Owls Host Marshall In C-USA Weekend Series
4/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 16, 2009
Rice Ticket Page
Rice Baseball Promotions page
The Rice baseball team (25-9 overall and tied for first place in Conference USA standings with a 9-3 league record) hosts C-USA foe Marshall in a three-game weekend series Friday-Sunday (Apr. 17-19). Game times with the Thundering Herd are set for 6:30 pm, 2 pm and 12 Noon, respectively. The weekend games are the Owls' last home-action until April 29 (Wed.)... Friday's C-USA-opener marks the long-awaited return of the "Dollar-Dog Night". Hot dogs at Reckling Park will cost just $ 1 while supplies last. The unofficial record for $1-dogs consumed is believed to be held by Rice assistant soccer coach Justin Zoslow.
Easy Links
This week's schedule with easy-links to the live stats/audio features is as follows.
Apr. 17 (Fri.), 6:30 pm, Marshall at Rice
Watch the game live on OwlVision
Internet (only) Listen Here
Game promotion: Dollar-Dog Night! Hot dogs are $1 while supplies last.
Apr. 18 (Sat.), 2 pm, Marshall at Rice
Watch the game live on OwlVision
Internet (only) Listen Here
Game promotion: Trading card give-away set No. 3 of 5. This set includes Andrew Benak, Ryan Berry, Jess Buenger and Jimmy Comerota.
Apr. 19 (Sun.), 12 Noon, Marshall at Rice
Watch the game live on OwlVision
KTRU Radio (91.7 FM) Listen Here
Game promotion: Trading card give-away set No. 4 of 5. This set includes Diego Seastrunk, Doug Simmons, Steven Sultzbaugh and Taylor Wall.
Sunday Family Pack: A family of four gets four general admission tickets plus food and drink vouchers for only $40.
Kids get to take the field: All kids in attendance get to take the field with the Owls for the national anthem and run the bases one time after the game (weather permitting).
Fun At The Old Ball Yard
No baseball season would be complete without a full slate of promotional dates, and the 2009 Rice season is no exception. Each Sunday of the home season, the Owls will offer a special Family Pack, which allows a family of four to buy four general admission tickets, and receive vouchers for four drinks and four food items from the Prince's concession stands for just $40. Also on Sunday's, another Rice tradition will continue, as all kids in attendance will be able to take the field with the Owls for the National Anthem, as well as run the bases one time after the game. Recently, the Honorary Millionth Fan was recognized at Reckling Park. There has been the inaugural "THINK GREEN" game held on St. Patrick's Day. Dollar-Dogs and more trading card give-ways are all happening this week. A lot of kids have found that having their birthday with the Owls is a unique and fun party idea.
Audio Broadcasts
Every Rice baseball game is broadcast live around the world on the Internet at RiceOwls.com and KTRU.org. A direct connection to the audio feed is provided at the above links. Note that Sunday's 12 noon game against Marshall is scheduled for a live radio broadcast in the Houston area on KTRU (91.7 FM). J.P. Heath has the call for the Owls this season.
Live Stats On GameTracker
Live play-by-play text and statistics from every Rice game will be posted on RiceOwls.com. Look for the GameTracker links on either the Rice Athletics front page, the weekly series preview or the baseball schedule page.
National Ranking Update • Rice No. 1 by Rivals.com
At press time the latest polls from Rivals.com had the Owls as the No. 1 team in the nation. Six different polls all have Rice in the Top 4. The 2009 national ranking roll call is as follows....
Rivals.com 1st
Baseball America 2nd
PingBaseball.com 3rd
Collegiate Baseball 3rd
NCBWA 3rd
USA Today/ESPN Coaches 4th
PG Crosschecker.com 9th
Why so high? The polls are paying attention, that's why. Rice is 8-2 against ranked teams, including four wins against foes that were in the Top 10 at the time. Two wins were against Texas A&M and Texas teams that were rated No. 1 in the nation at the time. The Owls have also defeated a host of quality opponents that played in the NCAA Tournament last season - East Carolina (twice), Houston (twice), Dallas Baptist (twice), Southern Miss (twice) and UCLA... A closer look at the team's nine losses is also in order. Two of the losses were on the road on the opening weekend of the season against a Cal Poly team that is now ranked among the nation's Top 25 teams. Three other losses were to nationally-ranked Texas A&M, San Diego and East Carolina, and two were to '08 NCAA Tournament teams Oral Roberts and Sam Houston State. Four of the team's losses were by a narrow two (or-fewer) runs.
