Wednesday, May 1
Houston, TX
6:30 pm
Rice University
vs
Houston
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Owls Host Houston Wednesday Night
4/30/2019 3:13:00 PM | Baseball
Game 2 Of Silver Glove Series Set For 6:30 PM At Reckling Park
Rice Hosts Houston Wednesday To Conclude Homestand; Owls & Cougars Play Game Two Of The Silver Glove Series
The Rice baseball team, 21-23 on the season and in third place in the Conference USA standings, plays a midweek game (on Wednesday, May 1) for the first time in three weeks. The Owls host crosstown rival Houston at Reckling Park in game two of the annual season long three-game series for the Silver Glove Trophy. Start time against the Cougars (26-18) is set for 6:30 pm.
Listen online (pregame show 10 min. before start)
Rice Baseball Tickets
Rice Game Notes PDF
Rice-vs.-Houston Baseball (Since 2006)
May 1 (Wed.) 6:30 pm; Houston at Rice Watch online Live Stats
Presented by Karbach Brewing Company
Watch Home Games Online Via CUSAtv
Rice baseball home 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 and other platforms can alter the 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.
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 467-415-2. 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).
Matt Bragga Show Set To Return May 13 After May 6 "Rain Out"
The Matt Bragga Show, the live weekly Rice baseball show featuring the Owls' new head coach, will take a break from its usual Monday night air date on May 6. The show is scheduled to return on May 13, with a full preview of the final week of the college baseball regular season.
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 announced Tuesday's starting pitcher vs. Houston as sophomore right-hander Kel Bordwine (1-2, 5.47). After a solid debut outing against Rhode Island on the opening weekend of the year, Bordwine made his first collegiate start against No. 24 Arizona (Feb. 20) where he worked 3.0 innings. He has started each of the last four midweek games, including No. 14 ranked Texas and No. 18 ranked A&M (both on the road). Bordwine ranks fourth on the staff with six starts, all in midweek action. The Cypress, Texas, native has also pitched in relief against Oklahoma, Florida Atlantic and Sam Houston State to name just a few of elite programs and competitive situations he has already faced. Bordwine averages 5.5 strikeouts per 9.0 innings of work with a 2.3-to-1 strikeouts-to-walk ratio.
Silver Glove Trophy Series
Like the big rivalries in college football, the Rice and Houston baseball teams play a yearly series for an annual trophy, The Silver Glove. The Owls lead the annual series 16-5. The teams began playing for the trophy in the 1998 season and Rice had won The Glove 15-of-16 times through 2013. Houston has held the trophy 4-of-the-last-5 years dating back to 2014, with Rice last claiming it in walk-off fashion in 2017.
Rice-Houston Is More Than Just A Glove
This may be the 22nd year of the Silver Glove series, but the Owls and Cougars have a long-standing rivalry that dates back to 1948. In 188 games played since the first meeting between the two schools in 1948, Rice leads the all-time series with Houston 107-81. The teams became Southwest Conference rivals when UH joined that league in the 1970s. The teams renewed the conference rivalry from 2006-2013 as C-USA foes. Consider that since 1948 both teams have shut each out an identical 15 times (making it 30 shutouts overall). Both teams have also won one-run games over their crosstown foe a matching 29 times (making it 58 one-run games in the series overall). In 2003 the city rivals played each other a record eight times.
Power Surge
Over the weekend Rice added another home run to give the team a season total of 37 this year, zooming past the 35 round-trippers the squad had all last year. The Blue & Gray surpassed its 2018 home run total in just 67-percent of the at-bats. The Owls are tied for sixth in the conference in home runs and have been blasting the taters at a rate of just under one per game (0.86), the best the program has done in the last nine years. Overall the squad's slugging percentage is higher this season (.418) than a year ago (.386). Rice already has 14 triples to surpass its full-season total from one year ago.
News & Notes From Previous Appearance (vs. LA Tech)
HOUSTON – Sophomore Trei Cruz dashed home from third base on a wild pitch to score the winning run in the bottom of the tenth inning as Rice claimed a 3-2 victory over No. 18 ranked Louisiana Tech in the finale of the weekend series on April 28 (Sunday) at Reckling Park. The Owls completed a sweep of the three-game series to move into a tie for third place in the C-USA standings.
