Here’s What To Watch For In Houston’s Baseball Matchup vs BYU

Another home series at Schroeder Park is the site where Houston baseball will take on BYU.

This weekend features two teams hungry for wins after a slow start to the season, but both know they are capable of making a deep run with the rosters they have. It just comes down to two things.

Hitting and pitching.

Which one of the clubs is going to make more plays in clutch moments to go home happy? Does Todd Whitting’s program have enough in the tank to pull out another huge series victory, or will Trent Pratt and Co. find a way to escape the away trip with a sweep or series win?

Everyone finds out beginning on Friday and wrapping up on Sunday afternoon.

Hitters and Pitchers

Houston Cougars baseball. — Feb 19, 2006; Tempe, AZ, USA; Houston Cougars first baseman (18) Brad Lincoln hits home run against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 3rd inning to give his team a 5-1 lead at Packard Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Copyright Rick Scuteri | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Going into the series, the Houston club has moved up in the Big 12 standings since it got a few wins against teams it wasn’t expected to beat. Their record right now is 16-15 overall and 3-9 in conference play. As for BYU, their record is flipped: 15-16 overall and 5-7 in conference. Whitting’s program is tied for last place, while Pratt’s group is tied for sixth place in the conference.

That has a chance to change this weekend, depending on how many arms and barrels show up. Whether both sides are seeing the ball well and feel good about their stuff will factor in a ton to the school that can pull out more clutch plays.

This year, Houston is lacking a ton of hits it needs in the lineup, but it is doing what it can to put opponents in jams and apply the pressure when it can. As a unit, they are batting only .277 and have an OPS of 1.000, a slugging percentage of .457, and an on-base percentage of .395.

As for BYU, the barrels have been at work as well with a .278 batting average as a team to go along with an .848 OPS, .484 slugging percentage, and a .364 on-base percentage.

There are two players on Houston's roster right now hitting over .300: Xavier Perez and Tyler Cox. Likewise, for BYU, which has two guys batting over .300, Ezra McNaughton and Crew McChesney. These men are going to need their best performances of the season to rack up big wins moving forward, but they will need help from their teammates' arms.

BYU likes to toss guys like Justice Riser, Wayland Gray, Nate Gray, Ashton Johnson, and Cason Bell. For Houston, it’s been Andres Perez and Michael Benzor with the help of other teammates. Whoever gets the better pitch selection and throws heaters might be the reason the series belongs to one school over the other.

Game 1 starts on Thursday, April 9, at 6:30 p.m., with Game at 6:30 the following day. The series finale will be on Saturday, April 11, at 1 p.m., with all games streaming live on ESPN+.