Head Coach Wayne Graham
Four-time national coach of the year and Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Graham (Texas, 1970) is in his 18th season at Rice... In the 4-3 win over Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on March 20th, Coach Graham reached another career milestone. He won his 800th game at the helm of the Rice program... He is now 812-308 with the Owls (496-105 at home, 243-158 in road games and 73-45 at neutral sites). His Rice winning percentage is .725, the best in school history. Another way of looking at Graham's .725 win percentage is that it is the equivalent of a major league team winning 117 games in a single year - then winning 117 games a year for 17+ years in a row... Graham's record against Marshall is 9-0 (3-0 home, 6-0 road) against Marshall... Under Graham, the Owls clinched another postseason bid in 2008, making 14-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. He won the C-USA regular season crowns in 2006, 2007 and 2008, as well as the C-USA tournament championships in `06 and `07. Rice has advanced into the NCAA tournament in 1995-96-97-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-05-06-07-08... Graham was named the WAC Coach of the Year in 1998, '99, '02 and the Co-Coach of the Year in '03. He was named the Keith LeClair C-USA Coach of the Year in `06, his first year in the league, and again in `07 and `08... Rice has seven appearances in the NCAA College World Series under Graham (1997, '99, `02, `03, `06, `07, `08)... 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, 12 weeks in 2006 and five weeks in `07... 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... He was named the 2007 Division I college Coach of the Year by FieldTurf... 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; ninth year), David Pierce (Houston, 1988; seventh year), Patrick Hallmark (Rice, 1995; fourth year)... The program's "new dads" coach the bases on game-days: Taylor coaches at third base this year while Hallmark coaches at first base.
1,387 Wins • A Baseball Odyssey
Wayne Graham owns 812 career wins at Rice, but his career victories tally to 1,387 when you include his 11 years at San Jacinto North College where he won five national championships. Graham's overall collegiate record is 1,387-421 in a 28-year career that began in 1981.
One More Thing To Consider
To help place Coach Graham's achievements in perspective, consider that Rice started its baseball program in 1913 and in the 76 seasons where there are verified won-loss records (Rice is missing a few W-L totals from those early days), the Owls won a total of 838 games. In the 17+ years since 1992 when Graham was named the head coach, the Owls have won 812 games. It's only taken Graham 17+ years to accomplish what it took the program more than three-quarters of a century to do before he got here.
Probable Pitchers
Probable pitching match-ups have been named for the first two games of the series vs. Marshall. The probable starters for Sunday's game will be announced at a later time... Freshman southpaw Taylor Wall is scheduled to start for the Blue & Gray on Friday, followed by right-hander Mike Ojala (2-0, 1.43) on Saturday... Wall (4-3, 4.07) has been in Owls' weekend rotation since the season began at Cal Poly, and he now leads the staff in games started (8). The Houston prep star from Westside High School has continued to improve over the course of the season. Wall averages a steady 5.2 innings per start with 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Wall has held opposing batters to a composite .265 average... Ojala returned to the mound last Sunday (Apr. 12) at East Carolina and was sensational in earning his second win of the season. The Kingwood native scattered four hits and two walks over 5.0 innings while striking out 10. The outing was O's first since a start at Southern Miss on March 20. Ojala will be striving for his 10th career win at Rice (without any losses) on Saturday afternoon... Marshall announced its starting pitchers as right-hander Dan Straily (3-0, 2.86) and left-hander Greg Williams (1-2, 7.71).
Fast Pace
Rice has its best record (25-9) through this point in the season (34 games) in three years. The 2009 Owls are off to a better start than any of the previous two teams ('08, '07) that both advanced to the College World Series in Omaha. The '09 squad has the best record since the 2006 team also began the year 26-8.
Jordan Rogers On Stopper of the Year Watch List
IRVING, Texas - On Thursday (Apr. 16) Rice senior right-hander Jordan Rogers was named to the 45-man midseason watch list for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award as the nation's top collegiate baseball reliever. Rogers has emerged as the stopper for the nationally-ranked Owls. The Dayton, Tex., navtive leads Conference USA in saves with six and tops Rice in victories with five. In 18 appearances, Rogers is 5-2 with a 3.37 ERA. He has struck out 35 batters and walked just 14 in 34.2 innings pitched... At the end the regular season, the Division I leader in saves and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as the award's finalists. These finalists will be released on Wednesday, June 3, just prior to the beginning of NCAA regional play. From the list of finalists, the NCBWA's All-America Committee will select a winner. The fourth annual winner will be announced on Saturday, June 13, just prior to the beginning of the College World Series.
Here's Who's Hot
Not only is true freshman sensation Anthony Rendon hitting at a .500 clip over the last week. On Tuesday night (April 14) vs. Texas A&M, the young star from Houston's Lamar High School had his seventh career game with three or more hits... Another true freshman, Craig Manuel, has worked his way into five consecutive starts as either the catcher or designated hitter. Manuel is hitting at a .421 pace (8-for-19) over the last five games with seven RBI and three walks... Junior second baseman Brock Holt is batting .393 (11-for-28) over the last six games with two home runs and two doubles for a .679 slugging percentage.He also has six RBI and six runs scored in the six games. Holt is an outstanding leadoff batter who has maintained a .462 on-base percentage in the last five games... Junior first baseman Jimmy Comerota has been getting hits in bunches. Comerota is 9-for-25 (.360) with a triple and two doubles for a .520 slugging percentage. He also has two walks and has been hit by a pitch for a .429 on-base percentage. He has scored six times in the last six games... Junior outfielder Steven Sultzbaugh is in a .313 hitting groove. The Austin native is 5-for-16 with a triple, four runs scored, and three RBI in his last four games.
