Friday, March 15
Boca Raton, FL
5:30 pm
Rice University
at
Florida Atlantic
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Baseball Opens C-USA Slate Friday At FAU
3/15/2019 12:04:00 AM | Baseball
First Pitch Friday Set For 5:30 PM Central Time
Listen online (pregame show 15 min. before start)
Rice Game Notes PDF
Mar. 15 (Fri.) 5:30 pm; Rice at FAU Watch online Live Stats
Mar. 16 (Sat.) 3 pm; Rice at FAU Watch online Live Stats
Mar. 17 (Sun.) 11 am; Rice at FAU Watch online Live Stats
(Start times listed are Central Time.)
C-USA Action Begins This Weekend
The Rice baseball team, 8-10 this season, begins Conference USA league play Friday (March 15) with a three-game weekend series at red hot Florida Atlantic. The series is Conference USA's annual "Owls vs. Owls" clash.
Watch League Games Online Via CUSAtv
All Conference USA league games are slated for a live online video broadcast via CUSAtv. The broadcast is a subscription-based service which matches the play-by-play audio with a video feed to create a television-like production on the Internet (either live or in an archived format). Games that have been selected for TV broadcasts can alter the online availability.
Play-By-Play Audio On The Web
Every Rice baseball game is scheduled for a live audio broadcast on the Internet at RiceOwls.com. Tune-in to the broadcast's pregame show 15 minutes before first pitch. Veteran J.P. Heath returns to the booth for his 11th season as the Voice of the Owls. Note that different broadcasters are scheduled to call some of the upcoming games until the completion of the respective Rice men's and women's basketball seasons.
Live Stats Links Online at RiceOwls.com
Links to live play-by-play text and statistics from every game, home and away, are posted on RiceOwls.com. Look for the links on the Rice Athletics front page, the weekly series preview, and/or the baseball schedule page.
Head Coach Matt Bragga
A 19-year veteran of the head coaching ranks, Matt Bragga was named the 21st head coach in Rice baseball history on June 15, 2018. Bragga has spent the last 15 years as the Head Coach at Tennessee Tech, building that program into one of the best in the Ohio Valley Conference. The four-time OVC Coach of the Year led the Golden Eagles to three NCAA Tournament appearances, winning six OVC championships in the past 10 years while winning 40 or more games in four of the past six seasons. In 2018 he helped Tennessee Tech to its best season in school history, amassing a school and OVC-record 53 wins, the most in the country, while leading the team to the league's regular season title and its first-ever trip to the NCAA Super Regionals. The Jefferson, Ohio, native who played collegiately at Kentucky before a pro playing career, owns a Division I coaching record of 454-403-2. Bragga is aided by assistant coaches Cory Barton (Memphis, 2007, first year), Paul Janish (Rice, 2004; second year), and Connor Teykl (Rice, 2017; first year).
Two Owls Coaching On The Corners
There are two former Rice Owls on Matt Bragga's 2019 coaching staff. Former major leaguer and 2003 Rice National Champion Paul Janish is in his second year with the program. Janish (Wiess College) played professionally for 13 years with nine seasons in the major leagues, most recently in 2017 with the Baltimore Orioles. Rice graduate Connor Teykl (Baker College 2017) is in his first season as an assistant coach at his alma mater. As a four-year letterman from 2013 to 2016, Teykl helped lead the Rice baseball program to three Conference USA regular season championships and two league tournament titles. On game days Janish coaches at third base and Teykl coaches at first.
Probable Pitchers
Coach Bragga announced Rice's starting pitchers for the FAU series as Matt Canterino (1-2, 1.50), Evan Kravetz (1-1, 4.35), and Jackson Parthasarathy (2-2, 2.05). The veteran trio have been the same weekend starters since the opening series vs. Rhode Island.
• Now a two-year letterman in 2019, Matt Canterino has garnered a host of preseason attention in college baseball circles. The junior right-hander has been voted the Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year by the league head coaches, a preseason All-American by Baseball America and the baseball writers (NCBWA), and to the initial watch list for the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur player in the country. Last summer Canterino was selected to pitch for the United States collegiate national team and he was later the winning pitcher of the Cape Cod League All-Star game. The Southlake, Texas, native was a prep star at Carroll H.S. and has been the Owls' Friday night ace almost his entire career. He notched his first victory last weekend with 6.0 innings against Big 12 power Oklahoma. Canterino could have used some offensive support the week before that at Minute Maid Park when he was tagged with a loss despite allowing just one run (which was unearned) in 7.0 innings of work. At Rice he has posted 257 career strikeouts in 214.0 innings.
