The Cougars experienced a few rough spots at the start of the season, but appear to be close to hitting a stride with six wins in their last seven games.
UH (10-5) enters this weekend’s home series against San Francisco on a three-game win streak. The Cougars’ recent triumph was a 14-8 win over Sam Houston State on Wednesday in Huntsville.
The Cougars didn’t pitch well, but broke out the bats for 18 hits.
"Every game has been like really close, and we’ve been wanting to blow out a team," senior second baseman Ryan Lormand said. "So, to come out and put 18 hits and 14 runs on the board, it builds our confidence up a bit."
The Cougars will send sophomore left-hander Wes Musick to the mound for the series opener at 6:30 p.m. today at Cougar Field. Musick (3-0) has pitched well in each of his three starts and leads the Cougars’ pitching staff with a 1.25 ERA.
San Francisco (7-8) will probably start senior pitcher Mitchell Bialosky. The right-hander was roughed up in his last start, allowing five runs (four earned) over seven innings in the Dons’ 8-7 (13 inn.) loss to Nevada-Las Vegas on March 7.
Bialosky (0-2) will be faced with the task of cooling down the Cougars’ hot lineup, which has been paced by senior first baseman Bryan Pounds and senior left fielder Jake Stewart.
Pounds went 3-for-6 with two runs and an RBI against Sam Houston to raise his batting average to .449, which leads the Cougars. He also leads the team in home runs (4), RBIs (16) and slugging percentage (.796).
Stewart had a triple and scored two runs in Wednesday’s game. He is second on the team with a .411 batting average and is tied with sophomore catcher Austin Goolsby for the lead in doubles with six.
The Cougars will probably start freshman right-hander Jared Ray in the second game of the series at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Ray, who has yet to earn a decision after four appearances (three starts), was tagged for six runs (five earned) over 5 2/3 innings in Saturday’s 9-7 loss to the University of California-Santa Barbara.
Freshman left-hander Ty Stuckey will start for the Cougars in the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday. Stuckey (1-1) picked up his first collegiate win after allowing only one run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings in the Cougars’ 4-2 victory over UC-Santa Barbara on Sunday.
