Cougars play host to
Sam Houston
By Stuart H. Clements
Daily Cougar Staff
The Houston baseball team went 2-2 last
week, dropping to No. 10 in the Baseball America poll, but went on to win
its series against
Conference USA foe Cincinnati. With the
wins, the Cougars stayed atop the league standings with a 13-5 conference
record.
Brian Viney/The Daily Cougar
Senior Keith Whatley will
toe the rubber against Sam Houston State. Whatley holds a 7-3 record with
a 4.33 ERA.
The Cougars should be ready to face Sam
Houston State today. Houston boasts a 29-12 overall record, while the Bearkats
are 18-26, 6-12 in
Southland Conference.
Sam Houston holds the all-time advantage
against the Cougars. The two teams started competing back in 1947 and the
Bearkats have a 73-60
lead in the series.
The Bearkats and the Cougars didn't brawl
last season, but in 2000, Houston took a 7-4 win over Sam Houston.
Senior Keith Whatley will start on the
mound for the Cougars. After being bumped from his Saturday starting position,
Whatley has started in the
last two weekday games, first against
Texas A&M and then against No. 3 Rice.
Whatley holds a 7-3 record and a 4.33 ERA.
The southpaw has recorded 32 strikeouts this season in 52 innings of work.
Junior Chris Snyder jumped ahead of junior
Jesse Crain and now leads the Cougar offense with a .350 batting average.
Five of the Cougars'
eight starters hold .300 or higher batting
averages.
After hitting .533 last week with three
home runs and 12 RBIs, Snyder also leads in RBIs with 42 and is just behind
junior Brett Cooley with nine
home runs.
Cooley leads in home runs with 11 this
season and has improved his batting average over the last two weeks, taking
it from the .250 range to
.331.
Sophomore Michael Bourn leads not only
the team but also the league in stolen bases and walks this season. Bourn
has tallied 31 walks and
21 steals on 27 attempts.
The Bearkats have yet to determine who
will take the hill tonight as the starting pitcher.
Bearkats freshman Dustin Craig and senior
Nathan Brewer have been pitching the majority of the weekday games, and
Brewer pitched Tuesday
against Houston Baptist. Sam Houston defeated
the Huskies 12-8.
Bearkat Kelly Carroll leads the offense
with a .326 batting average, one home run and 22 RBIs.
Lawrence Riva leads Sam Houston in home
runs with six and is tied with Clint House in RBIs with 31. House has five
home runs.
The Cougars will hit the road this weekend
to face C-USA foe Saint Louis in a three-game series.