• In the opening weekend of the season Evan Kravetz made an (almost) unexpected start on the mound when junior right-hander Addison Moss was a late scratch from the lineup. All Kravetz did was fire a career-high 10 strikeouts while matching a (then) career long 5.0 innings of work. Two weeks ago at Minute Maid Park the senior left-hander battled for a win over No. 12 ranked Baylor by striking out nine in a new career long 6.2 innings. Kravetz enters the weekend series as the staff leader in strikeouts (33). He has been averaging 14.4 strikeouts per 9.0 innings of work. A year ago the Miami, Fla., native led the Owls and finished sixth in the conference in pitching appearances.
• Consider that when head coach Matt Bragga first arrived at Rice all the players on the roster were essentially new to him, and all the Owls were given an equal opportunity to play their way into a starting role for 2019. After the fall training program and preseason practices it was senior Jackson Parthasarathy who worked his way into one of the top three starting pitching spots for the opening weekend. The senior right-hander has been sound and solid in four starts this season, maintaining a 2.05 ERA and holding opponents to a composite .190 batting average. Parthasarathy has long been a dependable pitching option against elite opponents. A year ago 64.7 percent of his innings (25.0 of his 38.2) were against teams that went on to play in the NCAA Tournament.
That's 19 Games In 26 Days
Rice has finished an early portion of the schedule that featured playing 19 games in a 26-day span. As of March 13 (Wed.) Rice shared the Division I lead in games played with Florida, Texas and Texas A&M.
Last Time Out: Texas State Defeats Rice Wednesday 5-0
Visiting Texas State defeated the Rice baseball team 5-0 Wednesday evening at Reckling Park to conclude a six-game homestand. Rice had nine base hits and left 11 runners on base in the contest, but never seemed to get the big hit. The Owls twice battled back to load the bases with two outs in an inning only to have Texas State escape trouble both times. The Blue & Gray were 8-of-16 when batting with two away, but the team could have benefitted by getting the rallies started earlier in innings. Individually Bradley Gneiting went 2-for-5 to extended his hitting streak to five games and register his team-leading 11th multi-hit game. Cade Edwards notched his seventh muti-hit game to raise his season average to .310. Senior Daniel Russell made his first career defensive appearance when he moved behind the plate for starter Justin Collins in the top of the first inning. Russell caught the entire game and tallied the third base hit of his career in the third. Three Owl pitchers saw action. Junior Garrett Gayle pitched a career long 4.1 innings in his first collegiate start. Sophomore Drake Greenwood also worked a career long with 3.2 innings. Freshman A.C. Plum struck out three in a scoreless frame.
Winning Is Always In Fashion
For the fashion-minded, Rice's 2019 W-L records while wearing the various uniforms is as follows:
1-0 in blue 'flag' jersey with pinstripe pants
1-0 in blue 'flag' jersey with white pants
4-3 in blue Old English jersey with pinstripe pants
1-3 in all-white
1-4 in all-pinstripes
0-1 in blue Old English jersey with white pants
Matt Bragga Show To Debut On March 18 (Monday)
The Matt Bragga Show, the live weekly Rice baseball show featuring the Owls' new head coach, is scheduled to make its debut on March 18 at Christian's Tailgate Bar & Grill (located close to campus at 5114 Kirby). The show is available around the world on RiceOwls.com. Coach Bragga reviews games from the previous weekend and previews upcoming series. In addition to discussions on college baseball's national rankings and chase for the C-USA championship, each week's show will include current members of the team, former Owl players and special guests. Fans can catch the show on their phone by downloading the "Tune In" app. The show is a unique opportunity for baseball fans to get direct insight from the Owls' head coach.
20th Year At Reckling Park
Other schools have tried to follow Rice baseball's lead, building bigger and more expensive stadiums, but Reckling Park remains among the best venues in college baseball. The 2019 season is now the Owls' 20th at the stadium. Rice has won an eye-opening 76 percent of its more than 630 games at Reckling Park since opening for the 2000 season.
