PREVIEW: Space Series Brings UCF to Space City

HOUSTON – The Houston baseball eight-game homestand continues when the Cougars host UCF in Space City for a three-game Big 12 Conference series with significant conference standing implications, Friday-Sunday at Schroeder Park.

HOUSTON (23-22, 6-15 Big 12) vs UCF (27-15, 9-12 Big 12)
Date \| Time	Friday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 5 at 1 p.m.
Opponents	UCF (27-15, 9-12 Big 12)
Location	Schroeder Park \| Houston, Texas
Watch	Big 12 Now on ESPN+ \| Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Listen	The Varsity Network \| Jeremy Branham
Live Stats	UHStats.com
Game Notes	Houston \| UCF
Media Center	Notes, media guide/record book, rosters, box scores, photos
Promotions	Check out all the fun at the ballpark

PROMOTIONS

Friday – STEM Day & Fan Friday
- $7 tickets at the ticket office every Friday home game
- Bucket hat giveaway
- STEM meets Baseball with interactive tables surrounding the sport of baseball and STEM
Saturday – May the Fourth Be with You & Space Day
- Star Wars theme poster giveaway
- $4 UH Faculty and Staff tickets
- NASA exhibit tables set up throughout the ballpark
Sunday – Kids Day
- Sunday 4-pack (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, & 4 drinks) for $40

THE MATCHUP

The Cougars are seeking their first series win over the Knights in Houston since 2016. Houston's last three-game sweep of UCF was in 2006 in Orlando.
Houston won the 2023 series by winning the series opener and finales.
Right handers, Cade Citelli, Dan Wright and Justin Murray pitched in the most recent matchup at UCF in 2023, each pitching multiple innings. Murray worked 3.0 innings with four strikeouts on his way to his third win.
Houston is 16-25 against UCF in the Todd Whitting era.
The Cougars are 17-12 against the Knights at home.

QUICK HITTERS

Right fielder Cary Arbolida ranks second in Big 12 play in both home runs (seven) and slugging percentage (.811).
Arbolida has hit multiple home runs in three different games this season (vs Texas, 4/12; 2x vs UT Arlington, 4/26 & 4/28).
The Cougars scored five or more runs in 13 games in April and hit multiple home runs in 12 games during April.
Left fielder Ace Reese recorded his first-career three-hit game at Texas A&M with two opposite field hits including an opposite field home run. Reese is now third among Big 12 Conference freshmen in homers (six).
The Cougars have scored 20+ runs in two games this year after beating Southern 25-0 on Wednesday. It marks the first time Houston has scored 20+ in multiple games in the same season.
Houston hit more home runs in the month of April (37) than it did in both February and March combined (26). Houston averaged 2.18 home runs per game across 17 games in April compared to 0.96 in February and March, combined, across 16 games.
The Cougars are on pace to hit 81 home runs in 2024, two off the single-season program record 83 hit in 1986 (aluminum bats vs BBCOR bats).
Three different Cougars have hit 10+ home runs in 2024, marking the third-straight year a trio of Cougars have hit 10+ homers in the same season.
Houston is on pace to hit more home runs then its opponents for the first time in a full season since 2019. The Cougars pitchers have given up just 36 home runs in 2024 while hitting 64 thus far.
The Cougars pitching staff is on pace for the second-most strikeouts in a single season with 576 thanks to their 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings pace. The school record 605 was set in 2003 over 598.1 innings (9.1 strikeouts per nine) in which Houston played a school record 67 games.
Freshman Anthony Avalos recorded his first-career hit on a pinch-hit two-run home run at #1 Texas A&M on Tuesday.
Baseball America highlighted Cary Arbolida in its Week 11 Standouts College Hot Sheet after going 7-for-17 with four home runs and eight RBI against Texas A&M and UT Arlington.
Third baseman Anthoy Tulimero is the first Cougar to eclipse 100 RBI in their Houston career since Ryan Hernandez (107) did so from 2020-22. Tulimero has 139 career RBI from his time at Houston and Kansas.
Tulimero has reached base safely in 20-consecutive games dating back to March 29 at TCU.

LAST TIME OUT

Houston erased a five-run deficit by scoring five runs in the seventh inning to force extra innings before walking off McNeese via a wild pitch in the 10th inning.

SERIES HISTORY
Houston record vs UCF 34-32
Last meeting W, 12-9 (8 inn.), 4/30/23, Away
Streak Houston, W1

BUY TICKETS
Don't miss any of the action, purchase your single-game tickets to any of the 34 Houston Cougar baseball games inside Schroeder Park by clicking here.

BUY FLEX PLAN
Can't make all 34 games this season? No problem, buy a flex plan and pick which games you want to attend in 2024 (excluding the Texas series April 12-14 – flex plan game selection begins in January).

SUPPORT THE COUGARS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Baseball by supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective, and by joining the Dugout Club which provides financial support directly to Houston Baseball for needs beyond its operating budget.
 
STAY CONNECTED 
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarBB on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at Houston Cougar Baseball. Fans can also follow the team on Instagram at @uhcougarbb.

– UHCougars.com –

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Players Mentioned

Cary Arbolida

Anthony Avalos

Cade Citelli

Justin Murray

Ace Reese

Dan Wright

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