Head baseball coach Todd Whitting says the team will face a tough opening test against the Villanova Wildcats next weekend. | File photo/The Cougar
The Houston Cougar baseball team will open the 2016 season Friday as they take on the Villanova University Wildcats at newly renamed Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park.
The Cougars finished last season with an impressive 43-20 record in which they were able to win 26 games in front of the home fans. The Cougars performed well enough to earn the right to host a coveted NCAA regional tournament in their home ballpark.
Unfortunately, the Cougars season would end there as crosstown rival Rice University defeated them by a score of 3-2 in a 20-inning marathon.
Expectations are high in the clubhouse as the baseball team believes they can reach unprecedented heights in 2016. Entering the season with a lineup featuring 15 upperclassmen, the Cougar baseball team looks to use experience to their advantage.
Villanova is known for their traditionally outstanding basketball program. The Wildcat baseball team is looking to match that success this year as they try to improve upon their 22-28 record from last season. Escaping what has been a brutal winter in the northeast should provide much needed relief for the Wildcats.
“What I’ve found about northern teams is that they are extremely competitive,” Cougar’s head coach Todd Whitting said. “They love to get outside in the warm weather in front of a great crowd. They’ll come out with a lot of energy. It will be a good weekend for us.”
Weather will not be the only factor in play this weekend.
The Cougars are looking for fan support as they hope to fill Schroeder Park for each of the three games against Villanova. Both the football and men’s basketball programs have thrived this year amid the presence of noisy Cougar fans and the baseball team has the potential to do the same.
“I think our crowd is what drives our team,” says Whitting. “We typically – historically – have great crowds out here throughout the entire season so I’m excited to get everybody out here.”
Whitting has yet to announce his starting pitchers for the opening series against Villanova. With a pitching staff featuring returning letterman Andrew Lantrip and Seth Romero, the Cougars should be in good hands. Lantrip was named to the “Top 100 Preseason College Prospects List” by Baseball America while the left-handed Romero became a member of “The American Preseason Team.” Both will play a key role in taming the Wildcats.
The Cougar baseball team enters the season ranked as the 18th team in the country according to the USA Today Coach’s Poll. With a tough schedule ahead of them, it will be important to get their season off to a hot start. Taking the opening series against Villanova will likely set the tone for what hopes to be a promising 2016 campaign.
