April 28, 2005

FORT WORTH, Texas - The University of Houston baseball team hopes to rebound when it meets No. 28 TCU in a three-game Conference USA series at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

UH comes into the game after suffering a heartbreaking loss at No. 14 Rice in Game 14 of the annual Sterling Bank Silver Glove Series at Reckling Park on Tuesday. In that game, Rice rallied from an 8-1 deficit after four-and-a-half innings to win their sixth straight games against the Cougars.

The Cougars will have revenge on their mind when they meet the Horned Frogs. TCU came all the way out of the loser's bracket to defeat the Cougars twice in the semifinals and eliminate UH from the 2004 Conference USA Tournament at Cougar Field. TCU won four of six games from the Cougars in 2004.

The series begins at 7 p.m., Friday, continues at 2 p.m., Saturday and wraps up at 1 p.m., Sunday. Friday's game can be heard live on KLVL 1480 AM, while the final two games of the series will be broadcast on KGBC 1540 AM. In addition, all three games can be heard live on the Internet at www.UHCougars.com with former UH letterwinners Nick Torina and Pat Cauley calling all the action.

Fans also can follow play-by-play action by clicking on the "Gametracker" link on the schedule at www.UHCougars.com.

UH head coach Rayner Noble had not announced his probable starter for Friday's opener as of Thursday afternoon.

Sophomore first baseman Brad Lincoln tops the Cougars with a .358 batting average, while junior infielder Kevin Roberts is a close second with .354 average. Sophomore shortstop Dustin Kingsbury, who brings a career-best 13-game hitting streak into this weekend's series paces UH with five home runs and 40 RBIs.

For the fifth consecutive season, the Cougars will meet TCU on the baseball diamond. The Cougars own a 50-37-2 (.573) advantage in the all-time series, which began in 1973 but has been played at least three times every year since 2002.

However, the Horned Frogs can boast of the most recent success after winning four of six games at Cougar Field during the 2004 season, including back-to-back wins during the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament to knock the Cougars out of the postseason event.

The two teams regularly met as members of the Southwest Conference from 1973-96, playing at least three games each season during that span.

The Cougars are 22-23-1 (.489) all-time against the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas. In the last meeting, the Cougars earned wins in the first and last games to win the 2003 season series.

The Horned Frogs (29-13, 13-5 C-USA) come into the game on a four-game winning streak after taking an 8-0 win over Texas-Pan American on Wednesday night. Matt McGuirk leads TCU with a .378 batting average, while Andrew Walker tops the Horned Frogs with 11 home runs. Chad Huffman tops the team with 36 RBIs.

Senior righthander Lance Broadway is scheduled to start the opener for the Horned Frogs. This season, Broadway has compiled a 9-1 record with a 2.38 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 68.0 innings pitched.