Friday, March 05, 2010

Houston College Classic Kicks Off At Minute Maid Park

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 5, 2010) On Friday, March 5, the 10th annual Houston College Classic kicks off at Minute Maid Park.

The Classic will feature three days of games, with three games being played each day.

TCU and Texas Tech will play at noon in the first game on Friday, followed by Houston and Missouri at 3:30 p.m. Rice will face Texas at 7:00 p.m. in the nightcap.

Saturday will see Missouri and TCU at noon, followed by the Houston-Texas game at 3:30 p.m. and Rice-Texas Tech at 7:00 p.m.

Missouri and Texas will play at 11:00 a.m. Sunday, with Texas Tech playing Houston at 2:30 p.m. and TCU and Rice at 6:00 p.m.

Let’s look at the teams involved in the Houston College Classic.

HOUSTON COUGARS

The Houston Cougars will be making their ninth appearance in the Houston College Classic. They have a 10-17 record in the Classic.

Last season they had a 27-31 record, while posting a 13-11 record in Conference USA.

They were eliminated from the Conference USA Championship, falling to the Rice Owls, 7-2.

The Houston Cougars bring a 2-5 overall record into this weekend's Houston College Classic. The Cougars suffered an 8-2 setback against crosstown rival Rice on Tuesday evening at Reckling Park and have now dropped their last two games.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS

The Texas Tech Red Raiders will be making their sixth appearance in the tournament, bring a 5-10 record in Classic action.

Texas Tech was part of the inaugural college classic back in 2001 and coincidentally played TCU in the first game of that tournament (a 5-4 win over the Frogs).

The Red Raiders returned to the classic again in 2002 but then began alternating every other year with Texas.

Last year, they sported a 25-32 record including a 12-15 posting in the Big 12 Conference,

Their 2009 season came to an end as Texas A&M scored nine runs in the first three innings and went on to notch an 11-4 win over the Red Raiders in the Big 12 Tournament.

Currently, the Red Raiders are 9-2 on the 2010 season.

RICE OWLS

The Rice Owls will be making their 10th appearance in the Classic, posting a 20-7 record in the tournament.

Last season, Rice won the Conference USA tournament and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional, eventually losing to LSU. They posted a 43-18 season record.

The No. 9 Owls got off to a slow start to the 2010 season but have rebounded by winning their last five games and stand at 5-4 on the year.

The Owls won a pair of mid-week games against cross-town rival Houston (8-2) on Tuesday and a 5-0 shutout at Texas State on Wednesday night.

TEXAS LONGHORNS

The Texas Longhorns bring a 7-8 record in five appearencs at the Classic.

Last season, Texas lost the NCAA championships to LSU while posting a 50-16-1 season record and a 17-9-1 record in Big 12 action.

The Longhorns are 6-2 this season, having swept Stanford last weekend.

TCU HORNED FROGS

The TCU Horned Frogs are 5-4 in three Classic appearances.

The 2009 Horned Frogs came up short in their bid for a trip to Omaha with a 5-2 loss to Texas. They finish the year with a 40-18 record.

They bring a No. 7 national ranking and a 6-1 record into the tournament.

The Frogs held off UTSA 17-12 on Tuesday night in Fort Worth just two days after claiming a three-game series win at No. 6 Cal-State Fullerton.

MISSOURI TIGERS

Missouri will be making its first appearance in the Classic.

Last season, Mizzou saw its season come to an end after an 11-6 loss to Western Kentucky in the NCAA Oxford Regional.

They finished the season with a 35-27 record with a 16-11 record in Big 12 play.

Currently they are 4-2, including two wins in the Auburn Invitational Tournament.

SCHEDULE

The overall schedule for the Houston College Classic is as follows:

Friday, March 5, 2010
12 noon: TCU-Texas Tech
3:30pm: Houston-Missouri
7:00pm: Rice-Texas

Saturday, March 6, 2010
12 noon: Missouri-TCU
3:30pm: Texas-Houston
7:00pm: Rice-Texas Tech

Sunday, March 7, 2010
11:00am: Missouri-Texas
2:30pm: Texas Tech-Houston
6:00pm: TCU-Rice

All home teams are listed second.

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