Rice Hosts UCF This Weekend In Key C-USA Series
5/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 7, 2009
Rice Ticket Page
Rice Baseball Promotions page
The Rice baseball team, 31-12 overall and in sole possession of first place in Conference USA standings with a 13-5 league record, meets C-USA foe UCF in a critical three-game weekend series Friday-Sunday (May 8-10) at Reckling Park. Game times with the Knights (18-30 overall, 6-12 C-USA) are 6:30 pm, 2 pm and 1 pm, respectively. The Owls must take advantage of the current homestand because first place in the conference standings is still on the line... The final Rice home game of the regular season is Tuesday (May 12) against Louisiana-Lafayette. First pitch with the Ragin' Cajuns is 6:30 pm. All the games from this point are sure to have Regional-implications.
There's Even More To Look Forward To At Reckling Park
The Rice games are always great fun and a great value, but there's even more to look forward to at Reckling Park this weekend. Friday is the Owls' Military Appreciation Day with discount admission for service members (with military I.D.). The Owl players will wear special camouflage jerseys. The U.S. colors will be presented by the Rice University ROTC. A musician from Buglers Across America will perform military numbers. Saturday is Junior Owl Day and the final trading card give-away. Sunday is the Rice Senior Day and Mother's Day. 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. A lot of kids have found that having their birthday with the Owls is a unique and fun party idea... Other popular Reckling Park promotions this year were "Cinco De Mayo" held last Tuesday, the inaugural "Think Green" game held on St. Patrick's Day, recognition of the Honorary Millionth Fan, Dollar-Hot Dogs and various baseball cap give-aways.
This Week
This week's schedule with game promotions and easy-links to the live stats/audio features is as follows.
- May 8 (Fri.), 6:30 pm, UCF at Rice
Watch the game live on OwlVision
KTRU Radio (91.7 FM) Listen Here
Game promotions: Military Appreciation Night - discount admission for service members; The Owls will wear camouflage jerseys. U.S. colors presented by the Rice University ROTC. A musician from Buglers Across America will perform military numbers.
- May 9 (Sat.), 2 pm, UCF at Rice
Watch the game live on OwlVision
KTRU Radio (91.7 FM) Listen Here
Game promotion: Junior Owl Day; Trading card give-away set No. 5 of 5. This set includes Matt Evers, Anthony Fazio, Michael Fuda & Head Coach Wayne Graham.
- May 10 (Sun.), 1 pm, UCF at Rice (Senior Day Presentation)
Watch the game live on OwlVision
KTRU Radio (91.7 FM) Listen Here
Sunday Family Pack: A family of four gets four general admission tickets plus food and drink vouchers for only $40.
Storybook Sunday: A Rice student-athlete will read a book to all kids in attendance 30 minutes prior to game time (12:30 pm).
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).
Audio Broadcasts • Catch The Owls On KTRU The Rest of the Season
Every Rice baseball game for the rest of the season will be broadcast live on the radio in the Houston area on KTRU (91.7 FM). Every Rice baseball game is also 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. Veteran broadcaster J.P. Heath has the Rice call the rest of the 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. 2 by Rivals.com, Baseball America
At press time the latest polls from Rivals.com and Baseball America both had the Owls as the No. 2 team in the nation. Six different polls all have Rice in the Top 5. The 2009 national ranking roll call is as follows....
Rivals.com 2nd
Baseball America 2nd
NCBWA 3rd
PingBaseball.com 3rd
USA Today/ESPN Coaches 3rd
PG Crosschecker.com 5th
Collegiate Baseball 7th
Why so high? The polls are paying attention, that's why. Rice is 9-2 against ranked teams, including five wins against foes that were in the Top 10 at the time. Two wins were against teams that were rated No. 1 in the nation at the time (Texas A&M and Texas). The Owls have also defeated a host of quality opponents that played in the NCAA Tournament last season - Texas (twice), East Carolina (twice), Dallas Baptist (twice), Southern Miss (twice), UCLA and Houston (four times)... A closer look at the team's 12 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 another two were to '08 NCAA Tournament teams Oral Roberts and Sam Houston State. Four of the team's 11 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 818-311 with the Owls (498-107 at home, 246-159 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 UCF is 12-2 (5-1 home, 5-1 road, 2-0 neutral)... 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.
1,393 Wins • A Baseball Odyssey
Wayne Graham owns 818 career wins at Rice, but his career victories tally to 1,393 when you include his 11 years at San Jacinto North College where he won five national championships. Graham's overall collegiate record is 1,393-424 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 818 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.
Hail Seniors!
Three Rice seniors will be honored for their outstanding support and leadership before the start of Sunday's game against UCF. The senior honorees include players Jess Buenger and Jordan Rogers, and student athletic-trainer Chris Clayton.
Sole Possession, Again
Rice is in sole possession of first place in the Conference USA standings, but in a rugged battle trying to hold-off two challengers for the top spot. East Carolina is one game back in the standings with a 12-6 C-USA record. Houston is two games back with an 11-7 conference ledger. Those two teams meet in a C-USA series at UH this weekend... The Owls have won 12-straight C-USA series dating back to last season. Since its first Conference USA baseball season in the spring of 2006, Rice's regular-season record in C-USA league games is 78-12 (.867).
