#9 HOUSTON (3-0) vs. MCNEESE STATE (2-1) GAME BREAKDOWN

HOUSTON Ã¢â‚¬" No. 9 Houston Baseball will look to move to 4-0 on the year when it welcomes McNeese State to Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park Tuesday. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.

The Cougars officially broke into the nation's Top 10 when they were ranked No. 9 by Baseball America, moving up three spots from their preseason ranking of No. 12.

PROMOTIONS

Tuesday, February 23 Ã¢â‚¬" 6:30 pm

Tumbler Tuesday Ã¢â‚¬" First 50 fans through the gates get a UH Tumbler

FOLLOW ALONG Ã¢â‚¬" GAMEDAY CENTRAL

Listen Live: UHCougars.com/baseradio

Watch Live: Houston All-Access w/ a paid subscription

LAST AT-BAT

The Cougars are coming off an Opening Weekend sweep over Villanova, which saw a combined 27 runs on 33 hits in the three wins. Houston earned a convincing 13-1 victory over the Wildcats to open the 2016 season before recording its first shutout of the year, a 4-0, win in Game 2 Saturday. With a 2-0 series lead and down 2-0 in the first inning of Game 3 on Sunday, the Cougars rallied to win 10-3 for the sweep.

The Opening Weekend sweep marked the third straight year Houston has accomplished that feat and fifth time in six seasons under head coach Todd Whitting.

As a team, the Cougars hit .306 Ã¢â‚¬" led by five home runs, five doubles and two triples. Freshman Joe Davis hit a team and conference-leading .556 with four walks on the weekend, followed by sophomore Corey Julks with a .500 average and a team-best six hits in three games.

Senior Jacob Campbell showed off his power, belting two of Houston's five home runs, while driving in a team-leading eight RBI vs. Villanova.

On the mound, the pitching was equally impressive Ã¢â‚¬" led by American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week John King, who tossed 6.0 shutout innings, allowing just one hit and nine strikeouts for his first win as a Cougar. The staff also saw a strong Opening Night performance by Preseason All-American Andrew Lantrip, who went 6.0 innings, allowing two hits with five strikeouts for the win.

Sunday's starter freshman Mitch Ullom put together a solid debut, going 5.0 strong innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts for the win.

In relief, sophomore Aaron Fletcher went 3.0 hitless innings with three strikeouts for his first save of 2016.

As a staff, the Cougars posted a 1.33 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 27.0 total innings, while holding Villanova to 13 total hits and a .140 weekend average.

ABOUT MCNEESE STATE

McNeese State is coming off a weekend series win where it won 2-of-3 games over Southern Illinois at home. The Cowboys won 5-2 in Game 1, dropped Game 2, 2-1 and bounced back to win the series with an 8-4 Game 3 victory.

Will Fox led the way offensively for McNeese State, hitting .375 with three RBI and three walks for a .545 on-base percentage. Ricky Ramirez also had a great opening weekend with three hits and three runs while senior Connor Crane drove in three runs with two hits, including a homer.

The Cowboy pitching staff posted a 2.67 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 27.0 innings, led by starter Ethan Stremmel, who tossed 5.1 shutout innings with five strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY

Houston and McNeese State will meet for the 62nd time in program history and for the first of two meetings this season.

The Cougars own the all-time record at 48-13 and are 38-8 at home vs. the Cowboys. Houston has won the last seven meetings (since March 16, 2011) between the two programs. The Cougars swept the 2015 two-game series (W, 5-4 at McNeese State; W, 9-2 at home).

PROBABLE STARTERS

Houston: RHP Marshall Kasowski

Houston will hand the ball to junior Marshall Kasowski on Tuesday vs. McNeese State. The right-hander made nine appearances in 2015 with a 1-0 record and a 2.12 ERA. In 17 innings pitched, he fanned 18 hitters. Tuesday will mark his first career start as a Cougar.

McNeese State: LHP Austin Sanders

Austin Sanders will make his debut for McNeese State after earning a redshirt for the Cowboys in 2015.

