Tuesday, March 5
Houston, TX
4 pm
Rice University
at
Houston
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
New 4 PM Start Time Tuesday At UH
3/4/2019 6:34:00 PM | Baseball
Owls Then Return Home To Begin Six-Game Homestand Wednesday
Listen online (pregame show 15 min. before start)
Tickets for Reckling Park
Rice Game Notes PDF
Mar. 5 (Tues.) 4 pm; Rice at Houston Watch online (road game requires UH subscription); UH Live Stats
Mar. 6 (Wed.) 6:30 pm; Sam Houston State at Rice Watch online Live Stats
New 4 PM Start Time Tuesday At U.H.!
Owls Return Home Wednesday To Begin 6-Game Homestand
The Rice baseball team, 5-7 this season and winners of three of the last four games, are still not back home just yet. The good news is at almost a month into the season the Owls have not had to leave the city of Houston. After three games at Minute Maid Park last weekend Rice next plays at crosstown rival Houston on Tuesday (March 5). Note the new start time of 4 pm. Rice is then back home at Reckling Park to begin a six-game homestand the next day (March 6). The Owls host longtime foe Sam Houston State Wednesday at 6:30 pm before a three-game weekend series vs. Oklahoma March 8-10.
Watch Home Games Online Via CUSAtv
All home games at Reckling Park 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 451-399-2. 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 Pitcher
Coach Bragga will announce this week's starting pitchers at a later time.
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.
Owls Sweep C-USA Weekend Awards
Andrew Dunlap have Jackson Parthasarathy have been named the Conference USA Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Monday March 4)... In four games last week Dunlap went a combined 8-for-16 (.500) with 11 RBI and eight runs scored in leading the Owls to three wins. The senior outfielder from Houston knocked two home runs, a triple and two doubles for a 1.188 slugging percentage. He also maintained a .600 on-base average as Rice posted wins over ranked teams Baylor and TCU, as well as Prairie View... Parthasarathy was sound and solid to earn a win over No. 16 ranked TCU at hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park over the weekend. The junior right-hander from Austin tied a career-long with 6.0 innings of work while holding the nationally-ranked Horned Frogs to just one earned run on five hits and two walks. He struck out seven to earn his second victory of the season. This is the first time for both Owls to earn the respective weekly honors from Conference USA.
Last Time Out: Owls Defeat No. 16 TCU
The Rice baseball team exploded for nine late runs to record a 12-2 victory over No. 16 ranked TCU in 7.0 innings Sunday evening at Minute Maid Park (March 3)... With a solid 6.0 innings of work on the mound from junior starter Jackson Parthasarathy already in the books, Rice broke a 6-2 game wide-open in the bottom of the sixth. The Owls scored runs on wild pitch and sacrifice fly to make the score 8-2, but then rallied for four more with two outs in the inning. Two dashed home on a Horned Frog fielding error in the outfield that would have ended the frame. Junior Cade Edwards then followed with his first collegiate home run to drive in two more for a 12-2 lead. As per the tournament's rules the game ended after the top of the seventh with a team (Rice) up by double digits... Rice's Dominic DiCaprio led all players with three hits, and the senior also had a double, RBI and run scored. Five different Owls finished the night with two hits. Timely hits were also one of the keys, as the Blue & Gray finished the night going 8-for-17 (.471) when batting with runners on base... Parthasarathy (2-1) meanwhile scattered five hits and a walk while striking out seven and his 6.0 innings matched his career-long outing from the opening weekend against Rhode Island. In the three weekend games at Minute Maid Park a total of six Rice pitchers walked only three batters in 25.0 innings.
