The Cougars enter the week with a 25-11 overall record despite dropping two of three with Seton Hall this past weekend.
QUICK HITS ON HOUSTON
· Houston is hitting .272 as a team, led by freshmen Justin Montemayor (.314), Kyle Kirk (.312) and sophomore Michael Pyeatt (.303) each with .300 or better averages.
· The Cougars are average 8.8 hits per game and 5.7 runs per game through their first 36 games.
· Juniors Caleb Barker (29) and Frankie Ratcliff (27) pace the team in RBI, while Ratcliff (30) and freshman Josh Vidales (28) have drawn 58 combined walks.
· Houston has hit 11 homeruns, led by Montemayor and Barker with three each, while Ratcliff has belted two.
· The Cougars have stolen 51-of-60 bases, led by freshman Kyle Survance’s 12-of-12 effort.
· Houston’s pitching staff holds a 3.55 ERA with 25 wins and eight saves.
· Senior Austin Pruitt leads the team in ERA (1.99), wins (7-2), complete games (3), innings (68.0), and strikeouts (66).
· Starters Jake Lemoine (5-2, 2.01), Aaron Garza (3-2, 3.23) and Daniel Poncedeleon (4-3, 4.28) have combined for 12 wins.
· Junior Chase Wellbrock, out of the pen, leads the team with five saves. He joins junior Tyler Ford with a team-high 13 appearances.
· The staff has struck out 244 hitters and walked just 97.
QUICK HITS ON TEXAS SOUTHERN
· Texas Southern is 16-16 this season and 7-10 away from their home ballpark.
· The Tigers are hitting .263 as a team, led by Ellis Stephney’s .350 clip and 20 RBI.
· Texas Southern is averaging 8.7 hits per game and 5.2 runs per game.
· The team is 65-for-82 in stolen bases, led by a 19-of-22 effort by Jerry Ford II.
· Tigers’ pitching staff holds a 4.07 ERA with 16 wins and eight saves.
· Robert Pearson (4-2, 3.12) and Jacob Martinez (4-0, 3.15) have a combined eight wins for the Tigers.
· Michael Starkey leads the team with four saves.
· The staff has struck out 205 hitters and walked 131.
· Texas Southern is coming off a series win over Southern, taking two of three.
SERIES HISTORY vs. TEXAS SOUTHERN
· Houston and Texas Southern will meet for the 24th time in school history.
· The Cougars have never lost to the Tigers, owning a 23-0 record.
· The series began back on April 14, 1987 in a 20-10 win for Houston.
· The last meeting between the two schools came on May 9, 2011 in a 13-3 win for the Cougars at Cougar Field.
· They have only played one game of the series away from Houston’s home ballpark – a 15-3 win on April 17, 1995.
