FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
HOUSTON – The Todd Whitting era will officially begin Feb. 18, 2011 when the University of Houston baseball team begins the 2011 campaign with a weekend series against UT Arlington at Cougar Field.
The series against the Mavericks kicks off a schedule that includes six NCAA Regional teams, an NCAA Super Regional team and a College World series team. In addition, Houston will play 26 games in the friendly confines of Cougar Field.
"I am really excited about the 2011 schedule," Whitting said. "There are definitely a few challenging weekends on the schedule. I am looking forward to the opening weekend of the season against UT Arlington. It will be the first weekend series at home for our new staff so it is something I am excited about."
Following the opening weekend, Houston will play a mid-week game against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 25 and host Ole Miss on Feb 25-27 for a three-game series.
"We have a great series against Ole Miss," Whitting said. "They will travel well, and Coach (Mike) Bianco has a tremendous program. I am looking forward to getting those guys in Houston."
Houston will not have to leave its home field until March 1, when the Cougars travel to San Antonio, Texas, for a mid-week contest against UTSA. They will then return home for the Houston College Classic on March 4-6. A schedule has not been released for the tournament, but participants include Rice, Baylor, Texas A&M, Kentucky and Oklahoma Sate.
"The Houston College Classic is by far the best college baseball tournament in the country, and I am really excited to compete in that again this year," Whitting said.
After mid-week games against McNeese State (March 8) and Texas Southern (March 9) at Cougar Field, Houston will travel to San Marcos, Texas, for a weekend series against Texas State on March 11-13.
Houston will again play five games the next week, hosting Sam Houston State (March 15) and traveling to McNeese State (March 16) before returning to Cougar Field for a three-game series against Kent State on March 18-20.
The Silver Glove Series begins March 23 as the Cougars head across town for a mid-week game against Rice. Following a series against College World Series participant TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 25-27, Houston will return to Reckling Park for game two of the five-game series against the Owls.
"We have a series at TCU, which is going to be a big test for our program, as they are coming off a great season," Whitting said.
Conference USA play begins April 1-3, when the Cougars travel to New Orleans, La., for a series against Tulane.
"Conference USA is one of the elite leagues in the country, and I am really excited to be back in the league and dive right into that schedule," Whitting said.
The month of April will continue in College Station, Texas, as the Cougars take on Texas A&M on April 6 and return to Cougar Field for an April 7 contest against Lamar and a three-game series against UAB (April 8-10).
UH takes to the road on April 12 for a meeting with Sam Houston State and will play its second C-USA road series against Marshall on April 15-17. The Cougars return home for the Easter weekend to host East Carolina. The series will begin on April 22 and conclude with a double-header on April 23.
Houston will then head to the road for the final weekend of April, playing two games at Stephen F. Austin (April 26) and Lamar (April 27) before traveling to Orlando, Fla., to play UCF on April 29-May 1.
The Silver Glove Series will conclude with a three-game series against Rice on May 6-8 at Cougar Field, and Houston will close out the home schedule against Southern Miss (May 13-15) and UTSA (May 17).
For the final weekend of the regular season, Houston will head north for a series against Memphis on May 19-21.
The 2011 Conference USA Championship will be played May 25-29 in Jackson, Miss.
