing of $200 for Reserved 1 (chairback), you are spending less money per game than purchasing single-game tickets.
HOW TO PURCHASE
To purchase tickets in advance, fans must visit the Athletics Ticket Stadium Office located on the northeast corner of TDECU Stadium, just outside of Gate 1 off Cullen Boulevard. Parking is available in the TDECU Stadium parking garage with the first 30 minutes free of charge. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m., to 5:30 p.m. or you can call 713-GO-COOGS.
JOIN THE DUGOUT CLUB
Nationally-ranked Houston Baseball would like to encourage those wishing to support the efforts and success of the baseball student-athletes to consider joining the Dugout Club for as low as $25 a month or $300 annually.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
LEVELS
PINCH HITTER
For a minimum monthly installment of $25 or a minimum one-time gift of $300, supporters can take advantage of the Pinch Hitter level, which will guarantee an invitation for two to exclusive Dugout Club events and Houston Baseball team apparel.
DIAMOND
For a minimum monthly installment of $100 or a minimum one-time gift of $1,000, supporters can take advantage of the Diamond level, which will guarantee batting practice passes for two to any home game, invitation for two to exclusive Dugout Club events and Houston Baseball apparel.
**Cougar Pride points will be applied accordingly.
For more information on joining the Dugout Club, please contact the Houston Baseball office at (713) 743-9396.
For more information regarding Cougar Pride, please call (713) 743-GOUH.
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.
