Mark Mayorga
Staff Writer
After having their six-game winning streak halted by the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday, the Houston Cougars (27-21 overall, 15-6 Conference USA) will try to rebound when they host the No. 12 Baylor Bears (37-14-1), 7 p.m. today at Cougar Field.
"We need to regroup and go after Baylor as best we can," head coach Rayner Noble said. "It would sure be nice for us to win back-to-back Tuesday games."
In their last meeting with Baylor on April 7, the Cougars had all they could handle from the Bears' offensive attack in a 17-7 loss.
Taking the mound for the Cougars will be freshman pitcher Kris Wilken (1-2) with an ERA of 10.35. In his last two starts against Rice and Texas A&M, Wilken has been able to display the talent that made him a sixth round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox.
Wilken will encounter his third consecutive start against a ranked opponent and a Baylor team's offensive line-up with a mix of power and speed.
Baylor is especially strong in the outfield, with veterans Jon Topolski and power-hitting right fielder Jeremy Dodson sparking the offensive attack.
"We've just got to come out and take it to them," freshman pitcher Kyle Crowell said. "We can't let this (Louisville) loss get us down."
The Cougars, who are now one game behind conference-leading Tulane, need to regain the spark that saw them win nine of their last 11 games.
"We need to go into this game with lots of intensity," outfielder Mike Medrano said. "We need to treat every single game like it's the last one and continue playing that way to get us ready for the conference tournament."
The Cougars will return to conference play this weekend as they travel to Pete Taylor Park to take on the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.