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Houston
The Cougars ranked 15th nationally in team ERA last year with a 3.43 mark and returned the bulk of that staff, so it isn’t surprising to see them off to a strong start on the mound. Houston (4-2) ranks 14th in the country this season with a 1.94 team ERA. Lefthander Trey Cumbie, the 2017 co-American Athletic Conference pitcher of the year, leads the staff and is off to a fantastic start to his junior season. He has a 22-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 innings and has limited opponents to two runs and four hits. The Cougars have lost both games he started, but Cumbie will keep giving them a chance every Friday night.
Houston’s offense is still finding its form early in the season, but may have picked up momentum last weekend at Cal State Fullerton. After being held to just one run in 15 innings in a loss Friday night, the Cougars scored 19 runs over the next two days to win the series. First baseman Joe Davis hit his first homer of the season Sunday and getting him going is key for the lineup.
Houston on Tuesday faces Texas Southern before it heads into a critical weekend at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in Minute Maid Park. Houston will face No. 8 Kentucky, Mississippi State and No. 18 Vanderbilt in the event and a winning weekend would propel the Cougars into the Top 25 and provide it with a marquee weekend.