Houston Selected to Chapel Hill Regional
5/28/2018 10:19:00 AM | Baseball
Cougars earn No. 3 seed and will face (1) North Carolina, (2) Purdue & (3) N.C. A&T
HOUSTON -Â After capturing an American Athletic Conference regular-season title, Houston Baseball has been selected among the NCAA Field of 64 and will compete as the No. 3 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional this weekend, announced by the NCAA Committee on Monday.
Houston will match up with No. 2-seed Purdue on Friday at 6 p.m. CT. Prior to the Cougars' game, No. 1-seed North Carolina will face the No 4 seed N.C. A&T at 1 p.m. CT.
The tournament will run from Friday, June 1 to Monday, June 4 at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. and is a double-elimination format.
2018 marks the fourth NCAA Regional appearance in the last five years for Houston and the first time away from Schroeder Park in postseason play since 2014.
Houston put together a strong overall resume, highlighted by an American Athletic Conference regular-season crown and 10 wins over Top-50 RPI teams, including a series sweep at ECU and a series win at UConn.
Houston will make its 22nd NCAA Regional appearance in the history of the program. In the 21 previous appearances, the Cougars have advanced to the Super Regionals four times, last coming in 2014.
TICKET INFORMATION
All-Session Packages - On sale Wednesday, May 30 at 11 a.m. CTÂ
Single Session Packages - On sale Thursday, May 31 at 11 a.m. CT
Tickets can be purchased through the UNC Ticket Office HERE.
HOUSTON HITS
- Houston enters NCAA postseason play with a 36-23 overall record.
- The Cougars captured their 16th overall conference title and 10th regular-season title in program history this season.
- Houston has earned its 22nd NCAA Regional bid in program history and fourth in the last five years.
- Houston notched its sixth straight 35+ win season under head coach Todd Whitting.
- Joe Davis broke the Houston all-time home run record with his 32nd long ball of his career, surpassing the previous record of 31 held by Pat Hewes from 1985-86.
- Todd Whitting earned his first American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honor in his eighth season at the helm.
- As a team, Houston is hitting .259 with 94 doubles, nine triples and 30 home runs, led by Davis with 10.
- Davis joined sophomore Lael Lockhart Jr. on the All-Conference Second Team as the duo earned honors at DH and the utility position, respectively.
- Leading the way offensively is sophomore Jared Triolo with a .343 average, a team-high 80 hits, while starting all 59 games.
- Davis follows with a .308 average, 16 doubles and a team-best 52 RBI. Senior Connor Hollis paces the team with 47 runs scored.
- The Houston pitching staff owns a 3.66 ERA and has struck out 471 in 525.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .236 against the hurlers.
- Junior Aaron Fletcher earned American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year honors, marking 2018 the second straight season a Cougar has won the award with Trey Cumbie being honored in 2017.
- Fletcher leads the staff with a 2.43 ERA and is 6-3 in 14 starts.
- Cumbie becomes the eighth Cougar all-time to record a 100+ strikeout season as he has fanned 101 hitters in 96.2 innings and is 7-3 on the year through 15 starts with a 3.44 ERA.
- Junior Ryan Randel has made 16 appearances and 12 starts and owns a 4.54 ERA.
- Out of the bullpen, Carter Henry paces the staff with 27 appearances. He is 5-1 with six saves and owns a 2.17 ERA.
- Senior Joey Pulido has 25 appearances and is 5-2 with six saves.
STAY CONNECTEDÂ
Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /UHCougarBB. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter.
