Tuesday, May 14
Sugar Land, TX (Constellation Field)
7 pm
Rice University
vs
Houston
Owls Play UH At Constellation Field
5/14/2019 9:24:00 AM | Baseball
Series Finale For The Silver Glove
Listen online (pregame show 10 min. before start)
Rice Game Notes PDF
May 14 (Tue.) 7 pm; Rice vs. Houston Live Stats (No webcast this game)
Rice Plays Houston Tuesday At Constellation Field
Silver Glove Finale At 7 PM; C-USA Action Resumes On Thursday
The Rice baseball team, 23-28 overall, plays the first of four-straight games away from home beginning on Tuesday (May 14). The Owls travel to Sugar Land, Texas, to play crosstown rival Houston in the finale of three regular season meetings scheduled in 2019. Tuesday's first pitch against the Cougars (31-19) is set for 7 pm at Constellation Field, the pro baseball home of the Sugar Land Skeeters... Rice then heads to Huntington, W.Va., on May 16-18 for the final Conference USA series of the regular season. The Marshall series is the final hurdle for Rice qualifying next week's C-USA Championship in Biloxi, Miss. Game times against the Thundering Herd are set for 2 pm on Thursday, 1 pm Friday, and 10 am Saturday (all times listed here are Central Time).
Deciding Game For The Silver Glove Trophy
Tuesday's contest marks the fourth time in the last five years for the Silver Glove Trophy to be decided in the third and final game of the series.
No Webcast From Sugar Land
Note that with Tuesday's game vs. Houston being played at the neutral site of Constellation Field, there is no online video of this contest.
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 is in his 11th season in the booth 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 469-420-2. 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 This Week
Coach Bragga will announce this week's starting pitchers at a later time.
Power Surge
Rice hit two home runs Sunday to give the team a total of 44 homers this year. The Owls had already zoomed past their 2018 total of 35 home runs in just two-thirds of the at bats. The squad has been blasting the longball at a rate of one every 40.52 at bats as well as just under one per game (0.863), both percentages are the best the program has done in the last two years. Overall the squad's slugging percentage is higher this season (.419) than a year ago (.386). Rice also already has 16 triples to surpass its full-season total from one year ago.
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 teams began playing for the trophy in the 1998 season and Rice had won The Glove 15-of-16 times through 2013. The Owls now lead the annual series 16-5. 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 189 games played since the first meeting between the two schools in 1948, Rice leads the all-time series with Houston 107-82. 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 out each other 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.
C-USA Honors Kravetz
DALLAS – Rice's Evan Kravetz has been named a Conference USA Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced on Monday... On May 11 (Saturday) Kravetz registered another sound and solid start on the mound in Rice's 4-0 shutout victory over first place Southern Miss. The senior left-hander scattered just three hits over 7.1 shutout innings while posting ten strikeouts. He held the 28 batters he faced to a composite .125 batting average, with only one of the three hits being for extra bases. The win was Kravetz' fifth of the year and he surpassed 100 strikeouts for this season. It is the second time this season Kravetz has been named a C-USA Pitcher of the Week. This year five different Rice Owls have been named a C-USA Pitcher/Hitter of the Week. Louisiana Tech's Mason Mallard has been named the Conference USA Hitter of the Week. All C-USA weekly awards are presented by Top of the World.
Here's Who's Hot
Senior Andrew Dunlap is a combined 11-for-19 (.579) with a home run and two doubles (.942 SLG%) in his last five games. He's also scored five times and driven in four runs... Junior Braden Comeaux and sophomore Trei Cruz both came up big in the top of the batting order to help Rice take the final two games against the Golden Eagles. Comeaux was 4-for-7 (.571) with a pair of doubles (.857 SLG%). He also drew a walk (.625 OB%) and scored twice. Cruz went a combined 3-for-7 (.429) where his three hits were a home run, triple and double (1.286). He scored four times in the final two games... Sophomore catcher Justin Collins is a combined 12-for-30 (.400) with seven walks (.514 OB%) while in the midst of a season-best nine-game hitting streak.
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 (6), tied for sixth in at bats (203) and tied for seventh in total bases (109). The former Houston prep star is also tied for 10th in the league in runs scored (44), tied for 11th plate appearances (237) and 13th in both hits (63) and home runs (8).
