February may not summon thoughts of baseball for most people, but Houston’s "Boys of Summer" have been anticipating the season opener since last season’s final game.
The Cougars will wrap up three weeks of spring practice today and host their first game of the season and the first of a three-game weekend series against the University of the Pacific at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
UH head coach Rayner Noble, entering his 14th season with the team, anticipates great things from his players this season.
"I feel good about things," Noble said. "We’ve had plenty of time to practice and we’re looking to have a great season."
Houston finished last season with a 28-28 record, losing 11 of its last 16 games.
Much of last season’s struggles were due to injuries sustained by key players, most notably junior pitchers Ricky Hargrove and Dereck Cloeren, who both suffered shoulder injuries.
Noble is looking forward to the two of them returning this season,
"I think Hargrove will be (ready) in a couple weeks and Cloeren should be ready this weekend," he said. "(Cloeren) has been throwing inter-squad (games) for us this spring."
While they should fall into the starting rotation during the season, Noble said they will have to come out of the bullpen when they are ready to resume playing.
The rest of the pitching staff is ready for this year’s challenges.
"I think they’ll be able to throw around 90 pitches in their first start," Noble said.
Sophomore Wes Musick will lead this season’s starting rotation. Musick received six awards last year, including being named to the All-Conference USA First Team and the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America Team.
UH will need to improve offensively after finishing in the bottom half of most categories last year if it wants to compete.
Out of nine C-USA teams, the Cougars finished eighth in team batting average and hits, seventh in on-base percentage and sixth in runs scored, RBIs and doubles.
"After a bad season, your motivation is just not to have another bad season," Noble said.
Returning junior infielder Jimmy Cesario, who hit .352 last season with 13 doubles, 77 hits and 35 RBIs, will lead the team in its pursuit of victory.
Cesario was named to the All-Conference USA First Team last season, taking the conference’s Newcomer of the Year Award.
Getting off to a good start will be vital for the Cougars, who will play a condensed schedule because of new NCAA rules that pushed back the start of the season to accommodate teams in colder climates. These rules emphasize the starting rotation.
The Cougars will play 14 games this season against six teams currently ranked in Baseball America’s top 25. Wins over these teams could help push Houston into the national standings and give the team the confidence it needs to propel itself into the postseason.
