University of Houston Athletics
PREVIEW: Championship Play Begins on Tuesday
5/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| (1) HOUSTON (39-17, 16-8) vs. (8) CINCINNATI (15-39, 6-18) | |
| SERIES BREAKDOWN |
| LOCATION | Clearwater, Fla. - Bright House Field |
| CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL |
| LISTEN LIVE | UHCougars.com/baseradio |
| WATCH LIVE | CBS Sports Network (Tue.) | American Digital Network (Wed.-Sat.) | ESPNU (Champ - Sun.) |
| GAMETRACKER | |
| SERIES HISTORY | Houston and Cincinnati have met 37 previous times. |
| NOTE | Houston swept the Bearcats at Cougar Field in April. |
| GAME NOTES | Houston Notes |
| PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION | |
| 6 PM CT - TUESDAY | HOU | TBA CIN | TBA |
HOUSTON -- Fresh off an American Athletic Conference title and winners of its last five, No. 1-seed Houston Baseball will look to repeat in Clearwater, Fla. at the American Conference Championship as it is set to face No. 8-seed Cincinnati at 6 p.m. Tuesday on CBS Sports Network.
The game will be played at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. -- the Spring Training home for the Phillies and the site of last year's Championship.
This year's format is double-elimination and the Cougars and Bearcats' 6 p.m. CT game will be the second of the day on Tuesday as (4) USF and (5) Memphis will meet at 2 p.m. CT.
The winner of each game will meet on Thursday at 2 p.m. CT and the two losers will meet 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
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.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
1-- First conference regular-season title since 2002
2-- Houston won back-to-back Silver Glove Series-- the first back-to-back since glove was established in 1998.
3-- The American Athletic Conference is ranked the third-best baseball conference in the nation (based on RPI) behind SEC and ACC.
5-- Houston has won five straight games.
6-- Houston finished the year winning sixstraightAmerican Athletic Conference weekend series.
7-- Houston won all but one home weekend series and that one came in a 2-2 split with Ivy League Champion, Columbia.
16-- Houston has won 16 of the last 19 games.
16-- Houston finished conference play with a 16-8 record-- the most conference wins since 18 in 2006.
25-- Houston notched a 25-6 home record-- notching secondstraightseason with 25 home wins.
39-- The Cougars enter postseason playwitha 39-17 record.
QUICK HITS ON HOUSTON
Houston, under fifth-year head coach Todd Whitting, has won 16 of its last 19 games and is currently riding a five-game win streak into the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Cougars swept UConn at Cougar Field this past weekend to win the American Athletic Conference regular-season title -- the first since 2002.
The sweep was the fifth weekend sweep of the year and the Cougars will enter postseason with a 39-17 overall record and wrapped up conference play with a 16-8 mark.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
As a team, Houston is hitting .267 and slugging .393 and three Cougars sit above the .300 mark on the year.
The offense has slugged 39 homeruns -- the most by a Houston team since the 2010 squad hit 44. Junior Josh Vidales paces the team with a solid .315 average, 67 hits and 44 runs scored. He is followed up by junior Chris Iriart, who has belted 14 homeruns -- to rank second in the league. He holds a .307 average and a team-leading 39 RBI.
Junior Jacob Campbell is third-best in average at .301 and has driven in 36 RBI, while junior Kyle Survance is second in the conference with 28 stolen bases. As a team, the Cougars have drawn 308 free passes for a .367 on-base percentage.
ON THE BUMP
Houston's pitching staff lowered its team ERA to 2.97 after holding Rice and UConn to just six total runs in the last four wins. As a staff, the Cougars have fanned 406 and walked just 133 in 500.2 innings.
Freshman Seth Romero leads the American Athletic Conference with a 1.73 ERA in 19 appearances and six starts. He has fanned 74 in 67.2 innings and is 7-3 on the year with six saves.
Sophomore Andrew Lantrip is 7-3 with a 2.40 ERA in 14 starts. He ranks among the league leaders in innings pitched at 97.1 and strikeouts at 97.
Junior Kyle Dowdy leads the team in wins at 8-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 17 appearances and 10 starts.
Senior David Longville has won three of his last four starts. He is now 5-2 on the year and has lowered his ERA to 2.65.
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 3.20 ERA. The hard throwing righty has fanned 45 in 50.2 innings and leads the team with 22 appearances.
Fletcher earned his first career win this weekend vs. UConn and his first career save in the win at USF and now owns a 1.64 ERA in 18 appearances, all out of the bullpen. Sophomore Marshall Kasowski earned his first win as a Cougar in a hitless, 2.0-inning performance in the Cougars' comeback win over Rice last Tuesday, while seniors Aaron Garza (1-3, 5.79 ERA, 3 SV) and Jared Robinson (0-1, 4.34 ERA, 1 SV) combined for a shutout win in the Cougars' regular-season finale vs. UConn on Saturday.
QUICK HITS ON CINCINNATI
Cincinnati will enter postseason play with a 15-39 overall record, having lost 16 of its last 20 games, including the last nine and will play as the No. 8 seed in this week's tournament with a league record of 6-18.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Cincinnati is hitting .232 as a team, led by the conference's leading hitter in Ian Happ with a .366 average, team-leading 70 hits, 14 homeruns, 43 RBI and a slugging percentage of .681. Woody Wallace follows with a .283 clip.
As a team, the Bearcats have stolen 45-of-84 bases, led by Happ's 11. Cincinnati has walked 215 times and struck out 512 times and holds a fielding percentage of .971.
ON THE BUMP
Cincinnati's pitching staff owns a 5.86 ERA and has nine saves. In 478.0 innings, the Bearcats have fanned 280 and walked 260, while opponents are hitting .283 against the arms.
Andrew Zellner leads the staff with a 3.22 ERA and is 2-4 with four saves in 17 appearances and nine starts. Tristan Hammans is 1-1 with a 4.04 ERA and Ryan Atkinson is 4-6 with a 4.33 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY
Houston and Cincinnati have met 37 previous times in program history, dating back to 1958.
- The Cougars own the all-time series, 30-7 and have won 13 of the last 15 meetings.
- Houston earned a weekend sweep at Cougar Field this season (April 18-19).
- Last Meeting: at Cougar Field (Houston 9, Cincinnati 2)-- April 19, 2015.
ON DECK
The result of Tuesday's game will determine when Houston plays its second game of the American Athletic Conference Championship. The winner of Houston-Cincinnati will meet the winner of (4) USF and (5) Memphis on Thursday at 2 p.m. CT. The loser of each game will meet at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
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.
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.
