May 11, 2005

HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team looks to return to its recent winning ways when it meets Conference USA rival Charlotte in a three-game series this weekend at Tom and Lib Phillips Field.

The series begins at 5 p.m. (CDT), Friday, continues at noon (CDT), Saturday and wraps up at 11 a.m. (CDT), Sunday. Friday's game can be heard live on KLVL 1480 AM, while Saturday's and Sunday two contests can be heard live on KGBC 1540 AM. All three games can be heard 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.

UH enters this weekend's series after dropping a 7-6 heartbreaker at area-rival Texas A&M in front on a nationally-televised game on ESPN2. That loss snapped the Cougars' season-best five-game winning streak.

Despite the loss, the Cougars have their eyes set on bigger goals and hope to extend their C-USA winning streak to five straight games in Friday's opener against the 49ers.

After sweeping Saint Louis on May 6-8, the Cougars vaulted from eighth place in the C-USA standings to sole possession of fourth place in the latest league rankings. However, the Cougars must be successful against Charlotte to maintain their spot in the standings as UAB, East Carolina, USF and Louisville are each within a game of UH.

Junior southpaw Matt Farrington makes his team-leading 14th start of the season in the opener at Charlotte. This season, Farrington has compiled a 6-4 record with 48 strikeouts and a team-leading 3.10 ERA in 78.1 innings of work.

In his last start, he allowed one run with four strikeouts while scattering eight hits in 5.2 innings of work. However, he did not pick up a decision in the Cougars' 8-6 win. Farrington will be looking to snap a personal three-game losing streak against the 49ers and earn his first win since a 5-1 decision over Louisville on April 8.

Farrington is the only Cougar southpaw to start on the mound since Brian Henderson toed the rubber during the championship game of the 2003 NCAA Super Regional at Houston (Reckling Park) on June 9, 2003.

Friday's game will be Farrington's second career start against the 49ers. In his only previous outing, the Sugar Land, Texas, native allowed three runs off three hits with a strikeout in 1.2 innings during the nightcap of a doubleheader on April 10, 2004, at Cougar Field and picked up the loss during a 5-3 Charlotte win.

In addition to his pitching duties, Farrington has appeared in 34 games at first base and in right field, racking up six doubles, 13 runs, a homer and 14 RBIs.

Junior infielder Kevin Roberts leads the Cougars with a .359 batting average and seven home runs after launching a pair of bombs at Texas A&M on Tuesday. Sophomore shortstop Dustin Kingsbury tops all Cougar sluggers with 47 RBIs.

For the second straight season and the eighth time in the last nine years, the Cougars will meet Charlotte on the baseball diamond. The Cougars own a 19-7 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1997 when both teams became competing as C-USA members. The series was played at least three times each season until 2003 when both teams missed one another during the regular season. The series continued anew in 2004.

A year ago, the Cougars won the regular-season series by winning each of the first two games at Cougar Field on April 9-10. However, the 49ers took a 5-3 win in the series finale, snapping a 10-game winning streak over Charlotte.

The Cougars are 6-3 (.667) all-time against Charlotte in North Carolina and have won each of the last six games there. The 49ers swept the Cougars during the 1998 regular season, making Charlotte the first time to accomplish that feat as a C-USA member against UH.

Since that time, UH has reeled off six straight wins on the 49ers' home field. And those games have not been close with the Cougars winning by an average of 5.5 runs per game.

Senior outfielder Adam Willard leads Charlotte with a .354 batting average and 44 RBIs, while sophomore catcher Kris Rochelle is tops with six home runs.

Junior righthander Derek McDaid is slated to start the series opener for the 49ers. This season, he has compiled a 5-2 record with 33 strikeouts and a 5.17 ERA in 59.2 innings of work.

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