May 9, 2005

HOUSTON - Fresh of their first weekend sweep of the season, the University of Houston baseball team looks to continue to ride its wave of momentum when it meets area-rival Texas A&M at 7 p.m., Tuesday, in the rubber match of the 2005 regular-season series at Olsen Field.

With a sweep of Conference USA rival Saint Louis last weekend, the Cougars extended their winning streak to a season-best five straight games. In addition, the Cougars jumped into sole possession of fourth place in an extremely competitive C-USA race this season.

Tuesday's game can be heard live on KLVL 1480 AM or over 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 "Live Stats" link at www.UHCougars.com.

Freshman righthander Aaron Brown will make his fourth straight Tuesday start when he takes the hill against Texas A&M. This season, the League City, Texas, native has compiled a 1-0 record with 24 strikeouts and a 5.01 ERA in 23.1 innings of work.

In his last start, Brown deserved a better fate against city-rival Texas Southern. He allowed five runs off seven hits while striking out a career-high eight batters in another personal-best 5.1 innings of work. However, two errors by the Cougar defense made all but one of those runs unearned. Brown did not pick up a decision as the Cougars rallied with six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and held on the rest of the way in a 6-5 win.

At 6-feet, 6-inches tall, he ranks as the tallest member of the 2005 Cougar squad. In fact, he is the tallest Cougar player since pitcher Bryan Moore measured in at 6-9 during the 1999 campaign.

Brown will make his second appearance but first career start against the Aggies on Tuesday. In his only previous outing, he allowed two runs off two hits in an inning of relief on March 22 at Cougar Field.

Junior outfielder Travis Tully leads the Cougars with a .360 batting average and enters Tuesday's game riding a season-high 11-game hitting streak. With that, he became only the third player in school history to record at least three 10+-game hitting streaks during his career.

Sophomore shortstop Dustin Kingsbury is tops with five home runs and 46 RBIs, while junior infielder Kevin Roberts is tied for the team lead with five home runs as well.

For the 41st consecutive season, the Cougars will meet Texas A&M on the baseball diamond. Texas A&M owns a 99-51-1 (.659) advantage in the all-time series, which began in 1949 but has been played at least twice every season since 1965.

The two teams have split the two regular-season meetings in 2005. The Cougars struck first with a 6-1 win in the finale of the Minute Maid Park College Classic on Feb. 13, but the Aggies rebounded to take a 9-2 win on UH's home field on March 22.

Texas A&M has posted a 40-19 (.678) all-time record against the Cougars on its home field. In the last meeting, the Aggies took an 8-1 win at Olsen Field on April 13, 2004.

However, the Cougars enjoyed some success at Olsen Field in recent history. While the Aggies enjoyed the most recent success with their win in 2004, that win actually snapped a four-game winning streak for the Cougars at Olsen Field. In fact, the Cougars are 6-2 (.750) against the Aggies at Olsen Field since the 1998 season. Included in those six wins is a pair of victories during the championship day of the 2003 NCAA Regional at College Station on June 1, 2003.

Texas A&M (28-20-1), which has split each of its last six games, should come into the game well-rested after sitting out last weekend and not playing since May 1, when it took 3-1 win over Big 12 rival Oklahoma State in the finale of a conference series.

Shortstop Cliff Pennington leads the Aggies with a .363 bating average and 35 home runs, while Coby Mavroulis is tied for the team lead with six homers.

Southpaw Jason Meyer is scheduled to start on the mound for A&M. This season, Meyer has posted a 5-3 record with 42 strikeouts and a 2.85 ERA in 66.1 innings of work.