Rice University Athletics
Owls Host Coca-Cola Classic Tournament This Weekend
2/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Game Notes (pdf)
Feb. 16, 2006
HOUSTON - Owls Host Elite Tournament With Annual Coca-Cola Classic
The second-ranked Rice baseball team (4-1) hosts an elite group of teams this weekend with the annual Coca-Cola Classic tournament Feb. 17-19 (Fri.-Sat.) at Reckling Park. The Owls welcome 11th-ranked Long Beach State (4-3), Oklahoma (5-1) and Lamar (4-2) in round-robin action. Tickets to the event are available at the Rice Ticket Office or may be purchased on-line at RiceOwls.com. The full tournament schedule is as follows.
2006 Coca-Cola Classic
Fri., Feb. 17
Lamar vs. Long Beach State, 1 pm
Rice vs. Oklahoma, 4:30 pm
Sat., Feb. 18
Long Beach State vs. Rice, 1 pm
Oklahoma vs. Lamar, 4:30 pm
Sun., Feb. 19
Long Beach State vs. Oklahoma, noon
Lamar vs. Rice, 3:30 pm
Broadcast Info.
Every Rice baseball game is broadcast live around the world on the Internet at www.KTRU.org (link provided above). The Friday and Sunday games are Internet-only. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the radio on KTRU (91.7 FM). A direct link to the audio feed is provided on the baseball schedule page of RiceOwls.com. Broadcasters Mike Pede', Matt McCabe and Dan Perez are mic-side for the baseball action this season.
Friday & Saturday Games On OwlVision
Rice's first two games of the Coca-Classic are scheduled for broadcast by OwlVision. OwlVision is a subscription-based service which matches the play-by-play audio with a video feed to create a television-like broadcast on the Internet (either live or in an archived format). The service has proved to be very popular with fans and alumni living throughout the world. Information about the service and prices are available on the Rice web site. A number of home games are on tap for OwlVision this season.
Rice Pitching Rotation
Feb. 17, Eddie Degerman (Sr.-1L, R/R; 1-0, 0.00)
Feb. 18, Joe Savery (So.-1L, L/L; 1-0, 2.53)
Feb. 19, Bobby Bell (So.-1L, R/R; 1-0, 5.19)
National Ranking Update
Status quo. Rice has held its spot in each of the major polls. The Owls are second in the nation in the Feb. 13 National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) poll. Rice is fourth in Collegiate Baseball, fifth in Baseball America and seventh in the Sports Weekly/ESPN/ABCA coaches poll. The team is number one in the nation according to the Internet site The Rosenblatt Report. Rice is ranked high on the strength of 20 lettermen returning from the 2005 squad that won the Baton Rouge Regional and came within four outs of reaching the College World Series. Polls will continue through June 30, 2006.
Head Coach Wayne Graham
Two-time national coach of the year and Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Graham (Texas, 1970) is in his 15th season at Rice. He is 631-258 with the Owls (389-87 at home, 186-138 in road games and 56-33 at neutral sites). His overall winning percentage is .709, the best in school history. Another way of looking at Graham's .709 win percentage is that it is the equivalent of a major league team winning 115 games in a single year... Graham is 1-1 against Oklahoma (1-1 home), 0-0 against Long Beach State and 20-13 against Lamar (15-8 home, 5-8 road)... Under Graham, the Owls clinched another automatic postseason bid in 2005, making 11-straight seasons for Rice to earn an NCAA appearance. The 2003 bid culminated with the Owls' first national championship. Rice played in the 1994-95-96 Southwest Conference tournaments (winning the final league title in '96), won the 1997-98-99 WAC tournaments, shared the 2000 WAC title with San Jose State before winning the 2001-02-03-04-05 titles outright, and advanced into the NCAA tournament in 1995-96-97-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-05... Graham was named the WAC coach of the year in 1998, '99, '02 and the co-coach of the year in '03... Rice has made four appearances in the NCAA College World Series under Graham (1997, '99, '02, '03)... Graham has led the Owls to number-one rankings for seven weeks during the 1999 season, for six weeks during the '01 campaign, two weeks in '02, six weeks in 2003 (the last of which established some staying power) and three weeks in 2004... Graham's San Jacinto Gators dominated the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., in the 1980s, winning five national titles in six years (1985-86-87, 89-90)... The Austin American-Statesman named Graham its SWC coach of the year in '95 after he led the Owls to their first NCAA tournament appearance... Collegiate Baseball was especially cognizant of Graham's efforts at San Jac. He was named the newspaper's coach of the decade for all levels in the 1980s after winning those five junior college national titles, and CB tabbed him the NJCAA coach of the century... One of the few current collegiate coaches to have played in the major leagues (N.Y. Mets in 1963, Philadelphia in 1964), Graham is aided by assistant coaches Mike Taylor (Prairie View A&M, 1997; sixth year), David Pierce (Houston, 1988; fourth year), Patrick Hallmark (Rice, 1995; first year)... Graham will coach at third base. Taylor will be at first base.