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
3-2 in blue Old English jersey with pinstripe pants
1-2 in all-pinstripes
0-3 in all-white
Preseason C-USA Prognostications
IRVING, Texas – On the eve of the Rice Baseball team's first practice of the 2019 season Owl Matt Canterino was selected as the Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year in the league's annual head coaches' poll. In the same preseason poll the C-USA head coaches also voted on a top-to-bottom finish for the 12 league teams. Rice was selected fourth.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Southern Miss (8)
2. Louisiana Tech (2)
3. Florida Atlantic (1)
4. Rice (1)
5. FIU
6. Charlotte
7. UTSA
8. UAB
9. Old Dominion
10. Western Kentucky
11. Marshall
12. Middle Tennessee
Comeaux Named To Bragan Slugger Watch List
Junior third baseman Braden Comeaux been named to the initial watch list for the 2019 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award. From its headquarters in the DFW Metroplex, the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation has combined a passion for baseball and providing youngsters with the incentive and opportunity to pursue a college education for more than 25 years. One position player from a Division I baseball school in the five-state region of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico will be presented with the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award. Since its inception in 2017 the award is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity. The winner of the award will be announced in May and honored at a gala in the fall. This year Comeaux is hitting .333 with five doubles, 12 runs scored and three stolen bases in 12 games. As one of just four Owls to start all 59 of Rice's games last spring, Comeaux finished third on the team, and tied for ninth in Conference USA overall, with 76 hits. He shared the team lead and tied for eighth in the conference, in at bats (238) and ranked eleventh in C-USA in total plate appearances (278). The Lake Charles, La., native hit safely in a team-best 16-consecutive games during one stretch and he collected two or more hits in a game 22 times.
Take A Closer Look
Rice had 31 losses in 2018, but a closer look is in order. The final margin in 15 of the team's losses was two runs or less. The Owls were playing close games in a tough schedule while a number of the team's star players (including Addison Moss, Dominic DiCaprio and Ricardo Salinas) were all sidelined at various points during the season. Just how tough was the 2018 schedule? Rice's final Strength of Schedule rating last season was No. 30 in the nation, and there were no other C-USA schools in the Top 70 of last season's final S.O.S. ranking. A year ago the young Owls' squad played 27 games against 12 different teams that either made it to the NCAA Tournament or who were nationally ranked at the time Rice played them.
Rookie Ball!
There are some Rice newcomers to keep an eye on in 2019. Junior second baseman Cade Edwards was enrolled at Rice last spring but was not on the roster until the fall semester. Edwards played the 2017 season at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona, where he batted .324 with 47 hits in 42 games to help lead the Coyotes to their first region playoff appearance in five years. The Houston native played Division I baseball at Tulane in 2016… Sophomore transfer Drake Greenwood played his freshman year in the SEC at Missouri. The right-handed pitcher from Houston was a prep star at The Kinkaid School… Keep an eye on some local true freshmen including Brandon Deskins (LHP, Friendswood H.S.), Benjamin Content (RHP, Concordia Lutheran H.S.), Dalton Wood (RHP, Second Baptist H.S.) and Antonio Cruz (OF, Episcopal H.S.).
Tickets for Reckling Park
Rice Game Notes PDF
Mar. 5 (Tues.) 4 pm; Rice at Houston Watch online (road game requires UH subscription); UH Live Stats
Mar. 6 (Wed.) 6:30 pm; Sam Houston State at Rice Watch online Live Stats
New 4 PM Start Time Tuesday At U.H.!
Owls Return Home Wednesday To Begin 6-Game Homestand
The Rice baseball team, 5-7 this season and winners of three of the last four games, are still not back home just yet. The good news is at almost a month into the season the Owls have not had to leave the city of Houston. After three games at Minute Maid Park last weekend Rice next plays at crosstown rival Houston on Tuesday (March 5). Note the new start time of 4 pm. Rice is then back home at Reckling Park to begin a six-game homestand the next day (March 6). The Owls host longtime foe Sam Houston State Wednesday at 6:30 pm before a three-game weekend series vs. Oklahoma March 8-10.
Watch Home Games Online Via CUSAtv
All home games at Reckling Park 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 451-399-2. 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 Pitcher
Coach Bragga will announce this week's starting pitchers at a later time.
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.
Owls Sweep C-USA Weekend Awards
Andrew Dunlap have Jackson Parthasarathy have been named the Conference USA Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Monday March 4)... In four games last week Dunlap went a combined 8-for-16 (.500) with 11 RBI and eight runs scored in leading the Owls to three wins. The senior outfielder from Houston knocked two home runs, a triple and two doubles for a 1.188 slugging percentage. He also maintained a .600 on-base average as Rice posted wins over ranked teams Baylor and TCU, as well as Prairie View... Parthasarathy was sound and solid to earn a win over No. 16 ranked TCU at hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park over the weekend. The junior right-hander from Austin tied a career-long with 6.0 innings of work while holding the nationally-ranked Horned Frogs to just one earned run on five hits and two walks. He struck out seven to earn his second victory of the season. This is the first time for both Owls to earn the respective weekly honors from Conference USA.