Freshman Home Runs
On April 4 rookie Anthony Rendon slugged his team-leading 9th and 10th home runs of the season in the Owls' 12-7 win over Tulane. The two-homer day was the second of Rendon's young, 34-game career. It also moved him into the top five on an impressive list of Owl freshman who have hit at least 10 home runs in their debut season at the Division I level... The Rice freshman home run leaders are: Aaron Luna (2006-2008), a ninth-round draft pick by the St. Louis Cardinals last summer. Jose Cruz, Jr., who had 13 homers as a freshman in 1993 and went on to play a dozen years in the major leagues is second on the list. The third-place Owl on the frosh homer list, Bubba Crosby, ended up (like Cruz, Jr.) being first-round pick in the major league draft who reached the major leagues. Vincent Sinisi was a redshirt freshman when he hit 11 round-trippers in 2002, helping the Owls to a CWS appearance that season. A year later Sinisi helped lead the Blue & Gray to the NCAA National Championship.
1. Aaron Luna 16, 2006
2. Jose Cruz, Jr. 13, 1993
3. Bubba Crosby 12, 1996
4. Vincent Sinisi 11, 2002
5. Anthony Rendon 10, 2009
Six Owls In "The Show" This Season
Congratulations to six former Owls who made the Opening Day rosters of major league teams. The 2009 Rice alums in the majors include David Aardsma (Mariners), Lance Berkman (Astros), Tim Byrdak (Astros), Philip Humber (Minnesota), Paul Janish (Cincinnati) and Jeff Niemann (Tampa Bay).
The C-USA Favorites
IRVING, Tex. - Led by the junior tandem of Ryan Berry and Diego Seastrunk and sophomore Rick Hague, the Rice baseball team was ranked first in a preseason poll of Conference USA's nine head coaches, the league office announced on Jan. 28. The three preseason honorees are the most in the conference from any one school. Last season Berry was an all-conference pitcher who led the team in strikeouts (86), starts (16) and innings (104). The 6-foot-1 right-hander from Humble, Tex., has been the ace of the Rice staff since he earned freshman all-America honors in 2007. Hague earned freshman all-America honors last season as the starting shortstop for the Owls' College World Series team. The standout from Spring, Tex., batted .348 in his Division I debut and .379 in the Blue & Gray's run through the NCAA Tournament. Seastrunk is such a respected switch-hitter around the league that the C-USA coaches voted him to the preseason all-conference team even though the former third-baseman is projected to start at a completely new position (catcher) in 2009. A year ago the Channelview, Tex., star led the team in hitting (.353) and finished among the C-USA's best in hits, doubles, RBI, total bases and sacrifice flies.
2009 PRESEASON BASEBALL COACHES POLL
(as selected by C-USA's head coaches)
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
Rank, School (First Place Votes) Pts.
1. Rice (9) 81
2. East Carolina 67
3. Southern Miss 62
4. Tulane 55
5. Houston 49
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nate Lape, Marshall (Sr., Outfielder)
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Seth Maness, East Carolina (Soph., Righthander)
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
P Ryan Berry Jr. Rice
P Seth Maness So. East Carolina
P Wes Musick Jr. Houston
RP Chase Dempsay So. Houston
C Diego Seastrunk Jr. Rice
IF Brian Dozier Jr. Southern Miss
IF James Ewing Sr. Southern Miss
IF Rick Hague So. Rice
IF Seth Henry Sr. Tulane
IF Adam Yeager Sr. Marshall
OF Stephen Batts Jr. East Carolina
OF Brint Hardy Jr. UAB
OF Nate Lape Sr. Marshall
DH/UT Rob Segedin So. Tulane
Cooled By A Draft
A total of 11 Owls were selected in the 2008 Major League Baseball amateur draft, including junior right-hander Bryan Price as a first-round supplemental pick (the 45th player taken overall)... Bryan Price was taken by the Boston Red Sox organization in the supplemental round, the so called "sandwich" round between the draft's official first and second rounds. He was the first pitcher taken by the Red Sox, the defending World Series champions. Price was also the 13th right-handed pitcher taken overall. Six Rice juniors and four seniors were drafted last June... The total of eleven drafted players was three-off the Owls' school record of 14 draftees the team had taken in 2007.
Rnd Player Pos MLB Team
1A Bryan Price RHP Boston Red Sox
7 Cole St.Clair LHP Los Angeles Dodgers
7 Adam Zornes C San Diego Padres
9 Aaron Luna OF St. Louis Cardinals
11 Matt Langwell RHP Cleveland Indians
12 Jared Gayhart OF Detroit Tigers
18 Bobby Bell RHP Toronto Blue Jays
21 Lucas Luetge LHP Milwaukee Brewers
24 Chris Kelley RHP Washington Nationals
29 Jonathan Runnels LHP Los Angeles Dodgers
44 J.P. Padron 1B Washington Nationals
