Arizona-Cincinnati Series this Weekend to Feature Three Cougars
8/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 19, 2004
PHOENIX, Ariz. - It will be a reunion of sorts for three University of Houston baseball players this weekend when the Cincinnati Reds meet the Arizona Diamondbacks at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Ariz. Reds reliever Ryan Wagner as well as Diamondbacks reliever Shane Nance and catcher Chris Snyder will be in uniform this weekend. Snyder made the two-man reunion a three-person show when he was called up to the Major Leagues from Double-A El Paso on Wednesday night. He is the only one of the three Cougars in the series who has not yet played at the Major League level but could see plenty of action this weekend after regular starting catcher Koyie Hill was lost for the season with a fractured ankle. This season, Wagner has compiled a 2-1 record with a 5.45 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 34.2 innings of work. Nance was called up to Arizona from Triple-A Tucson in early June and has posted a 4.15 ERA with two strikeouts in 4.1 innings of relief. Both teams were off Thursday before the series. The games are slated to begin around 8 p.m. (CDT) Friday and Saturday before wrapping up at 2:30 p.m. (CDT) Sunday. As collegians, both Wagner and Nance ranked among the country's best. In 2003, Wagner set a new NCAA Division I single-season record with 16.8 strikeouts per nine innings and added a school-record 15 saves along the way. For his impressive performance, he was named a First-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Sports Weekly, the American Baseball Coaches Association, CollegeBaseballInsider.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. A four-year letterwinner, Nance ended his collegiate career as the school's winningest pitcher with 32 wins. In addition, he finished among UH's all-time leaders in shutouts (5), innings pitched (411.1) and strikeouts (388). In 2000, he became the first player in school history to be named an NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player. He batted 3-for-10 with three RBIs and a pair of runs and struck out seven Rice batters with only six hits allowed in 7.2 innings during the NCAA Regional at Cougar Field.