Rice University
Middle Tennessee
Baseball Plays C-USA Series At Middle Tennessee
3/31/2021 8:03:00 PM | Baseball
Owls Face Blue Raiders
Game 25 | at Middle Tennessee, Thursday, April 1, 3 pm Live Stats
Game 26 | at Middle Tennessee, Friday, April 2, 1 pm (7 inn.; game one of DH) Live Stats
Game 27 | at Middle Tennessee, Friday, April 2, tba (7 inn.; game two of DH) Live Stats
Game 28 | at Middle Tennessee, Saturday, April 3, 1 pm Live Stats
Location: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Video Stream: CUSAtv
Listen Online: Audio
Series vs. Middle Tennessee: Rice leads 12-7-1 since 2014; Complete series listing
Watch League Games Online Via CUSAtv
Rice's Conference USA league games are slated for a live online video broadcast via CUSAtv. The broadcast is a subscription service which matches the home team's 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.
Rice 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 10 minutes before first pitch. Veteran J.P. Heath is now in his 13th 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.
Follow The Tweeting Rice Owls
The official Rice baseball Twitter account is @RiceBaseball while the Rice Athletics department is @RiceAthletics. Twitter is perhaps the fastest way to get weather-related changes to the schedule/updated start times.
OWL IN
The Owl In logo represents the continued commitment of Rice Athletics' student-athletes, coaches, and staff to come together for positive change throughout our department, campus, and world. With increased efforts in education, policy development, and action as it relates to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice, members of the Rice Athletics community will become better equipped to ensure we can fulfill our department's desire to be a more inclusive and welcoming place. To learn more about being Owl In, visit RiceOwls.com/OwlIn.
Head Coach Matt Bragga
A 20-year veteran of the head coaching ranks, Matt Bragga was named the 21st head coach in Rice baseball history on June 15, 2018. He went 26-33 at Rice in his first season in 2019. The Owls were 2-14 when the 2020 season came to an abrupt end, but consider Rice's (non-conference) schedule featuring road series at Texas Tech and UC Irvine, plus another four games against Texas and Texas A&M, was rated as the 11th-toughest in all of Division I. Prior to Rice Bragga sent 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 10 years while reaching 40 or more wins in four of six seasons from 2013-2018. 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 486-451-2. Bragga is aided by assistant coaches Cory Barton (Memphis, 2007, third year), Paul Janish (Rice, 2004; fourth year), and Trevor Putzig (Tenn Tech, 2018; first year).
Possible Starting Pitchers
Coach Bragga announced the first three Owl starters for the Middle Tennessee series. The starting pitcher for game four (Saturday) will announced at a later time.
• Blake Brogdon (2-3, 6.67 ERA) has been the Owls' initial starting pitcher for each of the last four weekends. In an outing against Southern (March 19) he worked a career-long 7.0 innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts. Brogdon allowed just two earned runs that game on the way to earning his second Rice victory. In 2021 the right-hander has averaged 8.6 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and maintained a 3-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio. In four appearances in 2020 Brogdon held opposing hitters to a composite .194 batting average. His hard work he has put in since his debut season has caught the coaches' attention. Prior to Rice the 6-foot-2 Brogdon was a local prep standout at Cypress Woods High School just northwest of Houston.
• It may have taken a long time in finally arriving, but Roel Garcia (1-1, 3.97 ERA) is back in 2021 and ready to have his first full collegiate season since 2018. By design this year Garcia worked just 4.0 innings in his first two starts against HBU and Louisiana. He moved up 5.0 innings against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 6 and had 4.0 in a 7-inning game vs. UTSA last week. Garcia has maintained a 3.97 ERA in 22.2 innings while striking out 16 and scattering five walks. In 2020, Garcia had just one outing where he struck out three of the eight batters he faced in 2.0 innings at west coach power Cal Irvine. Things were looking up, but then the 2020 season came to an unexpected end and he had to replay the waiting game. The Deer Park, Texas, native is a veteran in his fifth year with the program, but he was sidelined all of 2019. Even without pitching in a single game in 2019, that did not stop the Toronto Blue Jays from selecting him in the 27th round of that year's MLB Draft. The 6-foot-4 right-hander had an improved second season of Division I baseball in 2018, finishing among the Rice staff leaders in starts (tied second), wins (tied third), innings (fourth), strikeouts (fifth) and opponents' batting average (fifth). He made 15 pitching appearances with 11 starts, including six times in Conference USA league games. Garcia totaled 52.0 innings with starts against high-RPI teams Texas A&M, TCU, Southern Miss and Florida Atlantic (twice). He pitched at least 5.0 innings in a game six times. Garcia was tabbed to be a significant part of Matt Bragga's debut Rice season in 2019, but the big right-hander was lost for the year in a preseason practice in January.
• Mitchell Holcomb (3-2, 4.86 ERA) is a graduate transfer from the Ivy League (Penn) who is originally from Georgetown, Texas. Holcomb started the opening game of the 2021 season vs. HBU and due to a quirk in the schedule he wound up with the demanding assignment of starting three games in a 12-day stretch. In his previous three starts he has maintained a 2.49 ERA in a combined 21.2 frames with a strikeouts-to-walks ratio of 6-to-1. Last week against UTSA Holcomb notched the staff's first complete game. By simply joining Rice he became one of the most experienced Division I pitchers on the Owl staff, owning a total of 31 career appearances, including 28 starts, totaling 163.0 innings prior to Rice. In four years at Penn he maintained a 4.03 career ERA and averaged 7.8 strikeouts per 9.0 innings of work. Holcomb made two starts on the mound for the Quakers in abbreviated 2020 season totaling 13.0 innings. He fired 8.0 shutout innings scattering four hits and striking out eight for a road victory at Conference USA foe FIU. In the 2020 season he held opposing hitters to a composite .213 batting average. A highlight from earlier in his career was fanning 12 batters at Yale in 2018. The Texas native is a 2016 graduate of Meridian High School (located between Fort Worth and Waco). He was a two-time first team All-State selection who led the Yellow Jackets to back-to-back 2A state titles in 2015-2016.