Rice Game Notes PDF
Mar. 15 (Fri.) 5:30 pm; Rice at FAU Watch online Live Stats
Mar. 16 (Sat.) 3 pm; Rice at FAU Watch online Live Stats
Mar. 17 (Sun.) 11 am; Rice at FAU Watch online Live Stats
(Start times listed are Central Time.)
C-USA Action Begins This Weekend
The Rice baseball team, 8-10 this season, begins Conference USA league play Friday (March 15) with a three-game weekend series at red hot Florida Atlantic. The series is Conference USA's annual "Owls vs. Owls" clash.
Watch League Games Online Via CUSAtv
All Conference USA league games are slated for a live online video broadcast via CUSAtv. The broadcast is a subscription-based service which matches the play-by-play audio with a video feed to create a television-like production on the Internet (either live or in an archived format). Games that have been selected for TV broadcasts can alter the online availability.
Play-By-Play Audio On The Web
Every Rice baseball game is scheduled for a live audio broadcast on the Internet at RiceOwls.com. Tune-in to the broadcast's pregame show 15 minutes before first pitch. Veteran J.P. Heath returns to the booth for his 11th season as the Voice of the Owls. Note that different broadcasters are scheduled to call some of the upcoming games until the completion of the respective Rice men's and women's basketball seasons.
Live Stats Links Online at RiceOwls.com
Links to live play-by-play text and statistics from every game, home and away, are posted on RiceOwls.com. Look for the links on the Rice Athletics front page, the weekly series preview, and/or the baseball schedule page.
Head Coach Matt Bragga
A 19-year veteran of the head coaching ranks, Matt Bragga was named the 21st head coach in Rice baseball history on June 15, 2018. Bragga has spent the last 15 years as the Head Coach at Tennessee Tech, building that program into one of the best in the Ohio Valley Conference. The four-time OVC Coach of the Year led the Golden Eagles to three NCAA Tournament appearances, winning six OVC championships in the past 10 years while winning 40 or more games in four of the past six seasons. In 2018 he helped Tennessee Tech to its best season in school history, amassing a school and OVC-record 53 wins, the most in the country, while leading the team to the league's regular season title and its first-ever trip to the NCAA Super Regionals. The Jefferson, Ohio, native who played collegiately at Kentucky before a pro playing career, owns a Division I coaching record of 454-403-2. Bragga is aided by assistant coaches Cory Barton (Memphis, 2007, first year), Paul Janish (Rice, 2004; second year), and Connor Teykl (Rice, 2017; first year).
Two Owls Coaching On The Corners
There are two former Rice Owls on Matt Bragga's 2019 coaching staff. Former major leaguer and 2003 Rice National Champion Paul Janish is in his second year with the program. Janish (Wiess College) played professionally for 13 years with nine seasons in the major leagues, most recently in 2017 with the Baltimore Orioles. Rice graduate Connor Teykl (Baker College 2017) is in his first season as an assistant coach at his alma mater. As a four-year letterman from 2013 to 2016, Teykl helped lead the Rice baseball program to three Conference USA regular season championships and two league tournament titles. On game days Janish coaches at third base and Teykl coaches at first.
Probable Pitchers
Coach Bragga announced Rice's starting pitchers for the FAU series as Matt Canterino (1-2, 1.50), Evan Kravetz (1-1, 4.35), and Jackson Parthasarathy (2-2, 2.05). The veteran trio have been the same weekend starters since the opening series vs. Rhode Island.
• Now a two-year letterman in 2019, Matt Canterino has garnered a host of preseason attention in college baseball circles. The junior right-hander has been voted the Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year by the league head coaches, a preseason All-American by Baseball America and the baseball writers (NCBWA), and to the initial watch list for the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur player in the country. Last summer Canterino was selected to pitch for the United States collegiate national team and he was later the winning pitcher of the Cape Cod League All-Star game. The Southlake, Texas, native was a prep star at Carroll H.S. and has been the Owls' Friday night ace almost his entire career. He notched his first victory last weekend with 6.0 innings against Big 12 power Oklahoma. Canterino could have used some offensive support the week before that at Minute Maid Park when he was tagged with a loss despite allowing just one run (which was unearned) in 7.0 innings of work. At Rice he has posted 257 career strikeouts in 214.0 innings.
