April 2, 2007
WACO, Texas -- Baylor baseball returns to action Tuesday, April 3, hosting Houston for a 6:30 p.m. CDT first pitch at Baylor Ballpark. This is the second and final scheduled meeting between the Bears and the Cougars this season. Houston defeated Baylor 5-1 at the Houston College Classic in the season opener for both teams.
Baylor (16-14) looks to snap a three-game losing streak after being swept at 14th-ranked Oklahoma State over the weekend. The Bears are 14-5 at Baylor Ballpark this season and have won 11 consecutive Tuesday games. Baylor also has won 18 consecutive Tuesday home games against unranked opponents.
Houston (15-12) did not play last weekend. The Cougars are 7-3 in their last 10 games after a 17-10 victory at Lamar last Tuesday. Houston is 7-7 in road games this season, including a 4-4 mark in games played at opponents' home fields.
Baylor holds an 83-60 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to a 5-3 Houston victory during the 1951 season. The Bears have dropped three straight meetings since topping the Cougars 8-6 in the 2005 season opener at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Baylor is 34-27 all-time against Houston in games played in Waco and 17-15 against the Cougars during head coach Steve Smith's tenure.
The Bears and the Cougars have played three common opponents: Stephen F. Austin, Texas-Arlington and UTSA. Baylor is 6-0 against that trio, while Houston is 2-1 with a loss at UTSA.
Baylor is hitting .349 (113-for-324) as a team over the last nine games after hitting .248 (166-for-669) over the season's first 21 games. Senior catcher Matt Sodolak has led the offensive charge. Sodolak is riding a career-long 11-game hitting streak, during which he is hitting .409 (18-for-44) with four doubles, nine runs and seven RBI. He has five multiple-hit games in his last six contests.
Freshman right-hander Wade Mackey (1-0, 1.47 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for the Bears. Houston counters with southpaw Donnie Joseph (0-0, 7.62 ERA).
Tuesday's game starts a six-game home stand for Baylor. The Bears host No. 19 Oklahoma this weekend for a three-game Big 12 Conference series that starts Thursday at 7 p.m.