Records: Rice won for the sixth time in a row to improve to 21-23 on the season and 12-9 in C-USA league play. LA Tech is now 28-16 overall and 12-9 in conference. Rice's six game win streak is its longest of the season.
Offensive Stars: Trei Cruz finished the day going 3-for-5 with a RBI, run and stolen base. Junior second baseman Cade Edwards went 3-for-4 with a walk. It marked the fifth time this season for Edwards, and the fourth time this year for Cruz, to collect at least three base hits in a game.
20-Straight For Comeaux: Junior third baseman Braden Comeaux singled in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend his streak of reaching base to 20 consecutive games, the longest stretch by any Owl this season.
Mound Men: Senior Jackson Parthasarathy started on the mound for the tenth time this season. He allowed two runs, but no walks, in 5.0 innings of a no-decision. Senior Blair Lewis was sensational tying a career-high with 4.0 innings of work. Lewis scattered two hits and a walk with no runs while striking out three, also in a no decision. True freshman Dalton Wood worked around three base hits in a scoreless tenth inning to notch his first collegiate victory.
Two Big Throws: Sophomore Dominic Cox made two big throws to get runners out from his defensive spot in left field. The first was in the top of the second inning at second base as a Bulldog batter tried to stretch a single into a double. The second was at home plate in the tenth to prevent the potential go-head run from scoring. After Cox made the rifle throw to home plate, sophomore catcher Justin Collins made the tag for the out. The defensive teamwork seemed to spark the Owl offense heading into the bottom of the inning.
Coach Bragga: "Today and this weekend was really huge for our guys," said Rice head coach Matt Bragga. "They've been working really hard, and to see the fruits of their labor is really awesome. Even when we started (the C-USA schedule) 1-5, they continued to work and fight, and I am as proud of their commitment to keep working and not give-in as much as anything. We still have a lot of games left obviously, but we have been taking positive steps. Trei played really well this whole weekend and then he had a really great read there at the end to get us the win. Our pitching this whole weekend was phenomenal. Everyone we had out there this weekend threw well and did a good job against a great team."
Here's Who's Hot
Junior second baseman Cade Edwards is 16-for-36 (.444) over the last 10 games. He has a home run, a triple and five doubles for a .722 SLG% to go with a .476 OB%. Edwards has also driven in six runs and scored six times in the last ten games... Sophomore shortstop Trei Cruz is 16-for-37 (.432) with a home run, a triple and four doubles (.676 SLG%) to go along with two steals over the last nine games, but he has also drawn five walks for a .500 OB%. Over the last month, Cruz has hit a combined .387 to raise his batting average a full 37 points (from .281 to .318)... Not only has Braden Comeaux reached base in 20-straight games, the junior third baseman is a combined 11-for-28 (.393) with two home runs and a double for a .643 slugging percentage. He has also scored nine runs, over the last six games... Sophomore catcher Justin Collins ended the LA Tech series on a strong note by going a combined 3-for-6 with two walks (.625 OB%) and a run scored.
Cruzin' Among The C-USA Leaders
Sophomore shortstop Trei Cruz has jumped out to rank among the C-USA statistical leaders in a host of offensive categories. Cruz is second in the league in triples (5), fourth in total bases (96) and fifth in both at bats (163) and plate appearances (194). The former Houston prep star is also tied for ninth in the league in runs scored (35), tied for tenth in hits (56) and tied for 12th in RBI (34). Cruz is 13th in the league in slugging (.545) and tied for 13th in home runs (7).
25 Career Homers For Andrew Dunlap
Andrew Dunlap launched a home run at Charlotte (April 12), his team-leading 11th homer of the season and the 25th of his collegiate career. That's the most home runs for an active Rice player, and the most by an Owl since Michael Ratterree reached 31 in 2013. So far Dunlap has belted nine home runs at Reckling Park and 16 other four-baggers at 12 different ballparks. The non-Reckling round-trippers includes: UTSA, U.H., Western Kentucky, LSU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, FAU, Texas A&M, Minute Maid Park, Charlotte (twice), UAB (twice) and Old Dominion (three times).
