Owls Host UAB In Three-Game Weekend Series
4/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 6, 2006
Quick Links
Listen Here
OwlVision
Game Notes (pdf)
Owls Host UAB In Three-Game Weekend Series
The third-ranked Rice baseball team, 25-8 overall and tied for the lead in Conference USA with a 5-1 league record, returns home to Reckling Park to host new C-USA rival UAB in a three-game weekend series at home Apr. 7-9. Game times with the Blazers are 7 pm on Friday, 2 pm on Saturday and 1 pm Sunday... The Owls are back home for the first time in over 10 days. Rice played, and won, five consecutive games on the road from Mar. 29 to Apr. 4.
Win Streak At Seven In A Row
Rice has won seven games in a row. The Owls won a season-best eight in a row from Feb. 19 to Mar. 4.
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). A direct link to the audio feed is provided at the "Listen Here" link listed above. Mike Pede, Matt McCabe, Dan Perez and Ryan Black, are mic-side for the baseball action this season.
This Week's Highest National Ranking
With six (and now seven) wins in a row, Rice moved up to third 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 Owls are fourth in Baseball America and the Sports Weekly/ESPN/ABCA coaches poll, and seventh in Collegiate Baseball... Rice is third according to the Internet site The Rosenblatt Report. The team was number one by The Rosenblatt Report to start the season, dropped to number two on Mar. 13 and reclaimed the top spot on Mar. 20... The Owls are 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 continue through June 30, 2006. Check out the respective national polls on-line....
Baseball America
Sports Weekly/ESPN/ABCA coaches poll
the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA)
Collegiate Baseball
The Rosenblatt Report
Weekend Games On OwlVision
All three 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 on the Rice web site. All home C-USA series are slated to appear on OwlVision.
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 652-265 with the Owls (402-91 at home, 193-140 in road games and 57-34 at neutral sites). His overall winning percentage is .711, the best in school history. Another way of looking at Graham's .711 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 UAB... 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.
1,227 Wins
Wayne Graham owns 651 career wins at Rice, but he also has 1,227 victories in his collegiate coaching career. Graham's career record is 1,227-378 in a 25-year career that began at San Jacinto College in 1981.
Rice Rotation: Degerman & Crow Scheduled To Start First Two C-USA Games; Sunday TBA
Wayne Graham has announced starters for the first two games of the UAB series as junior Eddie Degerman (rhp) and junior Craig Crow (rhp). Sunday's starter has not been announced as of press time... Degerman has backed up his pre-season all-America status with some eye-opening results. He is 6-0 with a 0.98 ERA in eight starts. This season the standout from Granada Hills, Calif., has allowed an average of 4.7 hits and 3.1 walks with 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings of work. Degerman has held 194 batters faced to a composite .149 batting average. For his Rice career, Degerman is 15-2 with a 2.50 ERA and 232 strikeouts in 180.1 innings... While Degerman and Savery have garnered the preseason all-America consideration, Crow has worked his way into the weekend rotation with solid outings. Crow is 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA in 12 appearances, including five starting assignments. The New Braunfels native has struck out 40 batters in 36.2 frames for an average of 9.8 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.
Previous Game: Owls Thump Texas A&M 11-6 On The Road Tuesday Night
Sophomore Danny Lehmann blasted his first career grand slam to ignite an 11-run attack, but the Owls had to stop a Texas A&M rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to hang on for an 11-6 win over the Aggies and wrap up a stretch of five-consecutive road games Tuesday night in College Station... The Owls exploded for five runs in the top of the second inning when each of the first six batters reached base safely. Josh Rodriguez led off with a single and Kenny Ford was hit by pitch. A wild pitch advanced both into scoring position for Bobby Bramhall and the College Station native responded with a single into center. Rodriguez scored easily but Ford was retired on a play at the plate. Bramhall move to third on a double to left by Brian Friday and Jordan Dodson walked to load the bases for sophomore Danny Lehmann. Lehmann drove a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall for his first career grand slam. The blast gave the Owls a big 5-0 lead and helped quiet an Aggie crowd of 4,423 at Olsen Field... Texas A&M came right back with three runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 5-3. The Owls made a move and brought in sophomore Will McDaniel out of the bullpen and never looked back... McDaniel worked out of the bases-loaded, one out, jam with a strikeout and fly out. He then proceeded to hold A&M in check for the next five innings, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out four. With McDaniel in a groove, his teammates added two more runs in fourth, seventh and eighth innings for 11 runs on 11 hits. Sophomore Joe Savery drove in both Rice runs with a single up the middle in the fourth. A double by Rodriguez in the seventh scored two more to stretch the margin to 9-3... Texas A&M got a run back in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff double by Stouffer and RBI single. It was the only run McDaniel allowed after retiring 10 of 11 in one stretch... The Owls answered with two more runs in the top of the eighth. A hit batter, a walk and a single loaded the bases and Savery drew a walk for the team's tenth run of the game. Rodriguez drove a sacrifice fly to right to stretch the margin to 11-4... McDaniel left after the seventh with what looked like a comfortable seven-run lead, but A&M had other ideas. In the bottom of the ninth a one-out double and a pair of singles scored a run. A hit batter and single through the left side scored another to make it 11-6 with the bases loaded and only one away. The tying run was on deck and the fans were coming alive... After work by Daniel Cooper and Trey Sperring, Rice turned to sophomore right-hander Bobby Bell in the bullpen. As he did three days before at Tulane, Bell calmly picked up his fourth save of the season. He induced a round-the-horn double play, Rodriguez -to-Buchanan-to-Savery, to end the game... The Owls improved to 25-8 on the season with the team's seventh win in a row. Texas A&M fell to 18-14 on the year.
