University of Houston Athletics
PREVIEW: Houston-Rice to Play at Constellation Field
5/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| HOUSTON (34-17) vs. RICE (33-16) | |
| SERIES BREAKDOWN |
| LOCATION | Sugar Land, Texas - Constellation Field |
| GAMEDAY CENTRAL | GAMEDAY CENTRAL |
| LISTEN LIVE | UHCougars.com/baseradio |
| WATCH LIVE | n/a |
| GAMETRACKER | |
| SERIES HISTORY | Houston and Rice have met 176 times. |
| NOTES | The 2015 Silver Glove Series is tied, 1-1. |
| GAME NOTES | Houston Notes |
| PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP | |
| 6:30 PM - TUESDAY | HOU | TBA RICE | TBA |
HOUSTON -- The Silver Glove Trophy is on the line as Houston Baseball and Rice square off in the final game of the three-game series of 2015 when the two teams meet at 6:30 pm Tuesday at Constellation Field -- home of the Sugar Land Skeeters.
The two teams have split the two previous games with Houston winning Game 1 at Cougar Field, 8-3 and Rice taking Game 2 at Reckling Park, 11-0.
You can follow all the action by listening in live at UHCougars.com/baseradio with Jeremy Branham on the call or by following via GAMEDAY CENTRAL at UHCougars.com/gameday.
Tickets will run through the Sugar Land Skeeters Box Office and can be purchased by clicking here. All students will be required to purchase tickets at $7 with adult tickets at $10.
COUGAR CARAVAN -- RED ROAD TOUR
The University of Houston will hold a Fort Bend County Cougar Caravan featuring Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Hunter Yurachek and Houston Football head coach Tom Herman on Tuesday, May 12, at Ragin Cajun in Sugar Land.
The event will take place at Ragin Cajun (16100 Kensington Dr.) from 5-6 p.m. prior to Houston Baseball's 6:30 p.m. showdown with Rice at Constellation Field in Sugar Land. UH alums and fans can RSVP for the event at http://www.houstonalumni.com/cougarcaravanftbend.
Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to hear the latest updates on Houston Athletics and Houston Football from Yurachek and Herman, participate in an autograph session with Herman, take photos with Andre Ware's 1989 Heisman Trophy and the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl trophy as well as enter a raffle for items including an autographed Tom Herman football, four tickets to the 2015 Houston Football season opener, limited edition Cougar Caravan t-shirts, a UH flag and an authentic Houston Football 2014 Homecoming jersey.
Ragin Cajun specials for the event include $3 domestic beers and $3.50 premium beers along with oysters on a half shell - six for $6 or 12 for $10.
QUICK HITS ON HOUSTON
Houston, under fifth-year head coach Todd Whitting, has won 12 of its last 15 games, including five straight American Athletic Conference weekend series to sit atop the league standings with a 13-8 record to accompany its 35-17 overall record.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
As a team, Houston is hitting .270 and slugging .398 and three Cougars sit above the .300 mark on the year.
The offense has slugged 38 homeruns -- the most by a Houston team since the 2010 squad hit 44. Junior Chris Iriart is second in the conference with 14 homeruns, while pacing the team with a .314 average and 39 RBI. Junior Josh Vidales is hitting .313 with a team-leading 44 runs scored and 62 hits.
Junior Jacob Campbell is third-best in average at .306 and has driven in 35 RBI, while junior Kyle Survance is second in the conference with 28 stolen bases. As a team, the Cougars have drawn 294 free passes for a .372 on-base percentage.
ON THE BUMP
Houston's pitching staff lowered its team ERA to 3.09 after holding East Carolina to just six total runs in three games. As a staff, the Cougars have fanned 381 and walked just 118 in 463.2 innings.
Freshman Seth Romero leads the way with a 1.75 ERA in 18 appearances and six starts. He has fanned 73 in 67.0 innings and is 7-3 on the year with five saves following a Sunday win vs. East Carolina.
Sophomore Andrew Lantrip is 7-3 with a 2.28 ERA in 13 starts. The right-hander earned the win, tossing 8.0 innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts on Friday vs. East Carolina.
Junior Kyle Dowdy is 7-2 with a 2.88 ERA in 16 appearances and nine starts and has worked his way into the Saturday role for the Cougars, starting the last five for the Cougars.
Senior David Longville has won his last three starts, including a winning effort vs. McNeese State last Tuesday at Cougar Field. He is now 5-2 on the year and has lowered his ERA to 2.70.
Out of the bullpen, the Cougars have relied heavily on the arms of junior Patrick Weigel and freshman Aaron Fletcher of late. Weigel is 4-1 with two saves and a 3.28 ERA. The hard throwing righty has fanned 43 in 46.2 innings and leads the team with 19 appearances.
Fletcher earned his first career save in the win at USF and now owns a 1.96 ERA in 15 appearances, all out of the bullpen.
QUICK HITS ON RICE
Rice will enter Tuesday's game with a 33-16 record and has won 11 of the last 12 games, including a weekend sweep at No. 12 FAU in Conference USA action.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Rice is hitting .306 as a team with eight of its starters hitter over the .300 mark. Kirby Taylor leads the way with a .356 average, while Charlie Warren follows with a .341 clip.
John Clay Reeves leads the team with 87 RBI, while Ford Stainback paces the offense with 64 hits and holds a .337 average.
As a team, the Owls have drawn 172 walks, while striking out 264 times. The defense is fielding .965 with 67 errors.
ON THE BUMP
Rice's pitching staff owns a 3.13 ERA and has five shutouts and 16 saves. In 433.2 innings, the staff has fanned 439 and walked 152, while holding opponents to a .243 average.
On the bump, Blake Fox leads the team with seven wins for a 7-2 record with a 3.59 ERA in 13 starts, while Jordan Stephens and Kevin McCanna are both 6-3 with a 2.96 ERA and 3.12 ERA, respectively.
Out of the bullpen, Matt Ditman leads the team with 25 appearances, has a 3-1 record and a 2.54 ERA and has struck out 64 in 49.2 innings.
SERIES HISTORY
• Houston and Rice will continue the series with the 177th meeting all-time, dating back to 1948.
• Rice leads the all-time series, 101-75, but Houston has won four of the last five meetings between the two programs.
• The Silver Glove Series officially began in 1998.
• The two teams have met at least once the last 44 years.
• Last Meeting: at Reckling Park (Rice 11, Houston 0) - April 14, 2015
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday, May 12 -- 6:30 pm
Houston: TBA
Rice: TBA
ON DECK
Following the midweek contest vs. Rice, Houston Baseball will return to Cougar Field to play its final three regular-season games vs. UConn. The series is slated to begin Thursday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m., continue at 6:30 p.m. Friday and wrap at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 16.
The Cougars currently sit atop the American Athletic Conference standings at 13-8 and UConn is tied for third at 11-10.
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 three 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.
