Baseball Wraps Up First Week of Fall Practice
10/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Oct. 8, 2007
HOUSTON - As the University of Houston baseball team wrapped up its first full week of fall practice, head coach Rayner Noble said he was pleased with the effort and performances he has seen through the first seven days.
"The first week went pretty good. Even after the first week, I am settling in on who is going to be the core of this team and who is going to carry most of the load," said Noble, who enters his 14th season at UH in 2008. "Overall, I feel pretty good."
The Cougars took their first steps toward the 2008 season with the first step of fall practice Oct. 1. During the last seven days, the coaches and players began installing bunt coverages and practicing first-and-third situations.
"We are just learning how to practice and how to get better," Noble said. "We have a lot of time on our hands this fall, so there is no rush to try to cram everything in. We are going to take it in slow and smooth."
The team will continue to work on the fundamentals with intrasquad scrimmages slated to begin in the next 10 days or so.
"From a position player standpoint, it's coming into focus. We will interject some young players at specific positions. We have to get our catchers prepared for the task ahead." Noble said. "The pitching staff is still in a little bit of disarray because of youth and injuries, but that will start settling down in the next couple of weeks."
Under new NCAA rules in 2008, the college baseball season will not begin until late February. Since the season will end around the same time as years past, the Cougars will have more time during the fall season to practice as a team.
UH is not scheduled to wrap up its fall drills until early November, and that is counting on favorable weather conditions every day of practice.
Practices are tentatively scheduled to begin daily around 2:30 p.m., with similar workouts during the weekend. However, workouts during the week will be closed to fans. Weekend practices will be open to all fans.
Seventeen letterwinners return from the 2007 team, which posted a 28-28 overall record and finished tied for fourth in a competitive Conference USA with a 12-12 mark.
The Cougars open their 2008 season on Feb. 22-24 when it plays host to Pacific in a weekend, non-conference series at Cougar Field. That series begins at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 22, continues at 3 p.m., Feb. 23 and wraps up at 1 p.m., Feb. 24.