Rice University Athletics
Owls Announce 2006 Baseball Schedule
10/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Oct. 4, 2005
HOUSTON - With no shortage to top-flight competition and what may prove to be one the toughest slate of games in the country, the Rice Owls' baseball schedule for the upcoming 2006 season was announced Tuesday.
In 2006 the 56-game Rice schedule features 29 home games at Reckling Park. The Owls play a total of 24 games against 12 teams that advanced to NCAA Regionals a year ago, highlighted by nine games against College World Series participants Texas, Tulane, Arizona State and Nebraska. Rice meets Texas, the defending national champions, three times over the course of the year starting on Feb. 11 at Minute Maid Park in the annual College Classic Tournament. A three-game series with Tulane (Mar. 31-Apr. 2) is part of the Owls' new Conference USA regular season schedule. Rice head coach Wayne Graham said that playing as many tough teams as possible is by design.
"This is a very challenging schedule," Graham said. "Playing good teams helps you get better, and a schedule like this will do that. We should have a very high RPI when teams are under consideration to host regionals at the end of the year."
Rice may be in its first season as a C-USA member, but Reckling Park was an easy choice to host the league's annual postseason tournament May 24-29. The 2006 C-USA Tournament, where the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship will be on the line, is one of three tournaments on tap for Reckling Park. The Owls play in a total of five tournaments, including the program's own Coca-Cola Classic (Feb. 17-19) and Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational (Feb. 24-26). The Blue and Gray returns to the Minute Maid Park College Classic (Feb. 10-12), home of major league baseball's Houston Astros. Rice makes its first appearance in the Corpus Christi College Classic Mar. 10-12.
The Owls' inaugural C-USA campaign has brought about a slight change in format to the Sterling Bank Silver Glove Trophy Series, the annual baseball meetings with crosstown rival Houston to determine the city's collegiate champion. In 2006 there are only three C-USA games with Houston in the league's Fri.-Sat.-Sun. format. The new three-game series for The Glove, where weekend pitchers can now go head-to-head, is May 12-14 at Reckling Park. The start times with the Cougars are 7, 2 and 1 pm, respectively.
As the team did a year ago, the Owls' first official game is at home against Division II power Central Missouri State on Feb. 4. First pitch against the CMSU Mules, a team that went 57-9 a year ago, is slated for 2 pm.
Fans have chance to get a sneak peek at the 2006 Owls and see their favorite Rice players from the past at the program's bi-annual varsity-alumni game on Jan. 28. A host of former Owl lettermen, including many who are currently active in the professional ranks, take on the defending Western Athletic Conference champions that advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals a year ago. First pitch of the alumni game is at noon, but the full day's festivities include a home men's basketball game against Tulane later that evening.
To contact the Rice ticket office call 713-348-4086.
