University of Houston Athletics
PREVIEW: Baseball to Host McNeese Tuesday
5/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| HOUSTON (32-16) vs. MCNEESE STATE (28-20) | |
| SERIES BREAKDOWN |
| LOCATION | Houston, Texas - Cougar Field |
| GAMEDAY CENTRAL | GAMEDAY CENTRAL |
| LISTEN LIVE | UHCougars.com/baseradio |
| WATCH LIVE | UHCougars.com |
| GAMETRACKER | |
| SERIES HISTORY | Houston and McNeese State have met 60 times. |
| ALL-TIME RECORD | Houston leads all-time, 47-13. |
| GAME NOTES | Houston Notes |
| PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP | |
| 6:30 PM - TUESDAY | HOU | TBA MCN | RHP Steven O'Bryant |
HOUSTON -- Nationally-ranked Houston Baseball will welcome in McNeese State for a 6:30 p.m. Tuesday midweek contest as part of a four-game stretch played at Cougar Field this week.
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.
PROMOTIONS
Los Coogs Day at Cougar Field
The first 250 fans through the gates will receive a `Vamos Coogs' Rollabanner in honor of May 5 -- Cinco de Mayo.
QUICK HITS ON HOUSTON
Houston, under fifth-year head coach Todd Whitting, is coming off another winning week, where the Cougars went 3-1 which included a series road win at Tulane to improve to 32-16 on the year and 11-7 in conference play, to remain atop the league standings, now with East Carolina -- whom Houston will host in a three-game weekend series at Cougar Field, beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
As a team, Houston is hitting .265 and slugging .390 and three Cougars sit above the .300 mark on the year.
The offense has slugged 34 homeruns, led by junior Chris Iriart's conference-leading 14 long balls. He paces the team with a .312 averag3, 34 RBI, while junior Josh Vidales is hitting .301 with a team-leading 39 runs scored and 55 hits.
Junior Jacob Campbell is second-best on the team with a .303 average and is second on the team with 32 RBI, while junior Kyle Survance is second in the conference with 26 stolen bases. As a team, the Cougars have drawn 278 free passes for a .370 on-base percentage.
ON THE BUMP
The Houston pitching staff has been a punchout force of late, recording 87 total strikeouts in the last three weekend series for a season total of 352 to just 108 walks.
As a staff, the Cougars are holding opponents to a .257 average and own a 3.20 ERA with 11 saves.
Houston's pitching staff is coming off a week that saw two complete game shutouts thrown and held its opponents to four total runs in four games.
Freshman Seth Romero leads the way with a 1.80 ERA in 17 appearances and five starts. He has fanned 67 in 60.0 innings and is 6-3 on the year with five saves following a Sunday win at Tulane.
Sophomore Andrew Lantrip is 6-3 with a 2.40 ERA in 12 starts. The right-hander has unfortunately suffered the no-decision in three of the last four outings, but despite the tough-lucked loss at Tulane, struck out 10 to increase his strikeout total to a team-high 77 in 82.2 innings pitched.
Junior Kyle Dowdy, this week's American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, is 7-1 with a 2.77 ERA in 15 appearances and eight starts and has worked his way into the Saturday role for the Cougars, starting the last four for the Cougars.
Senior David Longville is coming off a complete game shutout win vs. Sam Houston State that led the Cougars to their first of two complete game shutouts last week.
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 one save and a 3.35 ERA. The hard throwing righty has fanned 39 in 43.0 innings and leads the team with 18 appearances.
Fletcher earned his first career save in the win at USF and now owns a 2.08 ERA in 14 appearances, all out of the bullpen.
QUICK HITS ON MCNEESE STATE
McNeese State will head to Houston for a midweek contest on Tuesday, owning a 28-20 record and is coming off five straight wins and are winners of six of their last seven.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
McNeese State is hitting .282 as a team and has hit 30 homeruns to slug .393. On the year, the Cowboys has swiped 51-of-76 on the base paths and have drawn 131 walks for a .348 on-base percentage.
Leading the way offensively for McNeese State is Joe Provenzano with a .338 average, while Connor Lloyd is hitting .337 with 27 RBI and 63 hits. Connor Crane leads the team with 37 RBI and eight homeruns.
ON THE BUMP
McNeee State's pitching staff owns a 3.74 ERA with 14 saves in 443.1 innings. The Cowboys have struck out 398, while walking 156 on the year, holding opponents to a .254 average.
RHP Kaleb Fontenot is the team leader in wins with a 6-3 record, while owning a 3.39 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 71.2 innings. RHP Collin Kober also has six wins, going 6-1 with a 1.18 out of the bullpen.
Houston will face RHP Steven O'Bryant is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in five appearances and one start. He has pitched just 9.2 innings, striking out five with three walks.
LAST TIME OUT
Houston and McNeese State will meet for the second time this season on Tuesday after the Cougars earned a 5-4 win on the road in Lake Charles, La. back on April 21. David Longville got the win, tossing 6.0 innings with three strikeouts, while Ashford Fulmer drove in a pair of runs.
SERIES HISTORY
· Houston and McNeese State have met 60 previous times, dating back to 1971.
· The Cougars own the all-time series, 47-13.
· Houston has won 18 of the last 20 against McNeese State and the last six consecutive games.
· Last Meeting: at McNeese State (Houston 5, McNeese State 4) - April 21, 2015
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday, May 5 -- 6:30 p.m.
Houston: TBA
McNeese State: RHP Steven O'Bryant
ON DECK
Following the midweek contest vs. McNeese State, the Cougars will host East Carolina in a pivotal American Athletic Conference series, between the top two teams in the conference. The series will begin on Friday at 6:30 p.m., continue on Saturday at 4 p.m. and conclude at Noon on Sunday.
Saturday's game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
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 seven 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.