Previously: Owls Fall To UTSA In Series Finale Sunday, 11-3
Visiting UTSA scored seven unanswered runs to pull away for an 11-3 win over the Rice Baseball team in the final game of a Conference USA weekend series Sunday afternoon at Reckling Park (March 28). In the top of the first inning UTSA turned a Rice fielding error into three unearned runs. The Roadrunners added a run in the second by scoring from third base on a wild pitch. Rice battled right back with three runs in the bottom of the frame. The Owls loaded the bases with two away for Cade Edwards. Edwards cleared the stations with a double down the left field line to bring the Blue & Gray back to within one, 4-3. The Roadrunners pulled away with five runs on four hits in the fourth. Both of UTSA's first two batters in the sixth would score after reaching base after getting hit by a pitch in an 11-3 final. "We have to play better baseball," Coach Bragga said. "Just a few days ago we played a great game and beat Texas A&M on the road. I know we're capable. We had three games this weekend where our starting pitchers simply did not give us enough innings. We out-hit UTSA today (10-9) which was good, but we gave away too many free passes - like hitting batters, fielding errors, giving up walks and also extra bases with wild pitches and passed balls. It was too many free passes and UTSA did a good job of being able to capitalize on every one of our mistakes. We have to eliminate all the free bases and mistakes, and in turn be able to capitalize on anything an opponent might give us. The game demands you play well, and also that you play well with consistency," coach Bragga added. "I know we have it in us to play well, we just have to show it on the field each and every game."
• Austin Bulman started as the designated hitter and went 3-for-4 with a run scored.
• Braden Comeaux went 2-for-4 to register his team-leading 12th multi-hit game of the season.
• Comeaux has a seven-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in ten consecutive games.
• For the weekend series the Owls hit a composite .291 (34-of-117) with five home runs.
• Rice hit five batters Sunday to tie a season high.
Winning Is Always In Fashion
For the fashion-minded, Rice's 2021 W-L records while wearing the various uniform combinations is as follows:
1-0 in blue jersey, 'Rice' in white Old English and gray pants
1-0 in gradient blue jersey with white pants
2-1 in white jersey, 'Rice' old English blue script
4-2 in gradient white jersey
2-3 in pinstripes
1-2 in blue top, 'Rice' in white Old English and pinstripe pants
1-2 in gray "R" top
0-2 in gradient blue jersey with gray pants
Preseason Accolades For Comeaux
Rice's Braden Comeaux was selected to 2021 Preseason All-Conference USA Baseball Team in the league's annual head coaches' poll, the C-USA office announced on Feb. 11. The Rice graduate who is playing with an added year of eligibility led the Owls in hitting (.349) and slugging percentage (.535) in 2020. He was also second on the on the squad in runs scored (7), on-base average (.404) and home runs (1) – all while playing in just ten of the team's 16 games during that abbreviated collegiate season. Comeaux reached base safely in eight of his ten games played and batted .333 with runners in scoring position. Comeaux has long-had the full attention of the C-USA head-coaches, but now his reputation is growing. On Feb. 10 he was one of just 48 players from across the country named to the preseason watch list for the prestigious 2021 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. At the conclusion of the season one position player will be presented with the foundation's Slugger Award. Since its inception in 2017 the award is based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity.
The C-USA Preseason Poll
In the 2021 C-USA head coaches preseason poll Rice was selected third in the new divisional format being introduced this year. Here are the results of the league's 12 head coaches (first place votes in parentheses):
WEST
1. Southern Miss (10)
2. Louisiana Tech (2)
3. Rice
4. Middle Tennessee
5. UTSA
6. UAB
EAST
1. Florida Atlantic (10)
2. Old Dominion (1)
3. FIU (1)
4. WKU
5. Charlotte
6. Marshall
RICE SINCE 1999 - Using the 1999 season as the starting point (the year the NCAA expanded the postseason tournament field to 64 teams with the current Super Regional format), Rice baseball has maintained one of the nation's top win percentages over the last 21 years. Here's a closer look at the country's winningest programs from 1999-2020 (note: this listing will not be updated to include games played in 2021):
Team Years Wins Loses Ties PCT
Florida State 22 1019 391 1 .723
North Carolina 22 948 406 1 .700
LSU 22 950 432 6 .687
South Carolina 22 938 438 0 .682
Coastal Carolina 22 896 418 2 .682
Rice 22 924 435 2 .680
Miami (Fla.) 22 894 421 3 .679
Oral Roberts 22 849 416 0 .671
Cal St. Fullerton 22 881 434 0 .670
Texas 22 894 450 1 .665
Oregon St. 22 811 422 3 .657
Louisville 22 866 453 1 .656
Arizona St. 22 805 422 2 .656
Georgia Tech 22 858 456 1 .653
Virginia 22 840 446 3 .653
Florida 22 888 474 2 .652
Clemson 22 891 478 1 .651