Previous Rice Outing • Owls Fall To Texas State 4-1 Tuesday Night
HOUSTON -- The Texas State baseball team scored two runs in the top of the first inning and that was all the Bobcat pitching tandem of Garret Carruth and Tyler Brundridge needed for a 4-1 victory over Tuesday evening at Reckling Park... Rice retired the first two batters of the game, but Texas State rallied for two runs on a hit batsman and three-straight base hits from the middle of the Bobcat order to take a 2-0 lead... The Owls had the bases loaded in the first and runners on first and third in the third, but could not convert the opportunities into runs. In the fourth, Micheal Fuda knocked a pitch to right field corner and hustled for his eighth double of the season. He scored on Ryan Lewis base hit to cut the margin to a run, 2-1... Texas State came right back with two runs in the top of the fifth. Keith Prestridge, Spenser Dennis and Ben Theriot all had consecutive singles for the first score. The Owls walked two more to force in the second run for a 4-1 Bobcat lead... Carruth left with the lead in seventh and was replaced by Brundridge. The hurlers held Rice to seven hits, but three were for extra bases by Fuda, Rick Hague and Anthony Rendon. Hague and Rendon both paced the Owls with two hits each. The Owl infielders were steady in turning four double plays... Rice moved to 31-12 on the season. Texas State improved to 34-12 overall.
Here's Who's Hot
Sophomore leftfielder Michael Fuda has had fans on the edge of their seat recently with a .531 hitting spree in a nine-game hitting streak. The standout from Katy, Tex., is 17-for-his-last-32 with a home run, two triples and three doubles for an .844 slugging percentage. He has also draw four walks for a .583 on-base percentage and scored nine times... True freshman Anthony Rendon enters the UCF series on a .405 hitting pace by going 15-for-37 in his last 10 games. In that time the young star from Houston's Lamar High School has smashed five home runs and three doubles for an .892 slugging percentage. He's also scored 11 runs in his last 10 games... Rick Hague is certainly worthy of a mention. In his last two outings Hague is 3-for-7 (.429) with two home runs a double for four RBI... Not only is sophomore Chad Mozingo back starting in right field after an injury, he's batting .400 (8-for-20) in his last seven games played. Despite the time away, Mozingo has knocked three doubles in his last seven games and surged into the team's doubles lead with 11. He was named the C-USA Hitter of the Week on May 4... True freshman Craig Manuel has worked his way into a regular starting role as either the catcher or designated hitter. Manuel is hitting at a .390 pace (16-for-41) over his last 12 games with 12 RBI and five walks for a .468 on-base percentage... Freshman outfielder Ryan Lewis is 5-for-his-last-13 (.385) with a double and three RBI. Lewis has recently drawn three walks and been hit by a pitch for a .529 on-base percentage...
Welcome Back
Last week Rice welcomed the return of junior right-hander Ryan Berry to the mound for the first time since Mar. 21. Berry pitched an inning in relief against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on April 29. He then went 5.0 innings in a start against Houston on May 2. For the week, Berry did not allow any earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out six. He held all opposing hitters to a composite .217 batting average... Berry is back, but that is only part of the returning-player news. Last week sophomore Chad Mozingo started for the first time since April 17 and batted a composite .467 in four starts. Senior Jess Buenger played for the first time since early March by making a pinch-hitting appearance against Houston.
Reaching Milestones
A couple of Owls reached career milestones over the weekend. Junior catcher Diego Seastrunk recorded the 200th hit of his collegiate career on Sunday (May 3). On Friday junior first baseman Jimmy Comerota reached the 100-hit barrier in this, his second full season as a starter. Junior shortstop Rick Hague hit two home runs Sunday to give him 100 career RBI. Hague now has 100 RBI in 102 career starts.
Their Country Is Calling
Sophomore shortstop Rick Hague and freshman third baseman Anthony Rendon are two of the first 17 invitees named to the 2009 USA Baseball National Team Trials to be held in Cary, North Carolina, June 15-24. The duo will have a chance to represent their country as members of Team USA in games against international competition later this summer. USA Baseball, the United States' governing body for international baseball competition, announced the first 17 of 36 eventual invitees to the 2009 National Team Trials. The Trials will be held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. The invitees will compete for a spot on the final 22-man roster to be announced on June 24. The most-recent Rice Owl to play for Team USA was right-handed pitcher Ryan Berry in the summer of 2007. Berry went 2-1 in seven appearances for the United States, including the Pan American Games held in Brazil.
Jordan Rogers On Stopper of the Year Watch List
IRVING, Texas - On April 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., native is among the C-USA leaders in saves with seven and leads the Rice staff in victories with seven. In 23 appearances, Rogers is 7-2 with a 3.35 ERA. He has struck out 43 batters and walked 21 in 43.0 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.
Freshman Home Runs
Rookie Anthony Rendon hit home runs in two of the weekend games against Houston for his team-leading 14th & 15th homers of the season. It also moved him into sole possession of second place on an impressive list of Owl freshman who have hit at least 11 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 and is now third on the list. The fourth-place Owl on the frosh homer list, Bubba Crosby, ended up (like Cruz, Jr.) being a first-round pick in the draft who reached the major leagues. Vincent Sinisi hit 11 round-trippers in his redshirt freshman season in 2002. A year later Sinisi helped lead the Blue & Gray to the NCAA National Championship... Rendon has twice hit two home runs in a single game. Here are the Rice frosh leaders for four-masters.
1. Aaron Luna 16, 2006
2. Anthony Rendon 15, 2009
3. Jose Cruz, Jr. 13, 1993
4. Bubba Crosby 12, 1996
5. Vincent Sinisi 11, 2002
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