1,206 Wins
Wayne Graham owns 629 career wins at Rice, but he also has 1,206 victories in his collegiate coaching career. Graham's career record is 1,206-371 in a 25-year career that began at San Jacinto College in 1981.
"Hammerin'" Aaron Luna Named National Hitter of the Week
Freshman slugger Aaron Luna received two prestigious honors this week, being named Conference USA hitter of the week on Feb. 13 and the Pro-Line Cap National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) on Feb. 14. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I Conference each week and names winners throughout the season... Luna opened his collegiate career by homering in his first three at-bats, going deep twice against Central Missouri State on opening day (Feb. 4) and once against McNeese State (Feb.7). He also hit a homer against Texas Tech Feb. 10 at Minute Maid Park, making each of his first four collegiate hits home runs. Luna had five hits total in five games for Rice, driving in nine runs and scoring seven times... The freshman from Southlake is the second Owl to earn the award. Junior all-America candidate Josh Rodriguez was selected as the Pro-Line Cap National Hitter of the Week in March of 2005... The Fort Worth-based Pro-Line Cap Co. supplies the official cap to more than 100 Division I college teams. This is the second season Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA's Players of the Week.
Get Authentic Rice Jerseys Friday
February 17 is a one-of-a-kind chance to own authentic, game-worn Rice baseball jerseys from recent years. Game jerseys will be for sale prior to the Oklahoma game on a first come first serve basis. Jerseys will be sold at varying prices, ranging from $50 to $100. Jerseys from the Owls' College World Series appearances in 1997, 1999, 2002, and the 2003 National Championship season are included in this unique opportunity to show your support and contribute to the program. The sale begins at 3 pm.
Our New Address In Conference USA
After nine seasons as a member of the Western Athletic Conference, Rice Athletics made the dramatic move to Conference USA for all varsity sports on July 1, 2005. The move has been a success with the Owls posting C-USA championships in soccer and women's cross country... Rice helps make C-USA's highly-regarded baseball league even better. In 2005, four C-USA teams earned NCAA regional bids. Fellow league newcomer Central Florida has averaged 41 wins for the past two years.
C-USA Coaches Pick Rice To Win 2006 League Crown
With Conference USA preseason player of the year selection Joe Savery leading the way, Rice was the unanimous pick of the league's nine head baseball coaches to win the 2006 conference title. Rice baseball competes in C-USA for the first time in 2006 but the Owls' reputation precedes them. The team is ranked as high as fourth in the nation in preseason polls after posting a 45-19 record and NCAA Super Regional appearance. Junior righthander Tim Bascom of fellow first-year C-USA member UCF was named as the league's preseason pitcher of the year.
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Rice (nine first place votes)
2. Tulane
3. Southern Miss
4. Houston
5. UCF
6. East Carolina
7. UAB
8. Memphis
9. Marshall
Player of the Year - Joe Savery, Rice (So., p/if)
Previously: Owls Top TCU
Trailing 6-5 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Rice baseball team exploded for seven runs and sent 12 men to the plate to lift the second-ranked Owls to a 12-6 win over longtime rival TCU in the finale of the Houston College Classic Tournament held Sunday evening downtown at Minute Maid Park... Rice trailed 6-2 midway through the contest but cut the margin to one in the sixth on the shoulders of a three-run homer by junior all-America candidate Josh Rodriguez. The Owls put two men on base in the seventh but failed to convert the opportunities to runs. The team made up for it in the seventh with its biggest inning of the young season... Sophomore Chad Lembeck sparked the team with a leadoff double and a pair of walks loaded the bases. Sophomore Brian Friday connected for his third hit of the day with a single through the left side to tie the game 6-6. Sophomore Danny Lehmann was hit by a pitch to give the Owls a 7-6 lead but the scores didn't stop. Five more runs came across on a single, a sacrifice, a second hit batter and fielder's choice that resulted in a TCU fielding error. When the dust cleared Rice notched its fourth win of the season by scoring 12 runs on 11 hits. Friday led the team with three hits and a walk. He hit .385 for the three-day tournament and was named to the all-Classic team along with second baseman Greg Buchanan and pitcher Cole St.Clair. Buchanan hit .364 with two runs, two RBI and a steal. St.Clair was brilliant working two games out of the bullpen. He had a win and a save and did not allow a run in 5.0 innings while striking out nine.