Owls On Top Of The C-USA Standings
Rice is in a tie for first place in Conference USA standings. The Owls share the league lead with crosstown rival Houston (19-13 overall and 5-1 C-USA). Rice and UH both have a one game lead on Southern Miss (4-2). C-USA newcomer UCF (2-1) has an identical win percentage as Southern Miss (.667), but trails the leaders by 1.5 games. Memphis is hanging tough with a 3-3 league record. This is the same Memphis team that has already beaten Southern Miss and Tulane, not to mention non-conference powers Alabama, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.
Most Wins Club
Rice has the most wins (25) and fewest losses (8) of any team in Conference USA. Only three teams in the country - Old Dominion (29), Florda State (28), and South Carolina (26) have more wins than Rice. Four other teams (North Carolina, North Carolina State Virginia and West Virginia) also have matched Rice's 25 wins.
Here's Who's Hot
Sophomore shortstop Brian Friday is 13-of-30 (.433) with seven runs, three doubles and two steals. Friday has also had three sacrifice hits in the last five games... Senior second baseman Greg Buchanan is 11-for-28 (.393) with five RBI and seven runs in his last seven games. Defensively, Buchanan has not made a fielding error in his last 63 chances in the field. Buchanan made only two errors in 139 total chances (.986) and he's turned or started 20 of the Owls' 27 double plays... Sophomore Joe Savery is 5-of-9 (.556) with five RBI, two runs scored, two doubles and a home run at spacious Zephyr Field... In the last six games sophomore centerfielder Tyler Henley is 7-for-21 (.333) with two home runs, a triple, seven RBI and nine runs scored. His slugging percentage since Mar. 26 is .714 and his on-base percentage is .444.
Take A Closer Look
The Owls have eight losses, but a closer look at that figure is in order. Seven of the team's eight losses were to teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Six are to teams that were ranked when Rice faced them and four of the losses are to the two most-recent NCAA champions... Each of the team's last four losses have all been by just one run. In those four one-run losses, the Owls surrendered the winning run in the opponents' final inning three times. Stop the rallies in the last four one-run losses and the Owls are suddenly 28-4 and winners of 15 games in a row.
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.
T.G.I.F.
Sophomore shortstop Brian Friday`s great start has been a boost to the team. Friday is hitting .349 with 29 runs scored in 33 games. A year ago, Friday the freshman hit .256 and he had an .876 fielding percentage. In 2006 Friday is hitting almost 100 points higher and he is fielding 70 points higher. The Houston native already has more doubles and runs that he did all last season... Friday now has an extended eight-game hitting streak that he didn't have before. On April 3, Tulane notified Rice and Conference USA of a scoring change in the March 31 game where a previous fielder's choice ruling in the top of the ninth inning would be adjusted to a base hit. The change, plus a base hit at Texas A&M Tuesday, means Friday has hit safely in eight games heading into this weekend...
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 327 strikeouts in 33 games, an average 9.91 per contest. The staff has fanned 10 or more hitters in a game 18 times. Six different pitchers 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 eight in strikeouts... Degerman fanned a team-best 11 in his start against Oklahoma (Feb. 17)... St.Clair has 60 K's in 39 innings of work, an average of 13.8 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
This & That
Rice's record is four games ahead of team's record from the same point a year ago (21-12)... The Owls are 20-1 when out-hitting the opponent, 19-0 when holding the opposition to two or fewer runs and 13-0 when scoring in the first inning... Rice pitchers have not allowed a home run in the last 104.2 innings... Rice batters were hit by a pitch five times Tuesday night at Texas A&M to tie a season high... The Owls tied season highs in steals (5) and walks allowed Sunday (8) at Tulane... Sophomore Danny Lehmann's four RBI Tuesday night at Texas A&M tied a career-high. Lehmann also drove in four runs at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Mar. 12... Rice pitchers have combined for a 1.17 ERA in six C-USA games. The Owls have held 191 C-USA hitters to a composite .168 batting average.
Quick On The Opposition
UAB enters the weekend with a 13-17 record and a 0-3 C-USA ledger. The Blazers bats a composite .276, averages a steady 5.5 runs per contest and has converted on 33-of-42 stolen base attempts (79 percent). UAB lost a heartbreaker at rival Alabama Wednesday night, 4-3. The Blazers have already defeated state rival South Alabama 3-2 and crosstown rivals Birmingham Southern 3-2 and Samford 10-5.
