by James Beltran
Staff Writer
Earlier in the season, the Houston Cougars (32-18 overall, 15-6 Conference USA) would have been delighted in taking part in a three-game series with the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers.
The Blazers, though, are no longer the pushovers they were through the first half of the schedule. Their six-game winning streak has boosted them closer to the .500 mark (22-25) that has eluded them for most of the year.
"If we can get some good pitching and decent hitting, I feel pretty good about this weekend," said UAB coach Pete Rancont.
The Blazers have hot bats in their lineup for the series. Dan Harness, UAB's junior shortstop, is one of the hottest hitters in the conference after collecting 14 hits last week on his way to earning the C-USA Hitter of the Week award. Other weapons for the Blazers are Mike Terry (.359 batting average) and Jeff Bell (team-leading 48 RBI).
"They are playing well," said Houston coach Rayner Noble. "We are definitely going to have to be on top of our game this weekend."
The Cougars, on the other hand, have been inconsistent. They have dropped three of their last five games and are in danger of losing their spot in the polls with any more losses this week.
That is not Noble's main concern, though. His team is attempting to retain its half-game lead over both Southern Mississippi and Tulane in the conference race with only six C-USA games left.
"I'd like to finish in first or second in conference," he said. "That way, we'll be paired with one of the lower teams in the first round of the (C-USA) tournament."
To accomplish this, though, Noble said the Cougars will need to sweep the series at Cougar Field or win two of the three games.
The starting pitchers for Houston will be southpaw Shane Nance on Friday (5-5 record, 4.71 ERA) and junior Jon McDonald on Saturday (6-2, 6.12 ERA). Both games begin at 7 p.m. Noble said he is tentatively scheduling Scott McLeod (3-2, 5.40 ERA) to pitch the third game at 1 p.m. Sunday.
McDonald, who has struggled in past starts, has made progress in his last outing but still needs to improve. He allowed three runs in six and two-thirds innings of work in the win over Baylor earlier in the week. Noble is hoping McDonald can build on it in his next start as the Cougars enter their final stretch of the season.
"I still don't like the way he is pitching," Noble said, "but he's getting progressively better each time. We're going to need him to start pitching even better in the tournament."
The Blazers may be playing well, but they have not beaten any formidable opponents during their streak. The Louisville Cardinals and Cincinnati Bearcats have fallen victim to UAB. Not an impressive feat, considering the two teams account for a combined 12 conference wins.
The Blazers, though, have beaten two ranked teams earlier in the year. UAB swept two games from No. 12 Mississippi State and also defeated No. 5 Alabama.