PREVIEW: Houston Begins Six-Day Road Trip

Tuesday, February 18

Austin, Texas

5:30 p.m.

University of Houston

Texas

2/17/2025 4:41:00 PM | Baseball

Cougars ready for five games in six days on the road, face two nationally ranked teams

AUSTIN – The Houston Baseball team heads out of town for a six day, five-game road trip beginning with two mid-week games in the greater-Austin, Texas, area at #16 Texas on Tuesday and vs. #7 Oregon State on Wednesday at Dell Diamond in Frisco, Texas.

HOUSTON (2-1) at #16 Texas (2-1); vs. #7 Oregon State (4-0)
Date \| Time	Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Texas Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. vs. Oregon State
Opponent	#16 Texas (2-1), #7 Oregon State (4-0)
Location	UFCU Disch-Falk Field \| Austin Texas; Dell Diamond \| Round Rock, Texas
Watch	SECN+ (Tuesday) \| Peak.Events (Wednesday)
Listen	The Varsity Network \| Lonnie King
Live Stats	UHStats.com
Game Notes	Houston \| Texas \| Oregon State
Media Center	Notes, media guide/record book, rosters, box scores, photos

THE MATCHUP

After playing a conference series in 2024 for the first time since 1995, the Cougars and Longhorns meet as non-conference foes again in 2025.
Houston won the first game of the series in 2024.
This is the first meeting against Oregon State.
The game against Oregon State will now be played at 1 p.m. on Wednesday from the scheduled 6 p.m. start.

QUICK HITTERS

Houston begins a six-game road trip that features five games including two against ranked opponents on Tuesday at Texas. The Cougars will then play Oregon State on Wednesday at Dell Diamond in Frisco, Texas, before heading to Berkeley, Calif., to play Cal in a three-game series.
Infielders Connor McGinnis and Aaron Lugo each drove in three runs in Houston's two wins against Minnesota. McGinnis' three-RBI game helped Houston to a 4-2 win on Saturday and Lugo's propelled the Coogs to an 8-7 win on Sunday.
Sophomore Richie Roman only appeared in eight games as a freshman coming off Tommy John surgery, but was named the #67 sophomore nationally by Perfect Game and the #5 sophomore in the Big 12 by D1Baseball.com. Roman began 2025 with 3.0 innings, striking out six without allowing an earned run.
Junior Carsten Sabathia hit the Cougars' first home run of the season. The son of Hall of Fame inductee C.C. Sabathia hit the solo home run in on Opening Day.
The Cougars boast the Big 12 Conference Preseason Newcomer of the Year in third baseman Cade Climie – who hit .394 with a 1.300 OPS with 20 home runs and 76 RBI at Blinn JC in 2024 with 27 multi-hit games on his way to winning NJCAA World Series MVP. Climie is the #1 JuCo transfer hitter in the nation according to D1Baseball.com, the #64 MLB Draft prospect among college player and the #12 third baseman nationally.
Junior Tyler Cox continued the Dartmouth-Houston pipeline following after Houston standout Justin Murray's graduation. Cox played two seasons at Dartmouth earning All-Ivy League First Team in 2022 while being named Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
Senior outfielder/left-handed pitcher Malachi Lott returned to Houston after spending the 2024 season at Sam Houston. He is one of five athletes to return to his current institution after playing at a different D1 school in 2024.
Head Coach Todd Whitting enters his 15th season as the Cougars head coach amassing 446 wins, the second-most in program history and the third-highest winning percentage (.568).
Matt Reida was promoted to Associate Head Coach after one season in Houston.
Cougar legend Woody Williams was promoted to assistant coach following a season as the Director of Pitching Strategy. Williams will wear the same number he did when he was a student-athlete – #18.
With the addition of Clay Van Hook to the coaching staff, two different father-son duos have coached for the Cougars since their first season in 1947. The Stocktons (Bragg and Russell) with Russell joining the 1992 staff after his father Bragg coached two stints for Houston from 1981-94 and again this year the Van Hooks with the addition of Clay Van Hook after his father, Kyle, coached the Cougars for two seasons (1984-85).

LAST TIME OUT

Houston took two of three games from Minnesota to three on Opening Weekend.
Richie Roman earned two saves on the weekend out of the bullpen.

SERIES HISTORY
Houston record vs Texas                                34-99-2
Last meeting                                                            L, 13-8, 4/14/24, Home
Streak                                                                           Texas, W2
Houston record vs Oregon State               0-0
Last meeting                                                            --
Streak                                                                           First meeting

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