PREVIEW: Opening Day Welcomes Binghamton

HOUSTON – The Houston baseball team opens its 2024 season on Friday with a three-game series over the weekend against Binghamton from Sanders Field at Schroeder Park.

HOUSTON (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Binghamton (0-0, 0-0 American East)
Date \| Time	Friday, Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 18 at 11 a.m.
Opponent	Binghamton (0-0)
Location	Don Sanders Field at Darryl and Lori Schroeder Park
Watch	Big 12 Now on ESPN+ \| Daniel Gillman (pxp), Robert Neagli (analyst – Friday only), Kyle Rogers (analyst – Saturday and Sunday)
Listen	The Varsity Network \| Jeremy Branham
Live Stats	UHStats.com
Starting Rotation	Friday – RHP Jaxon Jelkin (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Gabe Driscoll (0-0, 0.00) Saturday – LHP Antoine Jean (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Ryan Bates (0-0, 0.00) Sunday – RHP Duncan Howard (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Nelson Bekrwich (0-0, 0.00)
Game Notes	Houston \| ~~Binghamton~~
Media Center	Notes, media guide/record book, rosters, box scores, photos
Promotions	Check out all the fun at the ballpark

THE PROMOTIONS

All Weekend
- 2 free tickets for UH Fac & Staff
- 2024 Schedule Magnet & Schedule Poster Giveaway
Friday
- $7 Ticket at the Box Office
Saturday
- Free admission with ticket from men's basketball game at the box office
- Baseball Bingo by Cabo Bob's / Raising Canes Coogs Win You Win
Sunday
- Sunday 4-pack (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, & 4 drinks for $40)
- Free donuts for the first 100 fans from Shipley Donuts / 50 Red youth t-shirts
- Kids (12 & Under) Get in free with Youth Jersey / 2 free tickets for UH Fac & Staff
- Pregame: Inflatables
- Postgame: Run the Bases, Team Autographs

THE SERIES

This is the first-ever meeting between Houston and Binghamton.
As a Maine Black Bear, shortstop Jake Rainess went 7-16 last year against Binghamton with six RBI including a four-hit and four-RBI game in 2023.
Rainess is 14-35 all-time against Binghamton with three home runs and 10 RBI.
As an Alabama Crimson Tide, left-handed pitcher Antoine Jean last pitched his career-high 6.0 IP against Binghamton (3/12/22), twirling four strikeouts with three walks and a run.

QUICK HITTERS

First baseman Justin Murray and Jake Rainess were named NCBWA Preseason All-Americans. Murray was named Second Team Utility while Rainess was tabbed Third Team Shortstop.
Both Murray and Rainess reeled in top 50 position rankings by D1Baseball. Rainess was named the #13 shortstop in America (fourth in the Big 12) while Murray was tabbed the #22 first baseman.
JuCo transfer right-handed pitcher Jaxon Jelkin was tabbed a top 150 starting pitcher by D1Baseball – the third ranked JuCo transfer pitcher on the list.
Left-handed pitcher Tim Williamson struck out Murray in the pair's only face-to-face matchup in 2022 when Williamson was at Harvard and Murray was at Dartmouth.
Houston was picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 Conference in its inaugural season – above the three other newcomers and Baylor.
Head Coach Todd Whitting enters his 14th season as head coach of his alma mater and 22nd season in total as a coach.
Whitting elevated Ross Kivett to Associate Head Coach after leading the Cougars' offense to its best average (.290) since 2017 (.290), the most home runs (73) since 2000 (75), most RBI (391) and stolen bases (113) since 2008 (421 and 142).
Houston brought in SEC experienced coaches Sean Kenny (pitching) and Matt Reida (recruiting coordinator) to the 2024 staff. Kenny brings a wealth of experience from Georgia while Reida joins the Cougars from Alabama.
Cougar legend Woody Williams returns to Houston as the Director of Pitching Strategy and Development to work closely with pitching coach Sean Kenny in what head coach Whitting describes as his best pitching staff on paper during his 14-year tenure.
Andy Davis was hired as Director of Analytics after multiple years at Georgia with Assistant Coach Sean Kenny.
Binghamton won the America East Conference Tournament in 2022 for its fifth NCAA Regional appearance since 2009.

LAST TIME OUT

Houston went 3-2 in the American Athletic Conference Championship Tournament reaching the semifinal for the second consecutive season.

SERIES HISTORY
Houston record vs Binghamton                 0-0
Last meeting                                              never
Streak                                                        first meeting

BUY TICKETS
Don't miss any of the action, purchase your single-game tickets to any of the 34 Houston Cougar baseball games inside Schroeder Park by clicking here.

PURCHASE SEASON TICKETS
The 2024 baseball season is set to be the biggest one yet, with four 2023 NCAA Regional teams set to play at Don Sanders Field at Schroeder Park in a 34-game home schedule including five Big 12 Conference home series. Click here to buy new season tickets as low as $136 per seat ($4 per game).

Ready to renew your season tickets? Click here to ensure you don't miss any of the action during the Cougars' inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference in the same great seats!

BUY FLEX PLAN
Can't make all 34 games this season? No problem, buy a flex plan and pick which games you want to attend in 2024 (excluding the Texas series April 12-14 – flex plan game selection begins in January).

SUPPORT THE COUGARS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Baseball by purchasing season tickets, supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective, giving to Houston Rise, and by joining the Dugout Club which provides financial support directly to Houston Baseball for needs beyond its operating budget.
 
STAY CONNECTED 
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarBB on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at Houston Cougar Baseball. Fans can also follow the team on Instagram at @uhcougarbb.

– UHCougars.com –

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Players Mentioned

Duncan Howard

Antoine Jean

Jaxon Jelkin

Justin Murray

Jake Rainess

Tim Williamson

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