Now this is one sport of UH I'm proud of. They have kicked ass all the years that I went to school there. Now they knocked off those Aggies and are off to play powerhouse Rice for the regional title. F**K UH Football. This is where UH has pride in their sports. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/1934947 Regional victory has UH ecstatic Pitchers dig deep to keep wins coming By MEGAN MANFULL Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Houston baseball coach Rayner Noble looked at his worn-out club on Sunday afternoon and started to worry. The Cougars were heading into their fourth game in two days with physically exhausted players and hardly any experience in their bullpen. UH had less than two hours to try to relax between its afternoon victory over Texas A&M and an evening matchup. Noble hoped for the best, but he was prepared for the worst. "I told someone before the game that it could easily get out of hand -- in favor of A&M," Noble said. His players shocked him and themselves, however, when they overcame a four-run deficit to beat Texas A&M 7-6 in a dramatic 10-inning game at Olsen Field. Now, a team that was on the bubble just to make the NCAA Tournament field is preparing for a super regional showdown against Rice at Reckling Park. "I couldn't go to sleep last night because my heart was still racing," said Houston's Cole Bruce, the regional's Most Outstanding Player, on Monday. "No one expected us to do this. "Everybody is just behind each other, though, pushing them to do things they didn't think they were capable of doing. In Sunday's games, I know a lot of guys did things they didn't think they could do." The comeback earned the Cougars (36-28) a meeting with Rice (51-10) in a best-of-three series that will start at 5:05 p.m. Saturday. Texas, the defending national champion, will also open its super regional Saturday against national No. 1 seed Florida State at 7:05 p.m. in Tallahassee, Fla. Baylor will open its super regional against powerhouse LSU on Friday at 6:05 p.m. in Baton Rouge, La. When the schedules were released Monday, Noble was more than pleased to see Houston set for a Saturday game, knowing his team could use the extra day of rest. It hardly mattered to his players, however, who were just excited to still be alive. "There were doubts the whole time," Bruce said. "There toward the end, we were thinking, `Man, we don't have any pitching left. Everybody is wearing out. Everybody is tired.' But we stuck with it and drove through." The players were still trying to grasp the weekend's events when they met for practice Monday. Their voices were hoarse from a loud bus ride home during which they replayed the highlights of the weekend -- five games in which everyone contributed. The Cougars were forced to use their entire arsenal of pitchers, even little-used freshman reliever Justin Vaclavik. He had pitched only 4 1/3 innings all season and entered the tournament with a 22.85 ERA. In Sunday's decisive game, Vaclavik entered in the eighth, pitching two scoreless innings before Ryan Wagner came on in the 10th to earn the victory. "I lost the first game, and everybody was down," said Brad Sullivan, who started in Houston's 9-3 opening-round loss to Alabama. "But we showed a lot of character and a ton of heart to battle back and win four straight games. "I knew (our pitching staff) had the talent, but all season long we hadn't really shown it. And especially late in the season, our starting pitching has sort of been down, and our relief pitching has been down. They really shocked me. And I couldn't be more proud of that." The Cougars are now focused on continuing their postseason run in hopes of reaching the College World Series for the first time since 1967. Only a week ago, a trip to Omaha seemed like a fantasy. It was where the Cougars had high expectations of going last year, but they fell one win shy with a 48-17 record, losing to Texas in a super regional rubber game. Now, after a season of adversity and disappointments, it's hard for the Cougars to grasp that they are actually back in the super regionals. "Last year, we were so much of a dominating team," Wagner said. "We only had like 17 losses on the season, and this year we have 28 losses, and we're right back where we were. That's what makes it so much more special. Even though we aren't the dominant team as last year, we put ourselves in the same situation."
Nope, I'm on the UH side. If there's a decent chance I'll do the bet. But if it's like Spurs vs. Nets then forget it.
UH Baseball is awesome, I think they do have a chance to win the Super Regional against Rice, granted Rice is a national powerhouse, and has been for a few years now, but in a best of three series anything is possible. Also, isn't is awesome how Game 2 and Game 3 will be televised on ESPN and ESPN2, just great, hope everybody that has a chance tunes in. Go COOGS AC
Rice wins in 2. UH's lineup is thinner than Calista Flockheart. UH is one of the few team in the nation who has as much pitching talent as Rice does.
From what you guys have said I think I'll make the bet. Anyone going to the games? I'm going to the Saturday one.
Congrats to the Coogs. As an outsider (Nebraska and Texas are my faves), it would seem to me that UH has all the momentum right now. I don't know what the hell happened to Rice though. Just my thought but I think Rice wins today and the series goes 3. As far as a 3rd game goes, well let me just say that it's the equivalent to a game seven. Anything can happen, and usually does. Wish I could be there as Reckling is one of my favorite places to watch a game. Haven't been to UH yet so can't comment on that. Will be at the CWS, and I look forward to seeing one of you in Omaha.
