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NCAA HOUSTON REGIONAL
Friday, May 29 - Cougar Field
#4 HBU Huskies (28-25) at #1 Houston Cougars (42-18) - 7:00 p.m.
#2 Rice Owls (35-20) vs. #3 Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (39-21) - 2:30 p.m.

ESPN3
Live Audio
Live Stats
Game Notes

NCAA Regional Ticket Information - The University of Houston is currently only selling tickets to Cougar Pride members, Houston Athletics season ticket holders and UH students. Any remaining tickets will be available at the Cougar Field Box Office Friday. Please call the University of Houston Ticket Office at 713.462.6647 or 877.268.4275 for more information.

HOUSTON - HBU rolled to the Southland Conference Tournament Championship and earned the No. 4 seed at the NCAA Houston Regional. The Huskies will open the NCAA Baseball Championship against host and No. 1 seed Houston Friday at 7 p.m.
 
The Huskies (28-25) went 4-0 at the SLC Tournament, getting four-straight complete games from junior lefthander Matthew McCollough (8-2, 2.55 ERA) and senior righthanders Taylor Wright (8-6, 2.99 ERA), Ross Kennell (2-0, 0.23 ERA) and Tournament MVP Curtis Jones (6-6, 3.99 ERA).
 
Offensively, HBU is led by senior centerfielder Zach Nehrir, who is hitting .333 with 10 doubles, five triples, four home runs and 43 RBIs, and senior catcher Samm Wiggins, who is hitting .325 with 15 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 27 RBIs. Senior rightfielder Thomas Clay is hitting .291, leads the team with 36 runs and is 15-for-15 on stolen base attempts, while junior second baseman Greg Espinosa is hitting .309 with five doubles, a triple and 27 RBIs.
 
UH (42-18) received an at-large bid after winning the American Athletic Conference regular-season title and finishing as the runner-up at the league tournament.
 
No. 2 seed Rice (35-20) was the Conference USA regular-season champion, but went 0-2 at the league's postseason tournament, and will face No. 4 Louisiana-Lafayette, which finished third in the Sun Belt Conference and won the conference tournament out of the loser's bracket. The Owls and Ragin' Cajuns will play the first game Friday at 2:30 p.m.
 
The Huskies have faced two of the three teams this season, defeating then-No. 8 UH, 2-1, on March 3 at Cougar Field, and losing to then-No. 12 Rice, 5-2, on Feb. 17 at Reckling Park. HBU has not faced ULL since 2001 when the Huskies were members of the NAIA.
 
The NCAA Houston Regional will be available on ESPN3 and the HBU audio broadcast presented by Legacy Sports Network can be heard on HBUHuskies.com.

HBU Notes
* The Huskies went 4-0 to win the Southland Conference Tournament, getting four-straight complete games from junior lefthander Matthew McCollough and senior righthanders Taylor Wright, Ross Kennell and Tournament MVP Curtis Jones. They combined to give up two runs, one earned, for a 0.25 ERA, with 21 strikeouts and three walks. Kennell and Jones each hurled shutouts and it is believed to be the first time in NCAA history a team has posted four-straight complete games to win a conference tournament title.
 
* Junior lefthander Matthew McCollough recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts in a complete-game victory over UT Arlington Feb. 21, then matched it with 10 against Sam Houston State on May 9. He also struck out eight against Prairie View A&M on Feb. 14 and Central  Arkansas on March 20. Senior righthander Taylor Wright has struck out a career-high nine twice, on March 20 against Central Arkansas and April 11 against Stephen F. Austin. Senior righthander Curtis Jones tied his career high with eight strikeouts against Lamar on April 19. HBU is 10-5 for the season when striking out eight or more hitters.
 
* Senior rightfielder Thomas Clay enters the NCAA Baseball Championship with an eight-game hitting streak and is hitting .481 (13-for-27) during that stretch with five walks for a .562 on-base percentage, eight runs, three RBIs and is 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts. He has five multiple-hit games in the last eight, including the last three of the Southland Conference Tournament to earn All-Tournament honors. Clay leads the Huskies with 36 runs and scores 53 percent of the time he reaches base safely (36-of-68).
 
* Junior first baseman Andrew Alvarez also has an eight-game hitting streak heading into the NCAA Baseball Championship. He is hitting .400 (12-for-30) during that stretch with three triples, a home run, nine RBIs and seven runs. Alvarez was named to the Southland Conference All-Touranment Team.
 
* Senior catcher Samm Wiggins has reached safely in 19-straight games dating back to April 17, including a current six-game hit streak, entering the NCAA Baseball Championship. He is hitting .348 with six extra-base hits, eight RBIs and nine runs during that stretch.
 
* Junior second baseman Greg Espinosa has hit safely in his last seven games and earned Southland Conference All-Touranment honors. During the stretch, he has hit .379 (11-for-29) with eight RBIs and seven runs. Espinosa, who had four RBIs during the tournament, tripled in the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning of the Huskies' 6-0 victory over Sam Houston State in the tournament championship game.
 
