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Sports

Cougars in need of some relief

Team hopes to rebound from three-game sweep

by RONNIE TURNER
The Daily Cougar

The Cougars have been struck with almost every imaginable misfortune this season -- poor pitching, shoddy defense, mental lapses, injuries to key players, etc. So far, that's all added up to a mediocre 11-12 record.

But don't expect to hear the players whining about their failures. This team isn't in the business of feeling sorry for itself.

"We're not going to make excuses with injuries," freshman left-hander Wes Musick said. "With the players we have out there, we're able to win. I have confidence in all the guys out there.

"We need to come together as a team and start winning. Once that happens, we'll get on a roll and good things will happen."

Now would be good time for the Cougars to have a hot streak, especially with Conference USA play set to begin this weekend. Houston will travel to Orlando to take on Central Florida in a three-game series. The opener is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday at Jay Bergman Field.

An above-average finish in conference play should put the Cougars in contention for a postseason berth at season's end. That means each remaining weekend of play becomes doubly important.

"As long as we do well in conference, we can go just as far as we want to," sophomore right-hander Aaron Brown said. 

The Cougars certainly hope they can avoid the same misfortune they suffered the last time they ventured out on the road. Last weekend, Houston was swept in a three-game series at San Diego State.

The sting from those losses still lingers.

"It was tough going up there and getting swept by a team that we should have beat," Musick said. 

There weren't many positives the team could take from that sweep, but Musick's performance was one of them. He started Saturday's game and gave up four runs (two earned) in eight solid innings, but picked up a no-decision in the 5-4 loss.

Musick pitched well in his last two starts, and he'll likely get the nod on either Saturday or Sunday against UCF.

"Wes pitched an outstanding game (on Saturday)," UH head coach Rayner Noble said. "I think he can be a whole lot better than he is right now, but time will tell. I think that he's a guy that will be a large piece to our success."

The Cougars swept UCF in a three-game home series last season, but this go around could yield different results. The Golden Knights (14-10) have won eight of their last nine games, and all of those victories have come at Jay Bergman Field, where UCF is 13-8.

The Cougars have yet to put together that sort of run this season. They've come close a few times but have struggled to overcome the number of obstacles that stood in their way.

"We're trying to overcome some difficult things and it just takes patience," Noble said. "We have to have some guys step up in a big way as we head into conference play (in order) to make something of this conference season."

Noble plans to slightly alter his starting infield this weekend. He'll move struggling senior infielder Dustin Kingsbury from shortstop to third base and work sophomore outfielder Felix Fanaselle at shortstop. 

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