Rice University
16-23, 7-9
Middle Tennessee
15-23, 9-7
K As In Canterino!
4/18/2019 10:50:00 PM | Baseball
Owl Hurler Reaches 300-Career Strikeouts In C-USA Victory
303 Career Ks: Canterino struck out ten Blue Raider batters to reach 303 strikeouts for his collegiate career. The right-hander from Southlake, Texas, moved into a tie with former major leaguer Jeff Niemann (2002-2004) for 11th place on Rice's career strikeout list. Canterino now needs six more strikeouts to tie Owl great Austin Kubitza (309 Ks from 2011-2013) and move into Rice's career Top 10.
Double Digit Ks: Canterino's has posted ten or more strikeouts in a game 11 times in his career. He fanned a career-high 12 batters in a game three weeks ago at Old Dominion.
Records: Rice improved to 16-23 overall and 7-9 in C-USA league play. Middle Tennessee is now 15-23 overall and 9-7 in conference.
This Series: In 18 career meetings with Middle Tennessee Rice now leads the series 10-7-1. The Owls are 5-2 vs. the Blue Raiders in games at Reckling Park.
Streaks: Junior second baseman Cade Edwards went 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to five games (currently the longest active mark on the team). Junior third baseman Braden Comeaux also shared the game lead with three hits Thursday. He has now reached base in each of the last 15 games, the longest streak by any Owl this season.
Big Inning: The Owls delivered a big offensive blow in the bottom of the second inning, posting eight runs on the scoreboard to take a 9-0 lead. A week ago in the C-USA series opener at Charlotte Rice scored 10 runs in the top of the second inning on the way to a 19-4 victory.
In The Clutch: Heading into the game Rice was just 1-for-its-last-15 when batting with runners in scoring position. The Owls stepped up big in those clutch situations Thursday. The team registered a 6-for-12 RiSP and was 7-for-15 (.467) when batting with two outs already recorded in the inning.
Thursday Debut: The game marked Rice's first time to play on a Thursday this season.
Mini Bat Night Friday: First pitch for Friday's second game of the series is scheduled for 6:30 pm. The first 100 fans can receive a free souvenir Rice Owls mini bat at the marketing table inside the main entrance of Reckling Park.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Canterino, Matt (5-4)
L: LESTER,Carson (1-4)
Batting:
HR: BENEFIELD,Blake 1
RBI: PREWETT,Darien 1 ; BENEFIELD,Blake 1 ; THOMAS,Brycen 1 ; PARKER,Tanner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BENEFIELD,Blake 1 ; STRATINSKY,Brett 1 ; FREEMAN,Darrell 1 ; THOMAS,Brycen 1
Batting:
2B: Brewer, Khevin 1 ; Collins, Justin 1
RBI: Comeaux, Braden 2 ; Gneiting, Bradley 1 ; Cruz, Trei 1 ; Dunlap, Andrew 1 ; Edwards, Cade 1 ; Cox, Dominic 2 ; Collins, Justin 2
SF: Cox, Dominic 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Comeaux, Braden 2 ; Gneiting, Bradley 1 ; Cruz, Trei 1 ; Dunlap, Andrew 1 ; Brewer, Khevin 1 ; Edwards, Cade 1 ; Cox, Dominic 1 ; Collins, Justin 1 ; Beaulaurier, Aaron 1
CS: Edwards, Cade 1