Winning Is Always In Fashion
For the fashion-minded, Rice's 2019 W-L records while wearing the various uniform combinations is as follows:
2-1 in all-gray
4-3 in all-white
6-5 in blue Old English jersey with pinstripe pants
4-4 in all-pinstripes
2-2 in blue 'flag' jersey with pinstripe pants
2-4 in blue & gray "R" jersey with gray pants
1-2 in blue 'flag' jersey with white pants
0-1 in blue Old English jersey with white pants
0-1 in blue & gray "R" jersey with pinstripe pants
The Rice baseball team, 21-23 on the season and in third place in the Conference USA standings, plays a midweek game (on Wednesday, May 1) for the first time in three weeks. The Owls host crosstown rival Houston at Reckling Park in game two of the annual season long three-game series for the Silver Glove Trophy. Start time against the Cougars (26-18) is set for 6:30 pm.
Listen online (pregame show 10 min. before start)
Rice Baseball Tickets
Rice Game Notes PDF
Rice-vs.-Houston Baseball (Since 2006)
May 1 (Wed.) 6:30 pm; Houston at Rice Watch online Live Stats
Presented by Karbach Brewing Company
Watch Home Games Online Via CUSAtv
Rice baseball home 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 and other platforms can alter the 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.
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 467-415-2. 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).
Matt Bragga Show Set To Return May 13 After May 6 "Rain Out"
The Matt Bragga Show, the live weekly Rice baseball show featuring the Owls' new head coach, will take a break from its usual Monday night air date on May 6. The show is scheduled to return on May 13, with a full preview of the final week of the college baseball regular season.
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 announced Tuesday's starting pitcher vs. Houston as sophomore right-hander Kel Bordwine (1-2, 5.47). After a solid debut outing against Rhode Island on the opening weekend of the year, Bordwine made his first collegiate start against No. 24 Arizona (Feb. 20) where he worked 3.0 innings. He has started each of the last four midweek games, including No. 14 ranked Texas and No. 18 ranked A&M (both on the road). Bordwine ranks fourth on the staff with six starts, all in midweek action. The Cypress, Texas, native has also pitched in relief against Oklahoma, Florida Atlantic and Sam Houston State to name just a few of elite programs and competitive situations he has already faced. Bordwine averages 5.5 strikeouts per 9.0 innings of work with a 2.3-to-1 strikeouts-to-walk ratio.
Silver Glove Trophy Series
Like the big rivalries in college football, the Rice and Houston baseball teams play a yearly series for an annual trophy, The Silver Glove. The Owls lead the annual series 16-5. The teams began playing for the trophy in the 1998 season and Rice had won The Glove 15-of-16 times through 2013. Houston has held the trophy 4-of-the-last-5 years dating back to 2014, with Rice last claiming it in walk-off fashion in 2017.
Rice-Houston Is More Than Just A Glove
This may be the 22nd year of the Silver Glove series, but the Owls and Cougars have a long-standing rivalry that dates back to 1948. In 188 games played since the first meeting between the two schools in 1948, Rice leads the all-time series with Houston 107-81. The teams became Southwest Conference rivals when UH joined that league in the 1970s. The teams renewed the conference rivalry from 2006-2013 as C-USA foes. Consider that since 1948 both teams have shut each out an identical 15 times (making it 30 shutouts overall). Both teams have also won one-run games over their crosstown foe a matching 29 times (making it 58 one-run games in the series overall). In 2003 the city rivals played each other a record eight times.
Power Surge
Over the weekend Rice added another home run to give the team a season total of 37 this year, zooming past the 35 round-trippers the squad had all last year. The Blue & Gray surpassed its 2018 home run total in just 67-percent of the at-bats. The Owls are tied for sixth in the conference in home runs and have been blasting the taters at a rate of just under one per game (0.86), the best the program has done in the last nine years. Overall the squad's slugging percentage is higher this season (.418) than a year ago (.386). Rice already has 14 triples to surpass its full-season total from one year ago.
News & Notes From Previous Appearance (vs. LA Tech)
HOUSTON – Sophomore Trei Cruz dashed home from third base on a wild pitch to score the winning run in the bottom of the tenth inning as Rice claimed a 3-2 victory over No. 18 ranked Louisiana Tech in the finale of the weekend series on April 28 (Sunday) at Reckling Park. The Owls completed a sweep of the three-game series to move into a tie for third place in the C-USA standings.
Records: Rice won for the sixth time in a row to improve to 21-23 on the season and 12-9 in C-USA league play. LA Tech is now 28-16 overall and 12-9 in conference. Rice's six game win streak is its longest of the season.
