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Sports

UH pitching staff in need of a changeup

by RONNIE TURNER
The Daily Cougar

Right now, the Cougars' postseason hopes are hanging by a slim, partially frayed thread. A few more slip-ups this week against Texas A&M and Tulane, and that thread just might snap altogether.

OK, so maybe that's a little too much exaggeration. There are still five weeks left in the regular season for Houston, and then there's the Conference USA Tournament in late May. There's always a chance the Cougars (19-16, 6-3 C-USA) could play their way into an at-large regional bid by running the table or winning the conference tournament.

That doesn't seem like a likely proposition at the moment, though. The Cougars have been knocked around all season by inconsistency, injuries to key players and a troubling lack of depth. Add in a dose of inexperienced players, and you have what has amounted to a largely mediocre season.

So what's mostly to blame for the team's shortcomings? The answer is simple -- lack of quality pitching.

As it stands, Houston has one of the statistically worst pitching staffs in the league. The Cougars boast a 5.18 team ERA, which ranks eighth out of nine C-USA teams.

Houston's pitching struggles are not all that surprising when one considers the four-man starting rotation, which features three freshmen (left-hander Wes Musick is a redshirt freshman). The only veteran in that crew is junior right-hander Aaron Brown, the Friday starter.

Brown (5-2, 4.37 ERA) has been mostly hot-and-cold this season, which is not a glowing commendation for any Friday starter. Musick (5-3, 3.16 ERA) has been solid over the last few weeks, but didn't pitch against Rice this weekend because of soreness in his left elbow -- there's no answer for when he'll return. John Touchton (3-3, 7.16 ERA) and Donnie Joseph (0-0, 6.25 ERA) continue to be works in progress, though Joseph has pitched well in recent outings. The bullpen has been an interesting show to watch, to say the least.

If the pitching staff is to have any sort of major success, it'll have to start with Brown. As the Friday starter, he has the tough task of setting the tone for every weekend series. Brown's seven-inning, two-run outing against Rice on Friday night was a good example of what the team needs him to do each time out. 

Either the Cougars get things done on the mound, or they start making early plans for next season. 

Keeping it real

Southern Miss head coach Corky Palmer has no problems admitting his team might not reach the postseason in 2007.

The Golden Eagles allowed Tulane to stroll into Hattiesburg, Miss., over the weekend and slip away with victories in two of their three games. The losses were costly for Southern Miss (22-15, 4-8 C-USA), which starts the week in seventh place, only in front of lowly Central Florida (18-19, 1-8 C-USA) and Marshall (14-19, 0-8 C-USA).

The Golden Eagles have been plagued with offensive woes for much of the season. Their .280 team batting average is ranked seventh out of nine C-USA teams. 

If the Golden Eagles don't get their ship righted soon, they could be watching this year's NCAA Tournament from the living room sofa. 

"We've got a long way to go," Palmer told the Hattiesburg American on Sunday. "We could probably play our way into getting looked at for a regional in the next two weeks, or we can play ourselves out. It's that simple. 

"If we don't get better in a hurry we're going to have a hard time unless we win the conference tournament."

By the numbers

Houston skipper Rayner Noble collected his 200th Conference USA win after leading the Cougars to a 5-2 victory over Rice on Friday night. After the weekend, Noble's career C-USA record stands at 200-84 (.704)...Rice has claimed nine of its last 10 regular season series with Houston and the Silver Glove Trophy that comes with winning the series...Marshall catcher Thad Ledford has allowed a league-leading 49 stolen bases...East Carolina closer Shane Matthews picked up a save against Marshall on Friday night to increase his league-leading saves total to 10...Dating back to last season, Marshall has dropped 16 consecutive C-USA contests.

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