May 12, 2003

HOUSTON - The University of Houston baseball team looks to return to its winning ways at 7 p.m., Tuesday when it meets ninth-ranked Texas A&M at Olsen Field in its regular-season finale at College Station, Texas.

The game is the start of a rigorous week for the Cougars, who play host to 17th-ranked and current Conference USA leader Southern Mississippi in a three-game series at Cougar Field, starting Thursday.

Tuesday's game can be heard live on KAXF 88.3 FM or over the Internet at www.UHcougars.com with pre-game slated to begin about 15 minutes before first pitch. Fans also can view live stats at www.UHcougars.com by clicking on the "Gametracker" link on the Daily Calendar at the bottom of the main page.

The Cougars (29-23, 17-10 C-USA) come into the game on the heels of a series loss at Conference USA rival Memphis last weekend. It was the first time in school history that the Tigers had won two of three from UH.

Junior third baseman Hyung Cho continues to lead the Cougars with a .380 batting average, 13 home runs and 51 RBIs, while junior second baseman Cole Bruce blasted two home runs in the series at Memphis.

Junior southpaw Danny Zell (8-4, 3.28) is slated to start for the Cougars on the hill. This season, Zell leads the team in wins and had compiled 61 strikeouts in 85.0 innings of work.

This is the 39th consecutive year that the Cougars have met Texas A&M on the baseball diamond. Texas A&M owns a 96-47-1 all-time record against the Cougars in the series, which has been played every year since 1964. While UH is only 16-39 at College Station, Texas, the team has won three of its last four games there, including a 4-2 victory on April 10, 2001, in the team's last meeting at Olsen Field.

The Aggies claimed a 4-2 win over UH on Feb. 16 during the final day of the Minute Maid Park College Classic. That win snapped the Cougars' three-game winning streak against the Aggies.

Texas A&M (39-13) enters the game after sweeping Big 12 rival Kansas last weekend and has won their last five games and eight of their last nine.

Erik Schindewolf leads the Aggies with a .353 batting average, while Cory Patton provides the power with a team-best 10 home runs. Patton and Scott Beerer also are tied for the team lead with 48 RBIs.

Texas A&M head coach Mark Johnson had not announced his starter for the game.