Shots of Cougar Field

The Houston Cougars played the UAB Blazers this afternoon in the finale of a three-game C-USA series, the Cougars emerging victorious 10-3. The crowd was tiny, due perhaps to (1) Easter, (2) unseasonably chilly weather and (3) a simultaneous Astros game; tickets were $7, perhaps a little more than I'd like to pay but not bad (the red reserved seats lower are $10). Given the paucity of fans, I was able to claim a first-row bleacher seat right behind the plate and keep score, something I hadn't done in a couple of years. (As for the "chilly weather," I thought it was pretty much perfect, but I assume many locals would disagree).

I took the opportunity as well to take a couple photos of Cougar Field, next to Robertson Stadium on Elgin St on the UH campus. It's a nice field and looks just like a comparable lower minor-league park from what I can see. Quite a contrast to Husky Ballpark, which looks temporary (because it is) and is in a beautiful but horribly windy location on Lake Washington...

A modern scoreboard sits in right field.
The grandstand with an enclosed press box and a roof on the upper seats.

In the game itself, the Blazers struck in the top of the first, but Houston scored four in the bottom of the first and knocked out the UAB starter. UAB had very little patience at the plate, letting the UH starter out on 5, 9, 16, 9, and 8 pitches in the first five innings. He finished having thrown 76 pitches in 7 innings. Cougar batters showed a good eye and walked seven times, which was key in the victory. The linked article above provides an overall summary.

As I left, fans were already arriving for the bigger sporting event of the night, David Beckham's Galaxy debut against the Houston Dynamo... I will probably be back next weekend, however, as Houston hosts crosstown rival Rice in a three-game series.