Owls Host Rice Invitational Tournament This Weekend
2/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2006
Audio Broadcast activates at game time
Game Notes (pdf)
HOUSTON -- Fresh off a 9-3 win over longtime rival Sam Houston State on Tuesday (Feb. 21), the second-ranked Rice baseball team (7-2) wraps-up the current seven-game homestand hosting the second of its two annual regular season tournaments this weekend (Feb. 24-26) with the Rice Invitational at Reckling Park. The 2006 tournament field includes seventh-ranked Nebraska (3-1), St. John's (0-1) and Texas State (3-6) joining the Owls in round robin action. Tickets to the event are available at the Rice Ticket Office or may be purchased on-line. The invitational format features a doubleheader on each of the three days. The full tournament schedule is as follows:
2006 Rice Invitational Schedule
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 Pitching Rotation Set
Rice's pitching rotation for the weekend series has been set. True freshman Bryan Price is slated to make his first career start on Friday against St. John's. Senior Eddie Degerman works Saturday against Nebraska and sophomore Joe Savery gets the start Sunday against Texas Sate.
Fri., Bryan Price (Fr., R-R, 0-0, 7.71)
Sat., Eddie Degerman (Sr., R-R, 2-0, 0.00)
Sun., Joe Savery (So., L-L, 1-1, 3:52)
Broadcast Info.
Every Rice baseball game is broadcast live around the world on the Internet at www.KTRU.org. A number of games are broadcast live on the radio on KTRU (91.7 FM). The next KTRU radio broadcast is slated for Saturday against Nebraska. A direct link to the audio feed is provided at the link listed above. Broadcasters Mike Pede, Matt McCabe and Dan Perez are mic-side for the baseball action this season.
Upcoming Games On OwlVision
Rice's first two games of the Rice Invitational 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.
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 634-259 with the Owls (392-88 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 0-0 against St. John's, 6-4 against Nebraska (6-1 home, 0-2 road, 0-1 neutral) and 32-7 against Texas State (23-5 home, 8-2 road, 1-0 neutral)... 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.
1,209 Wins
Wayne Graham owns 634 career wins at Rice, but he also has 1,209 victories in his collegiate coaching career. Graham's career record is 1,209-372 in a 25-year career that began at San Jacinto College in 1981.
Previous Game: Owls Thump Sam Houston State, 9-3
Senior second baseman Greg Buchanan went 1-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, two steals, and a sensational defensive stop on a liner up the middle that started a double play, and junior Josh Rodriguez belted his second home run of the season, to help lead the second-ranked Rice baseball team to a 9-3 win over visiting Sam Houston State Feb. 21 at Reckling Park... Rice opened up an early 4-0 lead with a run in the second inning and three more in the third. In the second, outfielder Chad Lembeck drove a one-out double to left field and scored on a single to center by third baseman Aaron Luna. In the next inning, Tyler Henley led off with a walk and advanced to third when Buchanan reached on a fielding error. Buchanan stole second and the Bearkats chose to intentionally walk Rodriguez with one away. The next batter, Jordan Dodson, responded with a double down the right field line to score two and Lembeck grounded a ball to the right side to score Rodriguez... Sam Houston came right back with two runs in the top of the next inning. Rice got one back with a run in the fourth. Sophomore Brian Friday singled, moved to second on a sacrifice and eluded a tag to take third on a fielder's choice. He scored on a sacrifice bunt by Buchanan to make it 5-2. In the bottom of the seventh Buchanan made a diving stop on a liner up the middle that started an inning-ending double play. It helped spark a big three-run rally when the Owls came to bat in the bottom of the seventh. The big hit was a two-run homer to left by Rodriguez... The Bearkats scored a run in the eighth on a walk and two more Rice fielding errors. The Owls finished with a season-high four defensive miscues. Rice added its final run with a solo homer by freshman Trey Sperring in the bottom of the eighth for a 9-3 final. Rice sophomore left-hander Cole St.Clair earned his second win of the season in his first career start on the mound.
Last Week
Last weekend Rice went 2-1 hosting of the Coca-Cola Classic Tournament at Reckling Park. The Owls defeated Oklahoma 8-2 (Feb. 17), fell to 11th-ranked Long Beach State by a score of 4-1 (Feb. 18), but bounced back to beat Lamar 7-1 (Feb. 19). Rice, Oklahoma and Long Beach all registered identical 2-1 records in the round-robin tournament.
Degerman Earns C-USA Pitcher of the Week Honors
For the second time in a row, a Rice baseball player has earned one of the player of the week awards from Conference USA. Senior pitcher Eddie Degerman was named the league's Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 20, the C-USA office announced from its headquarters in Dallas on Monday... Degerman is the first Owl to win C-USA's pitcher of the week award. He posted a sterling effort in Rice's 8-2 win over Oklahoma on Feb. 17 (Fri.), firing a one-hit shutout for seven innings before leaving with a comfortable 8-0 lead. Degerman struck out a season-high 11 batters and walked only three. The California native improved his record to 2-0 for the season, and he has not allowed an earned run in any of his 15.2 innings of work... Tulane's Brad Emaus was named the C-USA Hitter of the Week. Rice freshman Aaron Luna was named the hitter of the week award for Feb. 13, making it back-to-back C-USA honors for Rice players in their first two weeks of playing in the conference.
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)
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 102 strikeouts in nine games, an average 11.3 per contest. Six different Owls have more strikeouts than innings pitched this season. Eddie Degerman fanned a team-best 11 in his start against Oklahoma. Sophomore Cole St.Clair has 20 in 12 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 for the game. 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.
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. Click here for a full list of the Owls' 2006 baseball promotions.
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.
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
Next Week
The first new wrinkles of the season are in store for next week. Rice plays its first road game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 28. The Owls play an opponent more than just one time with a three-game series at home against Cal. State Fullerton on March 3-5.
