University of Houston Athletics
Preview: Houston at No. 7 ECU this Weekend
4/26/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| HOUSTON (25-16, 10-5) at ECU (30-9, 8-4) | |
| WEEKEND BREAKDOWN |
| LOCATION | Clark-LeClair Stadium | Greenville, N.C. |
| GAMEDAY CENTRAL | GAMEDAY CENTRAL |
| LISTEN LIVE | UHCougars.com/baseradio |
| WATCH LIVE | ECUPirates.com |
| GAMETRACKER | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| SERIES HISTORY | Houston and ECU have met 55 previous times. |
| SERIES RECORD | The Cougars lead the all-time series, 28-26-1. |
| GAME NOTES | Game Notes |
HOUSTON â€" Houston Baseball will continue its road tour this weekend at No. 7 ECU in a three-game American Athletic Conference series featuring the two top teams in the league. The series will begin at 5:30 p.m. CT Friday in Greenville, N.C.
The three-game set will continue at 3 p.m. CT Saturday and wrap at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
FOLLOW ALONG
Listen Live: UHCougars.com/baseradio
Watch Live: ECUPirates.com (Friday â€" Sunday)
GAMEDAY Central: UHCougars.com/gameday
HOUSTON HITS
- Houston enters the week with a 25-16 overall record and a 10-5 mark in the American Athletic Conference.
- The Cougars are coming off a midweek road loss at No. 19 Texas, 9-4.
- Houston improved its home record to 21-4 with the series sweep and has won seven straight at Schroeder Park.
- On the road, Houston is 4-9 and will continue its weekly road tour with three more games this week away from home.
- As a team, the Cougars are hitting .253 with 69 doubles, five triples and 14 home runs to accompany 172 RBI.
- Leading the way offensively is sophomore Jared Triolo with a .365 average, a team-leading 61 hits, while swiping 11 bases.
- Senior Connor Hollis is hitting .300 and paces the team in runs scored with 37 and junior Joe Davis, senior Cooper Coldiron and sophomore Lael Lockhart Jr. each lead the way with 27 RBI.
- Hollis and Tyler Bielamowicz enter the series having reached base in 14 straight games, while Grayson Padgett has reached in 11 straight.
- The pitching staff owns a 3.34 ERA and has 359 strikeouts and 136 walks through 368.2 innings.
- The Cougars managed to hold a .300-hitting Wichita State offense to a mere a .198 clip last weekend. On the year, opponents are hitting .226 against the Cougar hurlers.
- Junior Aaron Fletcher paces the staff with a 1.54 ERA and is 4-2 in 10 starts.
- Junior Trey Cumbie ranks second in the league with 80 strikeouts and is 4-2 with a 3.46 ERA.
- Sophomore reliever Carter Henry picked up two saves over the weekend to bring his total to five on the year, while also leading the team with 19 appearances and a 1.07 ERA.
ECU HITS
- ECU enters the weekend American series with a 30-9 overall record and an 8-4 mark in league play.
- The Pirates' Wednesday game vs. NC State was cancelled due to inclement weather so the team returns to action having won its last four games, including a league sweep at Memphis last weekend.
- ECU has fallen in just one conference series, 1-2, at home vs. USF.
- As a team, ECU is hitting .289 with 56 doubles, four triples and 36 home runs to accompany its 223 RBI.
- Leading the way offensively is Bryant Packard with a .400 clip, a team-high 50 hits and 35 RBI in 33 games played. He also paces the team with 10 home runs.
- The pitching staff owns a 3.12 ERA with 12 saves and 306 strikeouts to 105 walks through 349.0 innings. Opponents are hitting .249 against the Pirates pitching.
- Chris Holba is 9-0 with a 1.48 ERA through 10 starts and has fanned 50 in 60. 2 innings.
- Tyler Smith is 6-1 with a 1.66 ERA in 11 appearances and seven starts.
- Out of the pen, Davis Kirkpatrick is 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA with one save in 17 appearances, while Ryan Ross has a team-best five saves to accompany a 1.62 ERA in 19 appearances.
SERIES HISTORY vs. ECU
- Houston and ECU have met 55 previous times, dating back to 2002.
- Houston owns a slight lead in the series history at 28-26-1.
- The Cougars last visited Greenville, N.C. in 2016 where it dropped the series, 2-1.
- Houston swept the 2017 season over ECU, winning all four games, including the conference tournament championship game to send the Cougars to the NCAA tournament as the league's automatic bid.
- Last Meeting: May 28, 2017 | Houston 6, ECU 0 (Clearwater, Fla. | Spectrum Field)
PROBABLE STARTERS
FRIDAY
Houston: LHP Trey Cumbie (3.46 ERA, 4-2, 80 K, 65.0 IP)
ECU: RHP Chris Holba (1.48 ERA, 9-0, 50 K, 60.2 IP)
SATURDAY
Houston: LHP Aaron Fletcher (1.54 ERA, 4-2, 60 K, 64.1 IP)
ECU: LHP Alec Burleson (1.90 ERA, 2-0, 25 K, 23.2 IP)
SUNDAY
Houston: TBA
ECU: RHP Tyler Smith (1.66 ERA, 6-1, 28 K, 48.2 IP)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE STANDINGS
- HOUSTON (10-5, .667)
- ECU (8-5, .667)
- USF (9-6, .600)
- UConn (7-5, .583)
- Cincinnati (8-7, .533)
- Tulane (6-6, .500)
- UCF (7-8, .467)
- Wichita State (4-8, .333)
- Memphis (1-11, .083)
ON DECK
Following the weekend series at ECU, Houston will enter the month of May with its first game slated for Tuesday, May 1 vs. Sam Houston State at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /UHCougarBB. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter.
