The Southern baseball team is making its second trip to Houston this season for a five-day stay against two opponents beginning Wednesday with the University of Houston.
The Jaguars (5-13) play a single game against the Cougars at Schroeder Park at 6:30 p.m. and will stick around for a Southwestern Athletic Conference series against Texas Southern over the weekend.
Jaguars coach Chris Crenshaw wants to get his pitching rotation reset after a rough weekend at Grambling where his team allowed 31 runs, including a 16-6 loss on Sunday after the teams split the first two games.
“I’ve got to figure this starting pitching out,” Crenshaw said. “If we put a zero up somewhere, or get a shutdown inning a time or two, it’s a different series. We’re going to try some new things, people in different spots the next couple of games. I don’t know how it’s going to play out.”
Jalon Long pitched somewhat effectively in the opener, but Nick Wilson and Christian Davis each surrendered five runs in the first two innings on Saturday and Sunday, putting the Jaguars in an early hole.
One change Crenshaw said he might make is moving midweek starter Antoine Harris to the weekend. Left-hander Daren Smith (1-1, 6.35 ERA) will start against the Cougars on Wednesday.
Houston is 8-11 going into a Tuesday night game with McNeese State after sweeping a three-game series at Minnesota. The Cougars have played a tough schedule, including three against Oklahoma and one against Texas A&M.
The Cougars are more speed than power with 33 steals in 41 attempts, led by Brandon Burckel with 11 in 12 tries. First baseman Alex Lopez is batting .339 with a home run and nine RBIs. Outfielder Cameron Nickens is batting .283 and leads the team with 10 RBIs.
Malachi Lott, who is 0-2 with 3.00 ERA, is batting .283 as an outfielder when he isn’t pitching.
Southern center fielder Jaylen Armstrong is batting .373 and right fielder Kyle Radcliff is at .273 with a team-high 14 RBIs. With returning starters O’Neill Burgos and Hunter Tabb struggling at the plate, the team batting average has fallen to .237 while opponents are batting .333.
“It comes back to us performing,” Crenshaw said. “We’ve got to show up to play. We can’t wait until we get punched in the mouth all the time. Sometimes we let them throw the first punch, the second punch and then the third punch.
“I expected more on Sunday. The hitters are giving us opportunities. We’ve got to stop somebody. And we let the emotions of the game get to us. We have to handle adversity better and that’s on me. We have to play to our standards, not necessarily to the scoreboard. Locked in on every pitch.
“It’s all a learning experience. Even with having four returning starters back, a lot of guys haven’t been through it.”
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