Last Time Out: Owls Defeat No. 16 TCU
The Rice baseball team exploded for nine late runs to record a 12-2 victory over No. 16 ranked TCU in 7.0 innings Sunday evening at Minute Maid Park (March 3)... With a solid 6.0 innings of work on the mound from junior starter Jackson Parthasarathy already in the books, Rice broke a 6-2 game wide-open in the bottom of the sixth. The Owls scored runs on wild pitch and sacrifice fly to make the score 8-2, but then rallied for four more with two outs in the inning. Two dashed home on a Horned Frog fielding error in the outfield that would have ended the frame. Junior Cade Edwards then followed with his first collegiate home run to drive in two more for a 12-2 lead. As per the tournament's rules the game ended after the top of the seventh with a team (Rice) up by double digits... Rice's Dominic DiCaprio led all players with three hits, and the senior also had a double, RBI and run scored. Five different Owls finished the night with two hits. Timely hits were also one of the keys, as the Blue & Gray finished the night going 8-for-17 (.471) when batting with runners on base... Parthasarathy (2-1) meanwhile scattered five hits and a walk while striking out seven and his 6.0 innings matched his career-long outing from the opening weekend against Rhode Island. In the three weekend games at Minute Maid Park a total of six Rice pitchers walked only three batters in 25.0 innings.
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
3-2 in blue Old English jersey with pinstripe pants
1-2 in all-pinstripes
0-3 in all-white
Preseason C-USA Prognostications
IRVING, Texas – On the eve of the Rice Baseball team's first practice of the 2019 season Owl Matt Canterino was selected as the Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year in the league's annual head coaches' poll. In the same preseason poll the C-USA head coaches also voted on a top-to-bottom finish for the 12 league teams. Rice was selected fourth.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Southern Miss (8)
2. Louisiana Tech (2)
3. Florida Atlantic (1)
4. Rice (1)
5. FIU
6. Charlotte
7. UTSA
8. UAB
9. Old Dominion
10. Western Kentucky
11. Marshall
12. Middle Tennessee
Comeaux Named To Bragan Slugger Watch List
Junior third baseman Braden Comeaux been named to the initial watch list for the 2019 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award. From its headquarters in the DFW Metroplex, the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation has combined a passion for baseball and providing youngsters with the incentive and opportunity to pursue a college education for more than 25 years. One position player from a Division I baseball school in the five-state region of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico will be presented with the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award. Since its inception in 2017 the award is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity. The winner of the award will be announced in May and honored at a gala in the fall. This year Comeaux is hitting .333 with five doubles, 12 runs scored and three stolen bases in 12 games. As one of just four Owls to start all 59 of Rice's games last spring, Comeaux finished third on the team, and tied for ninth in Conference USA overall, with 76 hits. He shared the team lead and tied for eighth in the conference, in at bats (238) and ranked eleventh in C-USA in total plate appearances (278). The Lake Charles, La., native hit safely in a team-best 16-consecutive games during one stretch and he collected two or more hits in a game 22 times.
Take A Closer Look
Rice had 31 losses in 2018, but a closer look is in order. The final margin in 15 of the team's losses was two runs or less. The Owls were playing close games in a tough schedule while a number of the team's star players (including Addison Moss, Dominic DiCaprio and Ricardo Salinas) were all sidelined at various points during the season. Just how tough was the 2018 schedule? Rice's final Strength of Schedule rating last season was No. 30 in the nation, and there were no other C-USA schools in the Top 70 of last season's final S.O.S. ranking. A year ago the young Owls' squad played 27 games against 12 different teams that either made it to the NCAA Tournament or who were nationally ranked at the time Rice played them.
Rookie Ball!
There are some Rice newcomers to keep an eye on in 2019. Junior second baseman Cade Edwards was enrolled at Rice last spring but was not on the roster until the fall semester. Edwards played the 2017 season at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona, where he batted .324 with 47 hits in 42 games to help lead the Coyotes to their first region playoff appearance in five years. The Houston native played Division I baseball at Tulane in 2016… Sophomore transfer Drake Greenwood played his freshman year in the SEC at Missouri. The right-handed pitcher from Houston was a prep star at The Kinkaid School… Keep an eye on some local true freshmen including Brandon Deskins (LHP, Friendswood H.S.), Benjamin Content (RHP, Concordia Lutheran H.S.), Dalton Wood (RHP, Second Baptist H.S.) and Antonio Cruz (OF, Episcopal H.S.).
Players Mentioned
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/ 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