All-America Candidates
Rice senior Eddie Degerman, junior Josh Rodriguez and sophomore Joe Savery were selected to Collegiate Baseball's 2006 Louisville Slugger preseason all-America teams... Savery was named to the publication's preseason all-America first team as a utility player for his multiple skills as a hitter, first baseman and pitcher. Rodriguez was named second-team all-America at shortstop and Degerman was tabbed as a starting pitcher on the all-America third team. Savery and Rodriguez were also 2006 preseason all-America honorees by the NCBWA... Savery was a consensus all-America pick as a true freshman and the national freshman of the year by Collegiate Baseball. The Houston native from nearby Lamar High School led the Western Athletic Conference in hitting with a .382 average and he was second in the league with a 2.43 ERA in 19 starts on the mound... Rodriguez moved from second base to shortstop midway through the 2005 season with no drop off in play on either side of the ball. The former South Houston High School star batted .345 with a team-leading 11 home runs and 54 RBI in 63 games started. Rodriguez also maintained a .555 slugging percentage with 48 runs scored and nine stolen bases. Defensively, he started or turned 45 of the Owls' 67 double plays... Degerman is a veteran right-hander who went 8-1 with a 3.28 ERA a year ago. The Granada Hills, Calif., native opted to return for his senior season in 2006 despite being selected by the defending world champion Boston Red Sox in the 2005 major league draft. In one start last season, Degerman struck out 16 batters in just 7.1 innings. He averaged 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings of work.
Two Owls On Clemens Watch List
Rice senior Eddie Degerman and sophomore Joe Savery are among a list of 40 pitchers who have been named to the initial watch list for the 2006 Roger Clemens Award, which honors the top pitcher in college baseball... The Roger Clemens Award is named after major league great Roger Clemens. As a professional, Clemens has won 341 games (ninth-best in history), fanned 4,502 hitters and been honored with seven Cy Young Awards as the top pitcher in his league. The Roger Clemens Award is the only award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball... Savery, the national freshman of the year in 2005, is a preseason all-America selection for 2006. The left-hander from Houston was 8-5 with a team-best 2.43 ERA in 19 starts last season. Savery, who also starts at first base when not on the mound, posted 129 strikeouts and just 37 walks in 118.2 innings... Degerman is a veteran right-hander who went 8-1 with a 3.28 ERA for the Owls last season. The Granada Hills, Calif., native opted to return for his senior season in 2006 despite being selected by the defending world champion Boston Red Sox in the 2005 major league draft. In one of his starts last season, Degerman fanned 16 batters in just 7.1 innings of work. He averaged 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings... The watch list is comprised of all Division I pitchers who were named as pre-season all-America by either Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball or the NCBWA. Additional pitchers will be added each week when honored as National Pitchers of the Week by the NCBWA and after the NCAA releases its statistical rankings during the college baseball season... The third Clemens Award will be presented to the nation's top college pitcher at the conclusion of a gala dinner in Houston in July. All Division I head baseball coaches will take part in the voting for the honor, in addition to a selected panel of national media... For media information on The Roger Clemens Award, please contact Chuck Pool (832) 244-6476... The Owl trio of Jeff Niemann, Wade Townsend and Philip Humber were all nominated for the first award in 2004.
Cox On Stopper Watch List
Senior right-hander Bryce Cox is among a group of 30 pitchers listed on the preseason watch list for the second annual NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award. Cox was selected by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball Draft last June, but chose to return to Rice for his senior season. In 2005, he appeared in 17 games, going 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA and three saves. Cox averaged 11.6 strikeouts-per-nine innings, second-best on the staff and held the 66 batters that he faced to a composite .182 batting average. This will be the second time that the nation's top reliever is honored by the NCBWA.
Savery On Wallace Watch List
Sophomore Joe Savery was an early selection to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, an honor presented to the national college baseball player of the year by the College Baseball Foundation in Lubbock. The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semifinalists in late May and narrowed to three finalists at a press conference in Omaha prior to the College World Series. The 2006 Wallace Award will be presented after the conclusion of the College World Series.
27,134 In Attendance
There were 27,134 fans in attendance at Minute Maid Park for the Owls' Feb. 11 game against tenth-ranked Texas. It's the fourth-largest crowd for a regular season college game in NCAA history. Rice's games at Minute Maid also drew 11,512 for the Feb. 12 game against TCU and 10,193 for the opening game of the tournament against Texas Tech.
