University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Hosts Houston In Key Conference USA Weekend Series
4/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 13, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss (25-10, 4-2 C-USA) hosts Houston (22-14, 7-2 C-USA) in a key Conference USA weekend series on Friday-Sunday, April 14-16, at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field. Friday's game will begin at 6:30 p.m., Saturday's at 4 p.m., and Sunday's at 1 p.m.
All games will be broadcast on WXHB, 96.5 "The Hub," and will be anchored by veteran broadcasters John Cox and Lance Pittman.
All three Southern Miss games will feature "Live Stats", which will be available through SouthernMiss.com by clicking the "Gametracker" link on the front page under the events section.
The two teams have met 32 times before, with Houston holding a 20-12 record against Southern Miss. However, the Golden Eagles have won seven of the past 10 meetings, dating back to 2003. Last season, Southern Miss took two out of three games, winning 10-5 in game one, losing 11-7 in game two and winning 11-7 in game three to claim the weekend series in Houston on May19-21.
The Golden Eagles posted a 20-10 conference record last season, and hold a 152-165 all-time against teams currently in C-USA. Southern Miss is coming off a 12-2 midweek victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday in Hattiesburg.
Houston has posted a 3-1 record over their past four games, including taking two out of three games from Tulane in last weekend's series in Houston, winning 8-4 on Friday, losing 8-4 on Saturday and winning 6-2 on Sunday. In their last game on Tuesday, Houston defeated McNeese State, 11-1, in Lake Charles, La.
The Golden Eagles are led offensively by freshman shortstop Brian Dozier, who is batting .379 with 44 hits, five doubles, a team-high four triples, seven stolen bases, one home run and 25 RBIs. In Conference USA statistics, he is second in fielding double plays (26), third in batting average and defensive assists (115), tied for third in triples (4), sixth in on-base percentage (.448) and tied for sixth in hits (44).
Sophomore second baseman Trey Sutton is batting .378 with 45 hits, five doubles, three stolen bases, one home run and 12 RBIs. In Conference USA statistics, he is fourth in batting average and tied for fifth in hits. Junior outfielder Toddric Johnson is batting .363 with 53 hits, eight doubles, two triples, five stolen bases, four home runs and 28 RBIs. In Conference USA statistics, he is first in total bases, second in hits (51), tied for third in runs scored (32), fourth in on-base percentage (.451) and tied for fifth in hit by pitch (9).
Junior infielder Dustin Kingsbury leads the Cougar offense, batting .326 with 46 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, nine stolen bases, two home runs and 17 RBIs. In Conference USA statistics, he is tied for fourth in hits and doubles and tied for eighth in total bases (67).
Junior outfielder Jake Stewart is batting .319 with 36 hits, nine doubles, six stolen bases, two home runs and 15 RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Bryan Tully is batting .315 with 40 hits, eight doubles, one triple, six stolen bases, five home runs and 20 RBIs.
Senior right-hander Scott Massey (5-1) will open the series on Friday night against junior right-hander Brad Lincoln (7-1).
Massey holds a 5-1 record with a 3.61 ERA, pitching 52.1 innings with 29 strikeouts and 14 walks. He has given up 27 runs, 21 earned, on 58 hits and opponents are hitting .283 against him. In his last start against Dallas Baptist, Massey pitched five innings, giving up seven runs on 12 hits, striking out three and walking one. In Conference USA statistics, he is tied for third in wins.
Lincoln leads the team with a 7-1 record and a 1.68 ERA, pitching 75 innings with 92 strikeouts and 18 walks. He has given up 19 runs, 14 earned, on 52 hits, and opponents are hitting .198 against him. In his last start against Tulane, Lincoln pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits, striking out nine and walking three to win his seventh game of the season. In Conference USA statistics, he is first in strikeouts, strikeouts looking, tied for first in wins and tied for fifth in ERA.
Saturday's game will feature redshirt sophomore right-hander David Clark (3-0) against senior left-hander Matt Farrington (2-4).
Clark boasts a 3-0 record with a 4.19 ERA, pitching 34.1 innings with 32 strikeouts and 14 walks. He has given up 18 runs on 39 hits, and opponents are batting .287 against him. In Clark's last start against Dallas Baptist, he pitched 5.2 innings, giving up six runs, five earned, on nine hits, striking out three and walking three en route to his third win of the season.
Farrington has a 2-4 record with a 4.03 ERA, pitching 38 innings with 20 strikeouts and 15 walks. He has given up 20 runs, 17 earned, on 43 hits, and opponents are batting .297 against him. In his last game against Tulane, Farrington pitched three innings, giving up one run on three hits, striking out one and walking one.
Redshirt senior right-hander Cliff Russum (4-4) will pitch in the series finale on Sunday against freshman right-hander Luis Flores (3-2).
Russum carries a 4-4 record with a 4.24 ERA, pitching 46.2 innings with 32 strikeouts and 23 walks. He has given up 25 runs on 44 hits, and opponents are hitting .243 against him. In his last start against Dallas Baptist, Russum pitched five innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on nine hits, striking out one and walking two to suffer his fourth loss of the season.
Flores has a 3-2 record with a 2.52 ERA, pitching 50 innings with 39 strikeouts and nine walks. He has given up 14 runs on 43 hits, and opponents are hitting .238 against him. In his last start against Tulane, Flores pitched 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits, striking out eight and walking one to earn his third win of the season. In Conference USA statistics, he is sixth in earned run average, tied for 10th for batters struck out and 11th in opposing batting average.
After the weekend series against Houston, Southern Miss hosts Alcorn State on Wednesday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m., before traveling to Rice for a C-USA weekend series, April 21-23.
