Rice University Athletics
Owls Begin C-USA Action This Weekend At Reckling Park
3/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 23, 2006
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The number-two ranked Rice baseball team (18-7) returns home to Reckling Park for a three-game Conference USA series Fri.-Sun., Mar. 24-26, against new league foe East Carolina. The ECU series is Rice's first-ever as a new C-USA member. Game times with the Pirates (16-7) are 7 pm, 2 pm and noon, respectively.
Noon Start On Sunday
In a slight break from the routine, Sunday's game starts at noon. It's the team's first and only noon start at home this year.
Broadcast Information
Rice athletics is broadcast live around the world on the Internet at www.KTRU.org. A number of Rice games are live on the radio on KTRU (91.7 FM). The next KTRU game is Saturday's 2 pm clash. A direct link to the audio feed is provided at the above link. Mike Pede, Matt McCabe, Dan Perez and Ryan Black, are mic-side for the baseball action this season.
Weekend Games On OwlVision
All C-USA games this weekend are scheduled for an OwlVision broadcast. 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). Information about the service and prices are available at the above link. All home C-USA series are slated to appear on OwlVision. .
National Ranking: No. 2, 3, 4 & 5
Rice went 3-1 last week and moved up one spot to second in the national rankings by Baseball America... The Owls are third in the Mar. 20 Sports Weekly/ESPN/ABCA coaches poll... Rice is fourth in the country in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) poll. The Owls were tabbed as the nation's top team by the NCBWA on Feb. 27 and remained there until Mar. 13... The team is fifth in Collegiate Baseball ... Rice is back at number-one according to the Internet site The Rosenblatt Report. The Blue and Gray was number one by The Rosenblatt Report to start the season, dropped to number two on Mar. 13 and reclaimed the top spot on May 20... Rice is ranked high after backing up some lofty preseason rankings with steady play. The preseason rankings were 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 645-264 with the Owls (400-90 at home, 188-140 in road games and 57-34 at neutral sites). His overall winning percentage is .710, the best in school history. Another way of looking at Graham's .710 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 East Carolina... 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), three weeks in 2004 and two weeks in 2006... 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.
1,217 WINS
Wayne Graham owns 645 career wins at Rice, but he also has 1,220 victories in his collegiate coaching career. Graham's career record is 1,220-377 in a 25-year career that began at San Jacinto College in 1981.
900 GAMES AT RICE
The finale of the recent Cal. State Fullerton series (Mar. 4) marked Wayne Graham `s 900th game at Rice.
RICE ROTATION: DEGERMAN, CROW, SAVERY
Wayne Graham has announced the starting rotation for the East Carolina series as junior Eddie Degerman (rhp), junior Craig Crow (rhp) and sophomore Joe Savery (lhp)... Degerman has backed up his pre-season all-America status with some eye-opening results. He is 5-0 with a 0.86 ERA in six starts. This season the standout from Granada Hills, Calif., has allowed an average of 4.8 hits and 2.8 walks with 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings of work. Degerman has held 148 batters faced to a composite .149 batting average. For his Rice career, Degerman is 14-2 with a 2.59 ERA and 214 strikeouts in 167 innings... Crow has worked his way into the weekend rotation with solid outings. Crow is 2-1 with a 2.62 ERA in 10 appearances, including three starting assignments. The New Braunfels native has struck out 27 batters in 24 frames for an average of 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Crow is in his first competitive season at the Division I level after sitting out all of the 2005 season with an injury. He started for two years at Grayson College (2003-04) prior to joining the Owls... Savery is comfortable playing first base the first two games of a weekend series before pulling double-duty (pitching and hitting) in the Sunday finale. The versatile Houston native is 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA in seven starts. He has held 146 batters faced to a .233 batting average. Savery has done his part, but could use a little more offensive support in his starts. The Owls bat only .246 in Savery's starts and average just 4.4 runs per game.
