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Sports

UH to play Baylor in grudge match on the road

Cougars will put freshman on mound against Bears team 
that is 14-5 at home

by RONNIE TURNER
The Daily Cougar

When Houston and Baylor last squared off back on Feb. 9 in the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park, the Cougars walked away smiling with a 4-2 victory over a young, largely inexperienced Bears squad. Since then, smiles have been hard to come by for both squads.

Both teams have experienced their fair share of headaches while battling with rosters heavily laden with freshmen and sophomores and without the services of key players lost to injury. And with their respective Conference races now getting under way, neither squad can afford many more losses the rest of the way if they're to make the postseason.

Houston (15-12) has played well lately with victories in its last four games, all on the road. But the Cougars won't have an easy time keeping that streak alive when they face Baylor at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

The Bears (16-14) are undoubtedly not in the mood for any more losing after being mercilessly swept in a three-game series at Oklahoma State over the weekend. More so, they probably wouldn't mind exacting some revenge on the Cougars for their earlier loss to them.

So far this season, Baylor has played extremely well at home, where it is 14-5. That doesn't bode well for the Cougars, who have struggled at times away from the friendly confines of Cougar Field.

Houston will send freshman left-hander Donnie Joseph to the mound for tonight's game. Joseph (0-0, 7.62 ERA) has made 10 appearances (five starts) this season while serving as both a starter and reliever but has yet to record a decision. 

Joseph, as well as fellow freshmen pitchers Wes Musick and John Touchton, was called upon by UH head coach Rayner Noble to fill out the starting rotation after injuries sidelined junior right-hander Ricky Hargrove (shoulder) and sophomore catcher/pitcher Luis Flores (forearm) early in the season.

Baylor head coach Steve Smith will counter by starting redshirt freshman right-hander Wade Mackey on the mound. Mackey (1-0, 1.47 ERA) will make his fifth start of the season. 

In Joseph's last start at Lamar on March 27, he went 4.1 innings and allowed six runs on six hits and two walks. The Cougars would eventually claim that contest 17-10 in extra innings.

Joseph has the task of cooling off a hot Baylor lineup that has hit .349 over the last nine games. The Baylor hitter who will probably prove to be the most difficult to retire is senior catcher Matt Sodolak, who is currently on an 11-game hitting streak, during which he is hitting .409 (18-for-44).

Joseph will have the benefit of being backed up by a slightly improved infield defense. The infield struggled for much of the season until Noble made some significant changes four games ago, which included moving struggling infielder Dustin Kingsbury back to third base, moving junior Bryan Pounds to shortstop and allowing junior Ryan Lormand to settle in at second base with senior Josh Stirneman remaining at first base. 

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