The Cougars would rather not look too far ahead at the remaining schedule, but it’s probably hard for them not to think about the postseason given their strong record and Ratings Percentage Index.
After taking two of three games from Tulane last weekend, the Cougars (22-12, 7-2 Conference USA) retained their hold on second place behind conference frontrunner Rice. They also bumped their RPI to 25 (www.boydsworld.com), joining East Carolina, Southern Miss and Rice as the only C-USA programs in the top 25 RPI rankings.
UH head coach Rayner Noble, however, is thinking only of the Cougars’ matchup against Stephen F. Austin at 3 p.m. today in Nacogdoches, and he expects his players to do the same.
"I think they’re mature enough to understand that each opponent that we play is worthy and capable of wearing us down at any point in time," Noble said. "I think that’s the difference between the crew this year and last year’s crew."
The Cougars, who have won six of their last eight games, will start sophomore right-hander John Touchton on the mound against SFA (14-20). Touchton (2-2, 6.04 ERA) will make only his fourth start of the season.
The right-hander could use a strong outing after being roughed up in his last start. Touchton lasted only 2.1 innings in the Cougars’ 15-9 win over Texas State on Wednesday, giving up six runs on eight hits.
"We need John to pitch well. We need a great game out of him," Noble said. "We need him to take us deep, six or seven innings. I think that’s going to be the big key in (today’s) game, for him to stretch it out and be able to throw in excess of 100 pitches instead of 70."
The Lumberjacks will probably start junior right-hander Erik Gregersen, who has 15 appearances (four starts) under his belt. Gregersen (0-1, 7.30 ERA) was knocked around in his last start, going only one inning and giving up eight runs on four hits and three walks in SFA’s 19-16 loss to Texas A’M-Corpus Christi on Sunday.
The Lumberjacks enter tonight’s contest on a low note after suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of Texas A’M-Corpus Christi last weekend. SFA has lost nine of its last 12 games and could be in for a long night against the Cougars if its pitching staff, which sports a 6.09 ERA, doesn’t show up.
The Lumberjacks will probably have trouble handling the Cougars’ loaded offense, which includes senior first baseman Bryan Pounds, who leads the team with a .431 batting average, seven homers, 42 RBIs. Senior left fielder Jake Stewart (.333, 26 RBIs), freshman shortstop Blake Kelso (.329, 29 RBIs) and senior second baseman Ryan Lormand (.326, 31 RBIs, 17 stolen bases) also contribute to Houston’s offense. Pounds hit safely in 30 of 32 games and currently has a 10-game hitting streak.
The Cougars’ offense should receive a boost with the return of junior third baseman Jimmy Cesario to the starting lineup. Cesario, who will probably start at designated hitter, came off the bench in UH’s 11-7 win over Tulane on Sunday after sitting out 10 consecutive games with a sprained right wrist.
