University of Houston Athletics
American Champ: (2) Houston vs. (3) UConn
5/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- (2) Houston Baseball will look to continue its winning ways in The American Baseball Championship at Spectrum Field when it meets No. 3 seed UConn at 2 p.m. CT Thursday in Clearwater, Fla.
Houston advanced in the winner's bracket after earning a 6-5 Game 1 win over (7) Memphis on Tuesday. The Cougars own a 37-19 overall record and are 1-0 in American Championship play. (3) UConn advances to play Houston after winning 12-3 over Cincinnati.
The game will be available for FREE on The American Digital Network by CLICKING HERE or logging into www.theamerican.org/dn.
FULL TOURNAMENT BRACKET / INFORMATION
FOLLOW ALONG
Listen Live: UHCougars.com/baseradio
Watch Live: theamerican.org/dn
GAMEDAY Central: UHCougars.com/gameday
QUICK HITS ON HOUSTON
- Houston is hitting .286 as a team and slugging .436 with 51 home runs -- the most since the 2008.
- American Player of the Year Jake Scheiner leads the team .336 and a conference-best 16 home runs.
- Corey Julks follows with a .319 clip and 14 stolen bases.
- Connor Wong paces the team with 54 runs, 73 hits and 22 stolen bases, while also belting 10 home runs.
- The Houston pitching staff owns a 3.48 ERA with nine saves and seven complete games.
- The staff has struck out 403and walked just 130 in 493.2 innings.
- American Pitcher of the Year Trey Cumbie leads the league with a 2.02 ERA and is 9-1 on the year, while entering the week having throw three straight complete games.
- Second Team All-League pitcher Mitch Ullom is 6-3 with 3.60 ERA in a team-high 14 starts.
- Senior John King is 6-1 with a 3.28 ERA and has tallied three complete games.
LAST AT-BAT
- Houston is coming off a wild 6-5 win over Memphis to open the American Baseball Championship.
- The Cougars rallied late with a four-run eighth inning, highlighted by a three-run, pinch-hit home run by Grayson Padgett to put the Cougars ahead by a run at 6-5.
- Corey Julks had a three-hit day and Jake Scheiner belted his conference-leading 16th home run of the season.
- Sophomore Nolan Bond picked up the win in relief, improving to 2-0, while sophomore Aaron Fletcher earned his team-best seventh save of the year.
QUICK HITS ON UCONN
- UConn owns a 32-23 overall record and is playing as the No. 3 seed this week.
- The Huskies are hitting .256 as a team, led by Willy Yahn's .318 average, while Zac Susi and Issac Feldstein each have a team-high 40 RBI.
- The UConn pitching staff owns a 3.64 ERA with 17 saves and four shutouts.
- The staff has fanned 549 hitters, while walking 223 in 482.2 innings.
- Tim Cate paces the staff with a 2.94 ERA and is 4-3 in 11 starts. He has fanned 98 hitters in 70.1 innings.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UCONN
- Houston and UConn have met just 14 times since the Huskies joined The American back in 2014.
- The Cougars own a slight 8-6 edge over UConn, and won the 2017 regular-season series, 2-1 at Schroeder Park.
- Houston won in walkoff fashion in Game 1 this season, 6-5, in 10 innings and clinched the series with a 9-1 Game 2, before falling 7-4 in the series finale.
ON DECK
The winner of Houston vs. UConn will play at 9 a.m. CT Saturday with the loser playing at 10 a.m. CT Friday.
FULL TOURNAMENT BRACKET / INFORMATION
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.
