by James Beltran
Staff Writer
All conference games are crucial for the No. 16 Houston Cougars baseball team (25-13 overall, 12-3 Conference USA) - even those against teams in the bottom half of the standings.
The Memphis Tigers are such a team, sitting in eighth place in C-USA with their 12-21 overall record.
Houston travels to Nat Buring Stadium in Memphis to take on the Tigers at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
It is a dangerous situation for the Cougars to be in, playing a team that has nothing to lose. The Tigers have already lost nine conference games this season, and will not hesitate to steal the extra base or swing for the fences. Their fate of noncontention has long since been determined.
"We have struggled," said Memphis coach Jeff Hopkins. "We have been swinging the bats better than we were, but we still struggle with consistency."
On the contrary, the Tigers have found definite consistency in the past two weeks. After losing their last three, the Tigers have only one victory in their last nine games.
Cougars designated hitter Jason Schreiber, though, said he sees a threat in Memphis. "They have some pretty decent pitching," he said. "They've got some guys who can throw in the 90s (miles per hour).
"(Our success) all depends on how we come out and swing the bats."
Houston's first hurdle will be Chad Harville, who will get the start for Memphis on Friday. Harville brings to the mound an impressive 2.57 ERA and an anemic opponent batting average of .177. Most startling, however, are his 95 strikeouts in 77.1 innings pitched.
But Harville has posted only a 4-4 record thus far, due mainly to weak run support.
He will be opposed by Cougar freshman pitcher Shane Nance.
Houston coach Rayner Noble has slated Robb Kirkland to pitch Saturday and Scott McLeod to finish up the series on Sunday for the Cougars. Memphis' hurler on Saturday will be Craig House. He has a 2-2 record with an ERA of 4.04. The Tigers have not yet named their starter for Sunday's game.
Tiger offensive threats are few, with the exception of John Tompkins, House and Heath Bender, who all hit over .300. The rest of the Memphis bats post humbling numbers.
Their next best, Daryn Miller, has a .276 average. Eight of the Cougars' nine starters post higher numbers than that.
These numbers favor the Cougars, but games are not won on paper. Houston will still have to play hard if it is to retain the C-USA lead for another week.
"We need to get two out of three in our next three series," Noble said. "If we do that, I think we'll be OK."