University of Houston Athletics
Preview: No. 16 Baseball to Host Rice Tuesday
3/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| #16 HOUSTON (13-6) vs. RICE (10-9) | |
| GAME BREAKDOWN |
| LOCATION | Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park |
| GAMEDAY CENTRAL | GAMEDAY CENTRAL |
| LISTEN LIVE | UHCougars.com/baseradio |
| WATCH LIVE | UHCougars.com |
| GAMETRACKER | |
| SERIES HISTORY | 179th meeting all-time |
| SERIES RECORD | Rice owns series, 102-76. |
| GAME NOTES | Game Notes |
HOUSTON â€" Winners of five straight games and nine of its last 10, No. 16 Houston Baseball will look to continue its winning ways when it welcomes cross-town rival Rice to Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Tuesday to begin the 2016 Silver Glove Series.
Gates open at 4:30 p.m. The game is presented by AT&T.
PROMOTIONS
Pack the Park â€" Presented by AT&T
Tumbler Tuesday … First 50 fans = UH Tumbler
FOLLOW ALONG
Listen Live: UHCougars.com/baseradio
Watch Live: UHCougars.com
ON DECK
Houston will remain at home to host George Washington in a three-game series, beginning Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The series will continue with Game 2 slated for 6:30 p.m. Friday before wrapping at 1 p.m. Sunday.
HITS ON HOUSTON
Houston is coming off a series sweep of Grand Canyon and winners of nine of its last 10 and last five, holding an overall record of 13-6 and a 10-2 mark at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park.
The Cougars won five games last week, including two midweek victories over Lamar and Texas Southern.
Houston's pitching was the story in the series sweep of GCU last weekend as Andrew Lantrip and Seth Romero racked up back-to-back complete games in the doubleheader sweep on Saturday.
Lantrip tossed his fourth career complete game, but first career complete game shutout, while tallying seven strikeouts and no walks, while holding the Lopes to just two hits.
Romero, this week's American Pitcher of the Week, was equally impressive in Game 2 with a career-high 13 strikeouts in his 1-hit bid, while allowing just one unearned run and two walks for his first ever 9.0-inning complete game.
The team ERA was lowered to 2.36 through the first 19 games, as the Cougars' staff has fanned 183 and walked just 38.
Lantrip continues to lead the nation with his 39:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is 3-2 with a 1.53 ERA. Romero paces the staff with a 0.78 ERA and 3-0 record and has struck out 32 in 23.0 innings.
Midweek starters Marshall Kasowski earned the win last week at Lamar to improve to 2-1 on the year, while holding a 2.70 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 13.1 innings, while Mitch Ullom nearly tossed a no-hitter vs. Texas Southern in a three-hit bid, that gave him his second win of the year to move to 2-1. He owns a 3.86 ERA in four appearances and three starts.
Sunday starter John King improved to 3-1 with his win over GCU and now owns a 3.86 ERA and has 25 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.
Out of the bullpen, Houston has relied on Nick Hernandez, who owns the team-lead with four saves and has a 1.93 ERA in seven relief appearances. Bubba Maxwell has two saves and has struck out 17 in 13.0 innings to accompany his 2.08 ERA.
The pitching staff ranks among the nation's Top 10 in five different categories, while ranking first in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.82) and walks allowed per nine innings (2.04).
Offensively, the Cougars own a .274 batting average and have belted 17 home runs in 19 games, while tallying 32 doubles and six triples for a slugging percentage of .422.
Joe Davis continues to pace the offense and leads the American Athletic Conference with a .408 clip, 31 hits and 25 RBI, while tallying five home runs in his freshman campaign.
Connor Wong follows with a .338 average and a team-high 17 runs scored from the leadoff position. He has reached base in 18 of the 19 games this season.
As a unit, Houston is 29-of-37 on the base paths, led by Zac Taylor's nine stolen bases and Wong's seven.
ABOUT RICE
Rice will enter Tuesday's game with a 10-9 overall record and is coming off a C-USA weekend series victory at UTSA. The Owls lost their previous midweek game to TCU, 6-4 at Reckling Park.
Rice is hitting .240 as a team with five home runs, 22 doubles and three triples for a slugging percentage of .314. Leading the way offensively is Ford Proctor with a .354 average and team-best 23 hits and 12 RBI. He is followed by Ryan Chandler's .344 clip and 22 hits.
The Owls are 12-of-22 on the base paths with Chandler pacing the team with four stolen bases. The defense is fielding .963 with 27 errors made in 19 games.
On the pitching side, Rice owns a 3.66 team ERA and has fanned 163 hitters in 167.0 innings pitched. The Owls are holding their opponents to a .246 average.
Jackson Parthasarathy is 1-0 with two saves and a 1.32 ERA in six appearances and three starts for Rice. The righty has six strikeouts in 13.2 innings.
Jon Duplantier is 1-2 with a 3.27 ERA, Blake Fox is 0-4 with a 3.52 ERA and Ricardo Salinas is 2-1 with a 6.04 ERA in five starts apiece.
Out of the bullpen, Rice relies heavily on the arm of Glenn Otto, who is 2-1 with three saves and a 2.42 ERA in a team-high 10 appearances. He has 31 strikeouts in 22.1 innings, while only walking six.
SILVER GLOVE SERIES HISTORY
Houston and Rice will meet for the 179th time in program history â€" the longest standing series in program history - and the first of three scheduled games this season.
The series between Houston and Rice dates back to 1948 and the Silver Glove Series officially began in 1998. The Owls own the all-time series, 102-76, but Houston has won the last two season series.
The two teams met four times last season with Houston winning two and Rice winning two, but the Cougars won the Silver Glove Series regular-season in a 2-1 advantage. The last meeting came in a 20-inning outing in the Houston Regional where the Owls prevailed, 3-2 on May 31 over the Cougars.
Houston and Rice will meet two more times this season … at Rice on Tuesday, May 10 and in Sugar Land, Texas at Constellation Field on Tuesday, May 17.
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
BUY SEASON/ SINGLE-GAME / GROUP TICKETS
Houston Baseball has 20 remaining home games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park and fans can purchase season tickets for as low as $99 online by visiting UHCougars.com/tickets and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.
To purchase tickets in person, fans can 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.
Houston Baseball will offer variable pricing on its single-game tickets and group rates.
As noted in the table above, variable pricing occurs. For weekday (Tuesday/Wednesday) games, prices range from $5-$7 depending on the choice of seating.
Weekend ((Thursday) Friday-Sunday) online pricing will range from $6-$8 per game.
GROUP RATES
Group rates are also available (as noted in the table). Weekday (Tuesday/Wednesday) and Weekend ((Thursday) Friday-Sunday) pricing occurs. Groups of 10-24 are set at $4-$5 per person, while groups of 25+ are $3-$4 per person.
All UH main campus students are admitted FREE to regular-season baseball home games with a valid student ID.
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.