Winning Is Always In Fashion
For the fashion-minded, Rice's 2019 W-L records while wearing the various uniform combinations is as follows:
5-4 in all-pinstripes
7-6 in blue Old English jersey with pinstripe pants
4-4 in all-white
2-3 in all-gray
2-3 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
Rice Game Notes PDF
May 14 (Tue.) 7 pm; Rice vs. Houston Live Stats (No webcast this game)
Rice Plays Houston Tuesday At Constellation Field
Silver Glove Finale At 7 PM; C-USA Action Resumes On Thursday
The Rice baseball team, 23-28 overall, plays the first of four-straight games away from home beginning on Tuesday (May 14). The Owls travel to Sugar Land, Texas, to play crosstown rival Houston in the finale of three regular season meetings scheduled in 2019. Tuesday's first pitch against the Cougars (31-19) is set for 7 pm at Constellation Field, the pro baseball home of the Sugar Land Skeeters... Rice then heads to Huntington, W.Va., on May 16-18 for the final Conference USA series of the regular season. The Marshall series is the final hurdle for Rice qualifying next week's C-USA Championship in Biloxi, Miss. Game times against the Thundering Herd are set for 2 pm on Thursday, 1 pm Friday, and 10 am Saturday (all times listed here are Central Time).
Deciding Game For The Silver Glove Trophy
Tuesday's contest marks the fourth time in the last five years for the Silver Glove Trophy to be decided in the third and final game of the series.
No Webcast From Sugar Land
Note that with Tuesday's game vs. Houston being played at the neutral site of Constellation Field, there is no online video of this contest.
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 is in his 11th season in the booth 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 469-420-2. 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 This Week
Coach Bragga will announce this week's starting pitchers at a later time.
Power Surge
Rice hit two home runs Sunday to give the team a total of 44 homers this year. The Owls had already zoomed past their 2018 total of 35 home runs in just two-thirds of the at bats. The squad has been blasting the longball at a rate of one every 40.52 at bats as well as just under one per game (0.863), both percentages are the best the program has done in the last two years. Overall the squad's slugging percentage is higher this season (.419) than a year ago (.386). Rice also already has 16 triples to surpass its full-season total from one year ago.
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 teams began playing for the trophy in the 1998 season and Rice had won The Glove 15-of-16 times through 2013. The Owls now lead the annual series 16-5. 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 189 games played since the first meeting between the two schools in 1948, Rice leads the all-time series with Houston 107-82. 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 out each other 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.
C-USA Honors Kravetz
DALLAS – Rice's Evan Kravetz has been named a Conference USA Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced on Monday... On May 11 (Saturday) Kravetz registered another sound and solid start on the mound in Rice's 4-0 shutout victory over first place Southern Miss. The senior left-hander scattered just three hits over 7.1 shutout innings while posting ten strikeouts. He held the 28 batters he faced to a composite .125 batting average, with only one of the three hits being for extra bases. The win was Kravetz' fifth of the year and he surpassed 100 strikeouts for this season. It is the second time this season Kravetz has been named a C-USA Pitcher of the Week. This year five different Rice Owls have been named a C-USA Pitcher/Hitter of the Week. Louisiana Tech's Mason Mallard has been named the Conference USA Hitter of the Week. All C-USA weekly awards are presented by Top of the World.
Here's Who's Hot
Senior Andrew Dunlap is a combined 11-for-19 (.579) with a home run and two doubles (.942 SLG%) in his last five games. He's also scored five times and driven in four runs... Junior Braden Comeaux and sophomore Trei Cruz both came up big in the top of the batting order to help Rice take the final two games against the Golden Eagles. Comeaux was 4-for-7 (.571) with a pair of doubles (.857 SLG%). He also drew a walk (.625 OB%) and scored twice. Cruz went a combined 3-for-7 (.429) where his three hits were a home run, triple and double (1.286). He scored four times in the final two games... Sophomore catcher Justin Collins is a combined 12-for-30 (.400) with seven walks (.514 OB%) while in the midst of a season-best nine-game hitting streak.
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 (6), tied for sixth in at bats (203) and tied for seventh in total bases (109). The former Houston prep star is also tied for 10th in the league in runs scored (44), tied for 11th plate appearances (237) and 13th in both hits (63) and home runs (8).
Winning Is Always In Fashion
For the fashion-minded, Rice's 2019 W-L records while wearing the various uniform combinations is as follows:
5-4 in all-pinstripes
7-6 in blue Old English jersey with pinstripe pants
4-4 in all-white
2-3 in all-gray
2-3 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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