• In the opening weekend of the season Evan Kravetz made an (almost) unexpected start on the mound when junior right-hander Addison Moss was a late scratch from the lineup. All Kravetz did was fire a career-high 10 strikeouts while matching a (then) career long 5.0 innings of work. Two weeks ago at Minute Maid Park the senior left-hander battled for a win over No. 12 ranked Baylor by striking out nine in a new career long 6.2 innings. Kravetz enters the weekend series as the staff leader in strikeouts (33). He has been averaging 14.4 strikeouts per 9.0 innings of work. A year ago the Miami, Fla., native led the Owls and finished sixth in the conference in pitching appearances.
• Consider that when head coach Matt Bragga first arrived at Rice all the players on the roster were essentially new to him, and all the Owls were given an equal opportunity to play their way into a starting role for 2019. After the fall training program and preseason practices it was senior Jackson Parthasarathy who worked his way into one of the top three starting pitching spots for the opening weekend. The senior right-hander has been sound and solid in four starts this season, maintaining a 2.05 ERA and holding opponents to a composite .190 batting average. Parthasarathy has long been a dependable pitching option against elite opponents. A year ago 64.7 percent of his innings (25.0 of his 38.2) were against teams that went on to play in the NCAA Tournament.
That's 19 Games In 26 Days
Rice has finished an early portion of the schedule that featured playing 19 games in a 26-day span. As of March 13 (Wed.) Rice shared the Division I lead in games played with Florida, Texas and Texas A&M.
Last Time Out: Texas State Defeats Rice Wednesday 5-0
Visiting Texas State defeated the Rice baseball team 5-0 Wednesday evening at Reckling Park to conclude a six-game homestand. Rice had nine base hits and left 11 runners on base in the contest, but never seemed to get the big hit. The Owls twice battled back to load the bases with two outs in an inning only to have Texas State escape trouble both times. The Blue & Gray were 8-of-16 when batting with two away, but the team could have benefitted by getting the rallies started earlier in innings. Individually Bradley Gneiting went 2-for-5 to extended his hitting streak to five games and register his team-leading 11th multi-hit game. Cade Edwards notched his seventh muti-hit game to raise his season average to .310. Senior Daniel Russell made his first career defensive appearance when he moved behind the plate for starter Justin Collins in the top of the first inning. Russell caught the entire game and tallied the third base hit of his career in the third. Three Owl pitchers saw action. Junior Garrett Gayle pitched a career long 4.1 innings in his first collegiate start. Sophomore Drake Greenwood also worked a career long with 3.2 innings. Freshman A.C. Plum struck out three in a scoreless frame.
Winning Is Always In Fashion
For the fashion-minded, Rice's 2019 W-L records while wearing the various uniforms is as follows:
1-0 in blue 'flag' jersey with pinstripe pants
1-0 in blue 'flag' jersey with white pants
4-3 in blue Old English jersey with pinstripe pants
1-3 in all-white
1-4 in all-pinstripes
0-1 in blue Old English jersey with white pants
Matt Bragga Show To Debut On March 18 (Monday)
The Matt Bragga Show, the live weekly Rice baseball show featuring the Owls' new head coach, is scheduled to make its debut on March 18 at Christian's Tailgate Bar & Grill (located close to campus at 5114 Kirby). The show is available around the world on RiceOwls.com. Coach Bragga reviews games from the previous weekend and previews upcoming series. In addition to discussions on college baseball's national rankings and chase for the C-USA championship, each week's show will include current members of the team, former Owl players and special guests. Fans can catch the show on their phone by downloading the "Tune In" app. The show is a unique opportunity for baseball fans to get direct insight from the Owls' head coach.
20th Year At Reckling Park
Other schools have tried to follow Rice baseball's lead, building bigger and more expensive stadiums, but Reckling Park remains among the best venues in college baseball. The 2019 season is now the Owls' 20th at the stadium. Rice has won an eye-opening 76 percent of its more than 630 games at Reckling Park since opening for the 2000 season.
Players Mentioned
p
/ Baseball
c
/ Baseball
if
/ Baseball
p
/ Baseball
of/if
/ Baseball
p
/ Baseball
p
/ Baseball
p/if
/ Baseball
p
/ Baseball
c
/ BaseballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02