* In the seven games prior to the Southland Conference Tournament Championship Game, senior third baseman/pitcher Curtis Jones hit .433 (13-for-30) with seven RBIs and eight runs scored. Named the Tournament MVP, Jones had the game-winning RBIs in both wins over Central Arkansas and hurled a shutout in the championship game against Sam Houston State.
 
* No one has hit for the cycle in HBU history. Senior centerfielder Zach Nehrir made a bid for it against Stephen F. Austin on April 11, going 3-for-5 with a home run, a triple and a double, six RBIs and two runs. All of Nehrir's hits drove in two runs apiece, including his first career home run as a Husky.
 
* Senior third baseman/pitcher Curtis Jones was selected as the third-team utility player on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Preseason All-America Team and is on the John Olerud Award Watch List, which honors the nation's top two-way player. Senior catcher Samm Wiggins was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List, which is given to the nation's top backstop.
 
* HBU's 2-1 victory over No. 8 Houston on March 3 was the Huskies' first win over a ranked opponent since a 7-4 victory over No. 7 TCU on March 12, 2011.
 
* Senior righthander Curtis Jones has made three starts against ranked teams, going 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA, seven strikeouts and three walks in 19.1 innings. Against then-No. 12 Rice, he took a no-decision, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 7.0 innings. Against then-No. 14 and now fifth-ranked Texas A&M, he took the loss, giving up three runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 5.1 innings. Against then-No. 8 Houston, he earned the win, holding the Cougars to one run on four hits with one strikeout and no walks in 7.0 innings.
 
* HBU has faced five NCAA Baseball Championship participants this season, posting a record of 3-6. The Huskies won their only meeting at Houston on March 3 and lost at Rice, 5-2, on Feb. 17. HBU split a four-game home series against Iowa, lost at Texas A&M, and lost two games to Texas Southern in a home-and-home series.
 
* HBU leads the Southland Conference with 26 pickoffs, followed by Incarnate Word, which has 19. Senior catcher Samm Wiggins has picked off nine runners, most in the league, while senior righthander Taylor Wright has picked off seven. Wiggins had two during the Southland Conference Tournament, including a key pickoff in the championship game against Sam Houston State, while Wright also had one.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES' NCAA HOUSTON REGIONAL OPPONENTS
No. 1 Houston Cougars
Record Overall/Conference: 42-18/16-8 (American Athletic Conference)
Regular Season/Conference Tournament Finish: 1st/2nd
Head Coach: Todd Whitting (171-125-1)

The Houston Cougars are hosting just the program's third NCAA Regional and first since 2001 after being tabbed a host site for the 2015 NCAA Baseball Tournament on May 24. Houston posted its second straight 40-win season under head coach Todd Whitting with a 42-18 mark, including a 16-8 record in league play to secure the program's second American Athletic Conference title and first regular season crown since 2002. Since the start of May, the Cougars have outscored their opponent 86-37, posting a 12-3 record over that span. Houston fell 9-1 to second-seeded East Carolina in the AAC championship game. Houston, hitting .271 as a team, is led offensively by freshman Corey Julks' .309 batting average. On the mound, freshman Seth Romero leads the rotation with a 2.15 ERA, while junior Kyle Dowdy (2.62 ERA) owns a 9-2 record. Romero, who made the move from the bullpen to the rotation, also leads the team with seven saves.
 
No. 2 Rice Owls
Record Overall/Conference: 35-20/22-8 (Conference USA)
Regular Season/Conference Tournament Finish: 1st/7th
Head Coach: Wayne Graham (1,074-440)

The Rice Owls are making their 21st consecutive appearance in the NCAA postseason under head coach Wayne Graham. The 2015 Conference USA regular season champions lost their first games in the conference tournament and were eliminated, falling 6-5 to both Florida International to Middle Tennessee. Since April 12, the Owls have posted a 13-5 record, including a seven-game win streak from April 24-May 10. Rice, hitting an even .300 collectively, is led offensively by senior Kirby Tylor's .339 batting average. The Owl rotation is anchored by juniors Blake Fox and Kevin McCanna. Fox is 8-2 with a 3.34 ERA, while McCanna is 7-3 with a 3.05 ERA. Junior Matt Ditman leads Rice with 10 saves, while freshman Glenn Otto owns a 1.56 ERA across 21 appearances.
 
No. 3 Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
Record Overall/Conference: 39-21/18-11 (Sun Belt Conference)
Regular Season/Conference Tournament Finish: 3rd/1st
Head Coach: Tony Robichaux (1,034-667-1)

The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns are making their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 11th overall under head coach Tony Robichaux after winning the 2015 Sun Belt Tournament. Louisiana entered the tournament as a three-seed and, after falling 8-7 to Texas State in its opening game, came out of the loser's bracket with wins over Troy (12-8), UT Arlington (5-1), Texas State (3-0, 6-2) and Southland Alabama (5-1) to earn the league's automatic bid. Juniors Kyle Clement and Stefan Trosclair highlight the Rajin' Cajuns' offensive, which is .276 as a team, both swinging a .358 batting average. Freshmen Gunner Leger (6-4) and Wyatt Marks (6-1) each have six wins on the mound. Freshman Dylan Moore anchors the bullpen with a 1.54 ERA and 11 saves.