The "K" Train
Rice pitchers have registered a total of 61 strikeouts in five games, an average 12.2 per contest. Four different Owls have at least nine strikeouts this season. Sophomore Cole St.Clair has 14 in 7.1 innings of work. Junior Craig Crow struck out the side in his Division I debut on Feb. 7 against McNeese State, helping the staff post a total of 17 Ks. The 17 strikeouts was approaching some lofty historic totals. Rice pitchers notched 21 strikeouts in a single game in 2005. The Owls fanned 19 against SMU in 1919 and 18 at McNeese State in April of 2000.
Active Streaks
Sophomore infielder Brian Friday slugged hits in each of the games at Minute Maid Park to extend his hitting streak to eight dating back to the 2005 season. Sophomore Danny Lehmann owns a five-game hitting streak dating back to last year.
Draft Dodgers
Owls Eddie Degerman and Bryce Cox were selected in the 2005 Major League Baseball draft (June 7-8) but opted to return for their senior season. Two other Rice juniors and two seniors were drafted and signed. A former Owl who was not on the 2005 team, Wade Townsend, was the eighth player taken in the first round.
2005 Rice Draftees Rnd Pick MLB Team
Josh Geer 3rd 98th San Diego
Lance Pendleton 4th 139th New York (A)
Bryce Cox 13th 403rd Los Angeles (A)
Adam Rodgers 25th 770th St. Louis
Eddie Degerman 41st 1245th Boston
Adam Morris 47th 1420th St. Louis
Family Fun At Reckling Park
An exciting list of home game-day promotions for the Owls' 2006 baseball season have been finalized, Rice associate athletic director Mike Pede' has announced... There are 28 promotions for the Owls' 30 home games at Reckling Park. Some recurring promotional events will overlap over the course of the year, making for days where there are multiple activities and giveaways at the ballpark. Popular events like ice cream sundae Sundays, kid's cap day, 25 cent hot dog night, the burrito bounce, trading card day and kids takeover the park, have all returned to the Owls' promotional lineup... Some new events, like jersey night, autographed baseball day, a bobblehead giveaway could prove to be new fan favorites. Rice will also have some unique entertainment options in conjunction with games. A show of classic cars from the Houston Cadillac LaSalle Club is on tap for the spring and EA Sports will debut its new video game, 2006 College Baseball, at Reckling Park in late March. The city's civic leaders and elected officials will be on hand for a special patriotic celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner..."We've added a little bit extra for the loyal fans who already know about the great value and family-oriented sporting event that is Rice baseball," Pede' said. "Year-in and year-out, Rice ranks among the national leaders in college baseball attendance and some of our giveaways and promotional events is a way of thanking them for their support." Last season, the Owls were 10th in the nation in total attendance (96,390 fans). Rice averaged more than 3,000 fans per game for its 32 homes dates. A complete list of baseball game-day promotions can be viewed on the web at www.RiceOwls.com.
Next Week
The Owls' seven-game homestand continues through next week. Rice hosts longtime rival Sam Houston State at Reckling Park on Feb. 21 at 4 pm. The Owls then host the second of their two home tournaments with the Rice Invitational on Feb. 24-26.
2006 Rice Invitational
Feb. 24-26 at Reckling Park
Fri., Feb. 24
Texas State vs. Nebraska, 1 pm
Rice vs. St. John's, 4:30 pm
Sat., Feb. 25
Nebraska vs. Rice, 1 pm
St. John's vs. Texas State, 4:30 pm
Sun., Feb. 26
Nebraska vs. St. John's, noon
Texas State vs. Rice, 3:30 pm
Rice Baseball Makes RSTN Debut March 4 vs. Cal. State Fullerton
On Dec. 22, 2005, Rice Athletics, in conjunction with Time-Warner Cable, launched its own television channel with the debut of Rice Sports Television Network (RSTN). The network allows Rice to televise its home events such as baseball, football and men's and women's basketball to Time Warner's viewing audience along the gulf coast... Rice will air its events on Time-Warner digital cable channel 105. Athletic programming on the Rice Sports Television Network includes seven baseball games starting with the Cal. State Fullerton contest on March 4... Randy McIlvoy of KPRC-TV is slated for the play-by-play duties while former Owl pitcher Steven Herce is the broadcast analyst. Several games on RSTN are to be picked up and aired nationally on CSTV, either live or tape delayed. For questions involving Time-Warner Cable call, 713-341-1000.