Offensive Stars: Trei Cruz finished the day going 3-for-5 with a RBI, run and stolen base. Junior second baseman Cade Edwards went 3-for-4 with a walk. It marked the fifth time this season for Edwards, and the fourth time this year for Cruz, to collect at least three base hits in a game.
20-Straight For Comeaux: Junior third baseman Braden Comeaux singled in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend his streak of reaching base to 20 consecutive games, the longest stretch by any Owl this season.
Mound Men: Senior Jackson Parthasarathy started on the mound for the tenth time this season. He allowed two runs, but no walks, in 5.0 innings of a no-decision. Senior Blair Lewis was sensational tying a career-high with 4.0 innings of work. Lewis scattered two hits and a walk with no runs while striking out three, also in a no decision. True freshman Dalton Wood worked around three base hits in a scoreless tenth inning to notch his first collegiate victory.
Two Big Throws: Sophomore Dominic Cox made two big throws to get runners out from his defensive spot in left field. The first was in the top of the second inning at second base as a Bulldog batter tried to stretch a single into a double. The second was at home plate in the tenth to prevent the potential go-head run from scoring. After Cox made the rifle throw to home plate, sophomore catcher Justin Collins made the tag for the out. The defensive teamwork seemed to spark the Owl offense heading into the bottom of the inning.
Coach Bragga: "Today and this weekend was really huge for our guys," said Rice head coach Matt Bragga. "They've been working really hard, and to see the fruits of their labor is really awesome. Even when we started (the C-USA schedule) 1-5, they continued to work and fight, and I am as proud of their commitment to keep working and not give-in as much as anything. We still have a lot of games left obviously, but we have been taking positive steps. Trei played really well this whole weekend and then he had a really great read there at the end to get us the win. Our pitching this whole weekend was phenomenal. Everyone we had out there this weekend threw well and did a good job against a great team."
Here's Who's Hot
Junior second baseman Cade Edwards is 16-for-36 (.444) over the last 10 games. He has a home run, a triple and five doubles for a .722 SLG% to go with a .476 OB%. Edwards has also driven in six runs and scored six times in the last ten games... Sophomore shortstop Trei Cruz is 16-for-37 (.432) with a home run, a triple and four doubles (.676 SLG%) to go along with two steals over the last nine games, but he has also drawn five walks for a .500 OB%. Over the last month, Cruz has hit a combined .387 to raise his batting average a full 37 points (from .281 to .318)... Not only has Braden Comeaux reached base in 20-straight games, the junior third baseman is a combined 11-for-28 (.393) with two home runs and a double for a .643 slugging percentage. He has also scored nine runs, over the last six games... Sophomore catcher Justin Collins ended the LA Tech series on a strong note by going a combined 3-for-6 with two walks (.625 OB%) and a run scored.
Cruzin' Among The C-USA Leaders
Sophomore shortstop Trei Cruz has jumped out to rank among the C-USA statistical leaders in a host of offensive categories. Cruz is second in the league in triples (5), fourth in total bases (96) and fifth in both at bats (163) and plate appearances (194). The former Houston prep star is also tied for ninth in the league in runs scored (35), tied for tenth in hits (56) and tied for 12th in RBI (34). Cruz is 13th in the league in slugging (.545) and tied for 13th in home runs (7).
25 Career Homers For Andrew Dunlap
Andrew Dunlap launched a home run at Charlotte (April 12), his team-leading 11th homer of the season and the 25th of his collegiate career. That's the most home runs for an active Rice player, and the most by an Owl since Michael Ratterree reached 31 in 2013. So far Dunlap has belted nine home runs at Reckling Park and 16 other four-baggers at 12 different ballparks. The non-Reckling round-trippers includes: UTSA, U.H., Western Kentucky, LSU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, FAU, Texas A&M, Minute Maid Park, Charlotte (twice), UAB (twice) and Old Dominion (three times).
Winning Is Always In Fashion
For the fashion-minded, Rice's 2019 W-L records while wearing the various uniform combinations is as follows:
2-1 in all-gray
4-3 in all-white
6-5 in blue Old English jersey with pinstripe pants
4-4 in all-pinstripes
2-2 in blue 'flag' jersey with pinstripe pants
2-4 in blue & gray "R" jersey with gray pants
1-2 in blue 'flag' jersey with white pants
0-1 in blue Old English jersey with white pants
0-1 in blue & gray "R" jersey with pinstripe pants
Players Mentioned
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