PREVIOUS GAME: TEXAS SLIPS PAST RICE WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN AUSTIN, 3-2
Three members of the Rice pitching staff combined to hold Texas to just three runs on four hits, but that was enough for the Longhorns to claim a 3-2 win over the visiting Owls Wednesday evening (Mar. 22) at Disch-Falk Field in Austin... The pitchers for both teams were in control early, but Texas opened the scoring with runs in the third and fifth innings for a 2-0 lead. In the third Bradley Suttle led off with a double on the right field line and he advanced two stations on back-to-back sacrifice bunts by Prseston Clark and Chais Fuller... In the fifth Chance Wheeless led off with a single up the middle and he moved into scoring position by stealing second. He took third on a fly ball and scored on a two-out infield single... Rice came right back and tied the game in the top of the sixth. Sophomore Brian Friday led off with a walk and senior Greg Buchanan laced the team's first base hit of the day into left-cent field to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Joe Savery bunted for a hit that loaded the bases and Josh Rodriguez followed with a ground out that scored Friday from third. With two away, sophomore Jordan Dodson hit a ball to third base but beat out the throw for an RBI single that tied the score, 2-2... The Owls made the most of their three hits but managed only one more base runner after the sixth (Henley reached after getting hit by pitch). Texas retired 10 of 11 Owls in the final 3.1 innings... In the bottom of the seventh the Longhorns pushed across what turned into the winning run. Drew Stubbs led off with a walk and he scored on a double to left by Carson Kainer. The Owls made a play to get Stubbs at the plate and the the throw from Dodson in left was with plenty of time, but the ball came loose in a collision at home... Rice pitchers Will McDaniel, Bobby Bramhall and Cole St.Clair combined to hold the defending national champions to three runs on just four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. Rice fell to 18-7 on the season. Texas improved to 16-10.
LAST WEEK: PLENTY OF "O"
The Owls' had plenty of offense last week, the key component of the team winning three of four games... Rice beat a previously ranked University of San Diego team 11-2 (Mar. 14) before dropping its first road game of the year at Sam Houston State, 9-8, just 24 hours later. The Owls bounced back to thump Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 17-2 on Mar. 18 and claim a 3-0 victory over the Islanders on Sunday (Mar. 19)... In four games last week Rice hit .368 as a team and averaged 9.9 runs per game. The Owls maintained a .554 slugging percentage and averaged four doubles per game... The defense made only two fielding errors and turned five double plays.
HERE'S WHO'S HOT
Senior second baseman Greg Buchanan batted a composite .632 in Rice's four games last week to lead the team in average, hits (12), runs (7) and total bases (15). Buchanan co-led the squad with three doubles for a .789 slugging percentage. He also drew a walk and executed a sacrifice bunt. On Wednesday at Texas, Buchanan extended his season-long hitting streak to 11 games... Sophomore center fielder Tyler Henley saw his five-game hitting streak snapped at Texas, but he is still 10-for-21 (.476) with two doubles, two triples and a home run for 19 total bases and a slugging percentage of .905. In his last 21 at bats, Henley has driven in seven runs, scored six times and recorded his fourth defensive assist of the season from his spot in center field... Sophomore shortstop Brian Friday is 9-of-26 (.346) recently with 13 runs scored, three doubles and a triple for a .538 slugging percentage. Friday has not made a fielding error in 51 consecutive chances dating back to March 5... Freshman Aaron Luna is back in form after sitting out the first week of March. In his last seven games Luna is 8-of-23 (.348) with nine RBI, four doubles and a home run for a .652 slugging percentage... Sophomore Joe Savery is 7-for-21 (.333) recently with nine RBI, seven runs scored, three doubles and a home run for a .619 slugging percentage. Savery has also walked six times in the last six games... Sophomore left fielder Jordan Dodson is now 7-for-18 (.389) recently with a double and four runs scored. Dodson had a productive since games since sitting out against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 12 - which also happened to be his 20th birthday.
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
The Owls have seven losses, but a closer look at that figure is in order. Six of the team's seven losses have been to ranked teams and four are to the two most-recent NCAA champions.
CONFERENCE OPENERS/SERIES
Rice begins its quest for an 11th-consecutive conference championship Mar. 24 when the Owls host East Carolina in a three-game C-USA series at Reckling Park. The Owls were 7-2 in Western Athletic Conference openers from 1997 to 2005. The Blue and Gray also won seven of the nine three-game series that opened WAC play, with each of the series wins ending as three-game sweeps... Rice's WAC-opening losses in 2000 and 2006 also ended in series losses. A year ago the Owls were swept in their first WAC series of the season at San Jose State, but bounced back to win 21 of the next 27 league games.
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 260 strikeouts in 25 games, an average 10.5 per contest. The staff has fanned 10 or more hitters in a game 16 times. Eight different Owls have more strikeouts than innings pitched this season. Four Owls, Eddie Degerman, Joe Savery, Cole St.Clair and Craig Crow rank among the C-USA top ten in strikeouts... Degerman fanned a team-best 11 in his start against Oklahoma (Feb. 17)... St.Clair has 47 K's in 31.1 innings of work, an average of 13.5 per nine innings... Crow struck out the side in his Division I debut against McNeese State (Feb. 7), helping the staff post a season-high 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.
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
Quick On The Opposition
Friday's game between Rice and East Carolina is the first meeting between the schools. East Carolina has the third-best non-conference win percentage in C-USA heading into league play. ECU bats a composite .284 and averages 6.3 runs per contest. The Pirates have a C-USA leading 3.01 ERA.