UP NEXT

The Cougars will then remain in the city to compete in the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic next weekend (Feb. 26-28) at Minute Maid Park vs. Texas Tech (Friday Ã¢â‚¬" 12 pm), Arkansas (Saturday Ã¢â‚¬" 3:30 pm), and TCU (Sunday Ã¢â‚¬" 2:30 pm).

For tickets to the College Classic: www.astros.com/collegeclassic

JOIN THE DUGOUT CLUB

Nationally-ranked Houston Baseball would like to encourage those wishing to support the efforts and success of the baseball student-athletes to consider joining the Dugout Club for as low as $25 a month or $300 annually.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

LEVELS

PINCH HITTER

For a minimum monthly installment of $25 or a minimum one-time gift of $300, supporters can take advantage of the Pinch Hitter level, which will guarantee an invitation for two to exclusive Dugout Club events and Houston Baseball team apparel.

DIAMOND

For a minimum monthly installment of $100 or a minimum one-time gift of $1,000, supporters can take advantage of the Diamond level, which will guarantee batting practice passes for two to any home game, invitation for two to exclusive Dugout Club events and Houston Baseball apparel.

**Cougar Pride points will be applied accordingly.

For more information on joining the Dugout Club, please contact the Houston Baseball office at (713) 743-9396.

For more information regarding Cougar Pride, please call (713) 743-GOUH

BUY SEASON/ SINGLE-GAME / GROUP TICKETS

Houston Baseball will play 32 home games at Cougar Field this upcoming 2016 season and fans can purchase season tickets for as low as $99 online by visiting UHCougars.com/tickets and following the appropriate links or by clicking here.

To purchase tickets in person, fans can visit the Athletics Ticket Stadium Office located on the northeast corner of TDECU Stadium, just outside of Gate 1 off Cullen Boulevard. Parking is available in the TDECU Stadium parking garage with the first 30 minutes free of charge. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m., to 5:30 p.m.

Houston Baseball will offer variable pricing on its single-game tickets and group rates.

As noted in the table above, variable pricing occurs. For weekday (Tuesday/Wednesday) games, prices range from $5-$7 depending on the choice of seating.

Weekend ((Thursday) Friday-Sunday) online pricing will range from $6-$8 per game.

GROUP RATES

Group rates are also available (as noted in the table). Weekday (Tuesday/Wednesday) and Weekend ((Thursday) Friday-Sunday) pricing occurs. Groups of 10-24 are set at $4-$5 per person, while groups of 25+ are $3-$4 per person.

All UH main campus students are admitted FREE to regular-season baseball home games with a valid student ID.

2016 SCHEDULE QUICK HITS

OUR CITY

â€¢ 32 home games; 38 in the city of Houston

â€¢ First 12 games of the season will be played in the city of Houston

â€¢ 21 of the first 25 games will be played in the city of Houston

â€¢ 18 of the first 25 games will be played at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park

OPENING WEEKEND

â€¢ Houston will host Opening Weekend for the 11th consecutive season

â€¢ Cougars are 14-1 all-time during Opening Weekend under Todd Whitting

COLLEGE CLASSIC

â€¢ Houston to make 16th straight appearance in Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park

â€¢ Cougars to face Texas Tech, Arkansas and TCU

â€¢ Cougars own a 20-25 all-time record in tournament; has earned seven wins over Top 30 teams

FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS

â€¢ Houston has three first-time opponents on the schedule: Villanova, Grand Canyon, George Washington

RICE & TEXAS IN SUGAR LAND, TEXAS AT CONSTELLATION FIELD

â€¢ Houston will meet both Texas (April 12) and Rice (May 17) for non-conference, midweek games at Sugar Land's Constellation Field.

NCAA TOURNAMENT COMPETITION

â€¢ 20 games this season will be played against an NCAA-tournament team from 2015

â€¢ Arkansas, TCU, Texas Southern, Rice, Texas A&M, East Carolina, Texas, USF, Tulane

STAY CONNECTED

Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /HoustonCougarBaseball. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter.