Houston Cougars Drops Weekend Baseball Series to Texas State

Taylor White is quickly becoming a contributor at the
plate and in the field for the Cougars.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography
Copyright 2012 All Rights Reserved.

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2012 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (February 26, 2012) The Houston Cougars came into their three-game weekend series against the Texas State Bobcats with a 3-1 record and were looking to begin a new winning streak after losing to Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Tuesday evening.

Facing a tough Bobcat squad that is picked to win the Southland Conference, the Cougars drop the last two games of the series for a record of 4-3 for the still young season.

On Friday evening, the Cougars trailed the Bobcats 1-1 going into the bottom of the ninth when Jacob Lueneburg was hit by a Ross Gobel pitch with the bases loaded to allow Landon Appling to score and give the Cougars the game 2-1.

The win was the first for the Cougars over the Bobcats since 2008.

In Saturday’s game, the Cougars could not overcome the fire of the Bobcats bats, dropping a 6-1 decision.

The Cougars tallied 10 hits, but could not find the power to score any runs in the lop-sided victory.

Lueneburg continued to show promise at the plate, going 3-for-4 to lead the Cougars.

Appling contributed a 2-for-5 showing.

Casey Grayson scored the lone run for Houston on a Chase Jensen single up the third base line with Jordan Lewis credited with the loss.

In Sunday’s game, it was much more of the same, with the Bobcats exploding for six runs on 13 hits with the Cougars managing only five hits in the 6-0 loss.

Texas State got on the board in the top of the sixth with runs by Nick Smelser, Cody Perkins and Ben McElroy.

The Bobcats came back with another run in the eighth and two in the ninth.

The Cougars continued to struggle at the plate, with their five hits limited to singles and left 11 on base.

Aaron Garza pitched 5.1 innings for Houston, giving up two runs off six hits while facing 24 batters and striking out three. Houston used four pitchers in relief.

The Cougars will next face cross-town rival Rice in a 6:30 p.m. match up on Tuesday.

The Owls are currently 8-0 on the season and are ranked number five in the nation by Baseball America.

BAYLOR DROPS TO No. 20 IN BASEBALL AMERICA TOP 25

DURHAM, NORTH, CAROLINA (March 24, 2008) Baylor baseball dropped six spots to No. 20 in this week's Baseball America Top 25, released Monday by the publication. The Bears (14-6, 2-4) were one of eight teams to drop at least one spot in this week's ranking. Baylor was 0-3 last week, dropping all three games in a weekend series at Missouri, which moved up two spots to No. 2 nationally as the highest ranked Big 12 Conference team.

Arizona State was ranked No. 1 for the second consecutive week, followed by Missouri, North Carolina, Miami, Fla., and Long Beach State, which swept preseason No. 1 UCLA over the weekend. Former No. 1 Arizona dropped two spots to No. 6; UC Irvine, Florida State, Vanderbilt and South Carolina rounded out the top 10. Texas (13th) and Nebraska (19th) joined Baylor and Missouri to give the Big 12 four teams in the Top 25.

The Bears also dropped out of the of the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll after being ranked No. 13 last week. Baylor was the leader among teams also receiving votes for the poll and just one point out of the ranking. The Bears dropped five spots to No. 20 in this week's Collegiate Baseball Top 30.

Baylor returns to action Tuesday, hosting Houston Baptist for a 6:30 p.m. CDT first pitch at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears also host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Baylor hits the road again on the weekend, traveling to Norman, Okla., for a three-game series at Oklahoma.

BAYLOR BASEBALL JUMPS TO # 13 IN BASEBALL AMERICA TOP 25

WACO, TEXAS (February 25, 2008) Baylor baseball climbed two spots to No. 13 in the latest Baseball America Top 25, released Monday by publication. It is Baylor’s highest ranking since the Bears finished the 2005 season at No. 4 following a national semifinal appearance at the College World Series.

The Bears swept Purdue over the weekend, winning a trio of one-run games. Baylor was 4-5 in one-run games last season and did not win their third one-run game until the season’s 53rd contest – a 9-8 victory over Kansas State in the first game of the final regular-season series.

Arizona moved into the No. 1 spot after winning two of three at Georgia. Mississippi was second, followed by last week’s top-ranked team UCLA, which split two games in a rain-shortened series against Oklahoma. North Carolina, Missouri, Arizona State, Vanderbilt, Michigan, Miami, Fla., and South Carolina rounded out the top 10.

Texas (No. 14) and Oklahoma State (No. 21) join Missouri and Baylor to give the Big 12 Conference four schools in this week’s Top 25. Texas A&M, which was ranked 21st last week, dropped out of the ranking after splitting a four-game series against Northern Colorado.

The Bears also climbed four spots in this week’s Collegiate Baseball Top 30, moving to No. 24.

Baylor returns to action Tuesday, hosting Texas Southern for a 6:30 p.m. CST first pitch at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears send sophomore right-hander Wade Mackey (4-3, 3.18 ERA in 2007) to the mound for his first appearance of the season.

Baylor's Weems, Campbell Honored by Baseball America

WACO, TEXAS (February 18, 2008) Baylor sophomore second baseman Raynor Campbell and junior shortstop Beamer Weems were named preseason All-Big 12 Conference by Baseball America, the publication announced Monday. Baseball America, which has Baylor ranked 15th in its preseason poll, picked the Bears to finish second in the Big 12 this season. The publication also listed sophomore right-handed pitcher Kendal Volz as the league’s third-best prospect for the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft.

Campbell, a 2007 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, moves to second base this season after serving as the Bears’ primary starter at third base last year. A product of Katy-Taylor [Texas] High School, Campbell hit .321 with five home runs, 29RBI, 38 runs, 13 doubles and six stolen bases. His batting average was best on the team among players with at least 2.5 at bats per game, becoming the first Baylor freshman to accomplish that feat since Marty Crawford in 1993.

A two-time All-Big 12 Conference honoree and a unanimous first-team all-league pick last season, Weems hit .321 and shared the team lead with nine home runs in 2007; he also led Baylor with 17 doubles, 59 RBI, 125 total bases and 35 walks last season. He was even stronger in Big 12 play, hitting .361 with five home runs, 27 RBI, seven doubles, three triples, a .649 slugging percentage and a .438 on base percentage in 24 games.

Known for his defensive prowess, Weems has committed only 22 errors in 110 career starts at shortstop with only six fielding errors (others were throwing errors). Weems was a 2006 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.

Volz moved into Baylor’s weekend rotation the week prior to the start of conference play in 2007 and never left. He finished the season 6-2 with a 5.16 ERA and 65 strikeouts over 68.0 innings. An honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, Volz became just the ninth Baylor freshman ever to record at least six victories. He earned all-tournament honors at the Big 12 Conference Championship after a record 13 strikeouts against Oklahoma.

No. 15 Baylor opens its 2008 season this weekend, hosting Purdue for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears and the Boilermakers meet Friday at 6:30 p.m. CST, Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at noon.