University of Houston Athletics
PREVIEW: Baseball Travels to McNeese State Tuesday
4/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| #22 HOUSTON (26-14) at MCNEESE STATE (22-18) | |
| SERIES BREAKDOWN |
| LOCATION | Lake Charles, La. - Cowboy Diamond |
| GAMEDAY CENTRAL | GAMEDAY CENTRAL |
| LISTEN LIVE | UHCougars.com/baseradio |
| WATCH LIVE | McNeeseSports.com |
| GAMETRACKER | |
| SERIES HISTORY | Houston and McNeese State have met 59 times. |
| LAST MEETING | Houston has won the last five meetings. |
| GAME NOTES | Houston Notes |
| PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP | |
| 6:30 PM - TUESDAY | HOU | TBA MCNEESE | RHP Trent Fontenot |
HOUSTON - No. 22 Houston Baseball will begin a four-game road span when it travels to Lake Charles, La. to take on McNeese State in a 6 p.m. midweek contest on Tuesday.
The Cougars will continue play on the road at league-leader USF this weekend for a three-game American Athletic Conference series, slated to begin Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT. Saturday's game will air on CBS Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. and the series will wrap on Sunday at Noon CT.
ON THE AIR
You can follow all the action by also listening in live at UHCougars.com/baseradio with Jeremy Branham on the call ... or by following via GAMEDAY CENTRAL at UHCougars.com/gameday.
QUICK HITS ON HOUSTON
Houston, under fifth-year head coach Todd Whitting, is coming off a weekend sweep of Cincinnati, which moved the Cougars into second place in the league, one game behind USF, whom they will face this weekend in a three-game set.
Houston is currently 26-14 overall and 7-5 in league play.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Homeruns have highlighted the offensive production this season as the Cougars have tallied 30 long balls after hitting just 17 the entire 2014 season. As a team, Houston is hitting .269 and slugging .396.
Leading the charge offensively is junior Chris Iriart with a .343 average, 49 hits, 35 runs scored and 31 RBI, while also sitting in second in the nation and leading the league with 13 homeruns.
Junior Josh Vidales follows with a .331 clip, a team-high 50 hits, 34 runs scored and 26 RBI, while junior Jacob Campbell is hitting .293 and is coming off a weekend where he hit two homeruns, including the team's first grand slam of the year. For that, he was named to the league's Honor Roll. Junior Kyle Survance paces the team with 22 stolen bases and holds a .273 average.
The team owns a .375 on-base percentage after drawing 190 walks and 44 hit-by-pitches.
ON THE BUMP
Houston's pitching staff owns a 3.40 ERA and in 357.1 innings, the Cougars have fanned 285 and walked just 98. Six Cougars have multiple wins this season and opponents are hitting just .260 against the staff.
Being named National Player of the Week and the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, Kyle Dowdy improved to 5-1 on the year and lowered his ERA to 2.83 after his 13-strikeout, complete game shutout vs. Cincinnati.
Leading the way with six wins as a starter is sophomore Andrew Lantrip, who holds a 2.53 ERA and has fanned 54 in 67.2 innings. Freshman Seth Romero made his third start of the year on Sunday and struck out seven in 8.2 innings, without allowing an earned run in the win. With that effort, he leads the team in ERA with a 1.79 and is 4-3 with 51 strikeouts in 45.1 innings.
Out of the bullpen, the Cougars have relied on the arm of junior Patrick Weigel, who is 4-0 with a 3.29 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 41.0 innings and a team-high 15 appearances.
QUICK HITS ON MCNEESE STATE
McNeese State is 22-18 on the year and 16-7 at Cowboy Diamond the team and has won four of its last five at home. The Cowboys suffered a series sweep at the hands of Southland Conference foe, Southeastern Louisiana this past weekend.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
As a team, the Cowboys are hitting a .279 clip, with 172 runs scored, 22 homers and 40 stolen bases through 40 games.
Among the top McNeese's hitters are freshman Joe Provenzano (.336, seven RBIs, five doubles, 19 walks, four stolen bases, .458 on base percentage) and seniors Andrew Guillotte (.326, 56 hits, 10 doubles, two homers, 16 stolen bases), Connor Lloyd (.322, 49 hits, seven doubles, 15 RBIs) and James Cantu(.322, 47 hits, 19 runs scored, seven doubles, one homer and 10 RBIs).
ON THE BUMP
On the mound, McNeese has a 3.65 ERA, with 13 saves, walking 120 and striking out 333 in 367.1 frames of work.
The Cowboys will send right-hander Trent Fontenot to the mound for Tuesday's contest against the Cougars. Fontenot is 3-2 through nine starts this season. He has worked 45.0 innings, giving up 18 runs (15 earned) off of 39 hits and 18 walks along with 37 strikeouts. In his last outing, Fontenot worked 5.1 innings against ULM and surrendered just three runs despite scattering nine hits. He struck out six batters during the game.
SERIES HISTORY
• Houston and McNeese State have met 59 previous times, dating back to 1971.
• The Cougars own the all-time series, 46-13 and are 9-5 on the road.
• Houston has won 17 of the last 19 against McNeese State and the last five consecutive games.
• Last Meeting: at McNeese State (Houston 8, McNeese State 2) - April 29, 2014
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday - April 21 - 6 p.m .
Houston: TBA
McNeese State: RHP Trent Fontenot
ON DECK
Following the midweek contest at McNeese State, the Cougars will travel to league-leader USF this weekend for a three-game American Athletic Conference series, slated to begin Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT. Saturday's game will air on CBS Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. and the series will wrap on Sunday at Noon CT.
HOUSTON TO INSTALL LARGEST COLLEGE BASEBALL VIDEO BOARD
Thanks to lead donations from Don Sanders and Joe Gutierrez, Houston Baseball and head coach Todd Whitting are proud to announce that Daktronics will design, manufacture and install a brand new LED video display to be named Sanders-Gutierrez Scoreboard at Cougar Field.
According to Daktronics, the new outfield video display will be the largest at an on-campus baseball stadium in the country. It will measure roughly 27.5 feet high by more than 55 feet wide to provide more than 1,500 square feet of space for live video, instant replays, statistics and scoring information, graphics and animations, and sponsor messages. The display features a 15HD pixel layout for crisp, clear imagery with wide-angle viewing for a great view from every seat at the ballpark.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS
Single game tickets for the remaining eight home games at Cougar Field can be purchased by clicking here: 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 offers 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.
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.
