Former Roommates Meet for the First of Many

José Cruz Jr. and Lance Berkman, who roomed together on the road in their lone season as teammates at Rice, will face off for the first time as collegiate head coaches when HBU hosts Rice at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Husky Field.

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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 or by using the Owls Mobile App. Tune in to the pregame show 10 minutes before the first pitch. Veteran J.P. Heath is now in his 14th season as the voice of the Owls.

Rice-HBU Did You Know?
Rice and HBU have met 27 times in baseball in a series that dates back to 1966, but this will be the first time the schools have met on the HBU campus since 1970 when the Owls swept a doubleheader on 4/21. Rice leads the series 23-4 and has won the last three in a row. Three of HBU's four wins have come in extra innings, the last two by 8-7 scores. HBU's first win came on 2/29/68 at Rice (12-11 in 10 innings) and the followed that win a win in the first game of the series in 1969 (8-3 on 2/18/69). Rice won the next 15 between the two schools before HBU took an 8-7 decision in 11 innings on 3/3/18 and downed Rice 8-7 in 10 innings in the first game of a four-game series last year (2/20/21).

Head Coach José Cruz Jr.
One of the cornerstones of Rice's rise to prominence in college baseball, José Cruz Jr. was named the 22nd head baseball coach at Rice on June 9, 2021. Cruz returned to the Owls from the Detroit Tigers, where he was in his first season with the club as a coach, focusing on hitting instruction and working with the outfielders under manager A.J. Hinch. He is the first former Rice player to be named as the Owls head baseball coach since Harold Stockbridge (1949-52). Cruz's association with Rice began in 1992 when he chose to remain home and sign with the Owls after leading Houston's Bellaire High School to the top ranking in the country in 1992. The signing of the local standout, whose father, Jose Cruz Sr., remains one of the most popular players in Houston Astros history, was a turning point in legendary coach Wayne Graham's efforts to attract top talent to Rice. Cruz shared national freshman of the year honors from Collegiate Baseball and one year later was the consensus conference player of the year and first-team All-America. In his final season at Rice, Cruz hit .377 in 1995 with 16 home runs and 76 RBIs before Seattle made him the third overall pick in the 1995 MLB Draft. He made his major league debut with Seattle on May 31, 1997 but was traded to Toronto at the trade deadline. He went on to finish second to Nomar Garciaparra in the 1997 American League Rookie of the Year voting, slamming 26 homers and driving in 68 runs in a combined 104 games. He played the next five years with the Blue Jays, twice topping 30 home runs and he became a member of the 30-30 Club in 2001. He became a free agent after the 2002 season and signed with San Francisco where he helped lead the Giants to the playoffs, hitting .250 with 20 homers and 68 RBI and winning a Gold Glove. He went on to play five additional seasons with the Rays, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Dodgers and Padres before retiring as a member of the Houston Astros in 2008. While he was with the Astros, Cruz was reunited with a pair of former Rice teammates (Lance Berkman and Tim Byrdak), the first time three Owls were teammates at the major league level.

Cruz is aided by associate head coach and fellow former Owl, Paul Janish (Rice, 2004; fifth year), first year pitching coach Colter Bostick (St. Mary's 2014), and Trevor Putzig (Tenn Tech, 2018; second year).

Houston All the Way
Jose Cruz Jr. is one of three former Owls to have played baseball at the high school, college, and Major League levels in Houston. Philip Barzilla was the first to do so, playing at Dulles HS and Rice before appearing in one game with the Astros in 2006. Cruz completed the list when he joined the Astros in 2008. Lance Pendleton (Kingwood HS) become the most recent, appearing with the Astros in 2011.

Rice's Starting Pitcher
Freshman Parker Smith will make his first career start and second career appearance. Smith Made his collegiate debut on Sunday vs. Texas and surrendered one run in two innings of work. HBU's pitcher is TBD.

Getting it Started
Austin Bulman gave the Owls a 1-0 lead in the finale against Texas by hitting his second career homer against the Longhorns, marking the third consecutive year he's hit the Owls' first homer of the season. He connected against the Longhorns in the opening series in 2020 and then drilled a 3-run homer vs. HBU on Opening Day in 2021.

The Green, Green Grass of Home
After Wednesday's game, the Owls will pack up the road grays for over a month as Rice opens a 17-game homestand by hosting Lamar the weekend. The opening run of games at Reckling is part of a 34-game home schedule, the most regular-season games played at Reckling Park since it opened in 2000.

The C-USA Preseason Poll
C-USA head coaches have tabbed Rice to finish eighth in their annual preseason poll. The Owls followed Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, Charlotte, UTSA, and FIU. The remainder of the poll has WKU, Middle Tennessee, UAB, and Marshall.

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