March 20, 2008

Houston-East Carolina Game Notes (March 20, 2008) in PDF Format

HOUSTON -- The University of Houston baseball team returns to action at 6 p.m. (CDT) Friday, when the Cougars open up Conference play in a three-game series against C-USA rival East Carolina at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

The series continues at 2 p.m. (CDT), Saturday, before wrapping up with the finale at 10 a.m. (CDT) on Sunday.

Houston (12-6) enters this weekend's series having won five of six and eight of its last ten games. The Cougars have not played since last Sunday's 10-8 win over San Francisco, as their game against Lamar on Tuesday was washed out due to rain.

Sophomore southpaw Wes Musick will take the mound against the Pirates in the series opener. Musick is a perfect 4-0 this season, posting an ERA of 1.52 and fanning 25 in 29.2 innings.

In his last start against San Francisco, the Lufkin native tossed eight innings, surrendering a pair of earned runs and striking out seven.

The senior duo of first baseman Bryan Pounds and leftfielder Jake Stewart power the Cougars' offensive attack.

Pounds leads Houston with a .435 batting average, blasting a team-high 4 home runs and plating 19 RBI in just 16 games. He has hit safely in each game this season and is currently on a career-long 18 game hitting-streak, dating back to last year.

After missing most of last season due to injury, Stewart is healthy and has added needed power to the top of the Cougars' lineup. This season, he is hitting .368 with two home runs, seven doubles and a triple, tallying 40 total bases.

Fans can hear all three of this weekend's games live on UHCougars.com with Jeremy Branham calling the play-by-play and former UH letterwinner Pat Cauley providing the analysis.

Fans also can follow live stats via the Internet by clicking the "GameTracker" link on the UH Front page or on the Cougar Baseball schedule page.

East Carolina leads the all-time series against the Cougars, posting a record of 14-8. Houston, however, has posted victories in two of the last three games against the Pirates in North Carolina.

Senior right-hander T.J. Hose is scheduled to toe the rubber for East Carolina in the series opener. This season Hose has compiled a record of 1-1 with an ERA 6.97, striking out 15 hitters in 20.2 innings.

Juniors Ryan Wood and Brandon Henderson lead the Pirates offensively. Eldridge is hitting a team-high .433 with two homers and 13 RBI. Wood leads the team with six homers to go along with his .355 average and 20 RBI.