Quote:Experience toughens Cougar lineup

By Ronnie Turner, The Daily Cougar
January 17, 2006
(CSTV U-WIRE) HOUSTON -- The UH baseball team missed out on the postseason the last two seasons, but apparently, a group of experts do not plan on the streak running to three. Collegiate Baseball Magazine has the Cougars ranked No. 32 in its preseason poll and the team heads into the 2006 season with the expectation of living up to this ranking.

"I think that the reason they placed us in the top 40 is because we have quite a few guys back from the starting lineup. Plus we have quite a few pitchers back from last year," said head coach Rayner Noble, who enters his 12th season as the UH skipper. "I think that any time you bring that much experience, that's one of the things that leads to being ranked liked that."

Houston finished 29-30 overall with a 16-13 Conference USA mark in 2005, but managed a third-place finish in the C-USA tournament, winning 11 of their last 17 games. This year, however, they will have to compete in a revamped conference that saw the departures of Louisville, Cincinnati, Charlotte, South Florida, Texas Christian and Saint Louis along with the arrival of newcomers Rice, Central Florida and Marshall. Rice is ranked No. 5 in Collegiate Baseball magazine's preseason poll, while fellow C-USA members Tulane and Southern Miss are ranked 24 and 30 respectively

"The addition of Rice and Central Florida is going to add quite a bit to our league," Noble said. "The way I look at it, some of the teams that were in the middle to lower pack exited the league, so I think we lopped off a lot of teams that were just so-so and we picked up a couple of teams that are very good.

It cuts down on our conference schedule (because) we don't play as many games within the league, but it's very concentrated. You (have) got to go from one weekend to the next ready to play."

The Cougars return 20 lettermen, seven position starters from last year's squad and will welcome nine newcomers. The team will get quite a bit of experience and depth from its pitching staff, which boasts the return of two frontline starters and seven veterans out of the bullpen, in addition to several other hurlers who could compete for spots in the rotation or bullpen.

"We have the returning experience. Everybody that is back on the pitching staff logged innings for us last year," Noble said in a release. "We can probably go 8 to 10 quality pitchers deep on our staff. When you can do that, (it) bodes well for a pretty good pitching staff."

Senior southpaw Matt Farrington, a three-year letterman, returns as the ace of the staff after a breakout campaign in 2005. Last season, Farrington posted a team-leading 8-5 record and 3.24 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 97.1 innings of work, numbers that captured him a spot on the All C-USA First Team. The Cougars will need similar, if not better, performances from Farrington, fellow front man junior right-hander Brad Lincoln (4-7, 4.76 ERA, 102 IP, 106 K) and sophomore right-hander Aaron Brown (1-0, 5.30 ERA, 38 K) if they are to have any success this season.

Sophomore right-hander Ricky Hargrove will be a key cog for the UH bullpen where he'll most likely spend the majority of the season. Last season, he began the season as a starter before being transferred to the bullpen, finishing with a 2-4 mark, 3.48 ERA and 49 strikeouts against only nine walks while laboring through 51.2 innings. Sophomore right-handers Brady Glos and Sean McLemore will provide depth as relievers, along with junior right-hander Clayton Boone, who could be called upon to close out games for the Cougars.

Their battery mates will be just experienced. Senior Brett Logan, the only other three-year letterman on the team, returns to be the primary catcher for the pitching staff, and sophomore Cody Waller will back him up after appearing behind the plate in 20 games last year. Freshman Luis Flores could also challenge for the starting nod behind the plate, in addition to his pitching duties.

Junior Dustin Kingsbury, one of the Cougars' best offensive players, will make the switch to third base after playing every game at shortstop last season. Kingsbury put up a .341 batting average with six home runs and a team-leading 58 runs batted in. In addition to fanning batters, Lincoln also possesses a lively bat as a designated hitter, hitting .337 with seven home runs and 52 RBIs last season.

"(Kingsbury and Lincoln) are both going to fit quite in the middle of the lineup, anywhere from No. 3 to the fifth or sixth (spots)," Noble said. "We're going to count on them quite a bit, and we got a couple of transfers in, including senior Isa Garcia, a transfer from Sam Houston State. He had a good season for them, hitting 15 home runs and drove in (52) runs. I'd like to think that he would hit somewhere around the two-hole."

Sophomore Bryan Pounds will most likely see more time at second base after splitting 50 starts between second and third base last season, and it could make for an interesting situation with Garcia also competing for the starting nod at second. Sophomore Stephen Whalen could also provide efficient depth at third base and junior Brain Temko should see time at first base, in addition to catching and playing DH. Freshman Travis Cougot could potentially begin the season as the starting shortstop, while junior Josh Stirneman will contend for first base.

Junior outfielder Jake Stewart will try to get back in the mix after missing the final 31 games of the season because of a knee injury, but is expected to begin the season as a starting outfielder. Sophomore Bryan Tully was a familiar face in the starting lineup late last season as an outfielder and an infielder, but should play primarily in the outfield this season. Sophomores Chris Joseph, Kori Williams and Mark McGonigle will battle for playing time in the outfield this season after seeing considerable time there last season.

"We've got some depth in that outfield," Noble said. "We've got six solid outfielders, and from that pool we'll draw three out of that and possibly platoon some guys who I feel will really help our offensive scheme."

The Cougars won't be starved for quality opponents this season, as their schedule will contain 10 different opponents who advanced to the NCAA Regionals last season, eight of which competed in the College World Series. UH will open the 2006 season at home Feb. 7 against Texas-San Antonio at Cougar Field and will open their C-USA schedule with a three-game series against Marshall at Cougar Field from March 24-26.

"Our schedule is true-to-form. It puts us in the right mindset," Noble said in a release. "I would just as soon test the waters early in the season and see what we need to do to prepare ourselves to function in an NCAA Regional or Super Regional."

The C-USA Tournament will consist of the top eight teams in the regular season, and it will run from March 24-28 at Rice's Reckling Park. The team that wins the tournament will receive C-USA's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional.

"We're going to be ready to go; there's no doubt about that," Noble said. "When you get shut out of the postseason, that kind of sets your demeanor and mindset right off the bat.

"We have a chance to be really good. We just need to play some opponents and find out where we're really at."

This tough crew will be exactly what we need to bring the Silver Glove home to Cullen to sit next to the Bayou Bucket. [/quote]