Wednesday, March 2
Houston, Texas
6:30 PM
Rice University
vs
Baylor
Owls Welcome Baylor Back to Reckling
3/1/2022 5:30:00 PM | Baseball
First meeting here since 2011
Rice's 17-game homestand continues this week with the return of the Baylor Bears for a midweek contest followed by four games over the weekend with Harvard. This will mark the first appearance for Baylor at Reckling since the 2011 Regional and the first meeting between the schools since 2019. The game is part of a tennis/baseball doubleheader on campus as the Baylor and Rice women's tennis teams will meet at the George R. Brown Tennis Center at 1 p.m. earlier on Wednesday.
How to Follow:
Watch: CUSAtv
Listen: Online / Rice Mobile App
Live Stats
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 first pitch. Veteran J.P. Heath is now in his 14th 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, as well as 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.
Rice-Baylor Did You Know?
While Rice and Baylor met annually through 2007, the schools have only met played five times since, all of them officially at a neutral site. The schools met at Minute Maid Park for the Astros college tournament in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2019 and they faced off in the winner's game of the 2011 Regional at Reckling where Baylor was the home team. The Bears downed the top-seeded Owls 3-2 in the winner's bracket game, but went on to drop a pair of games to California, who eventually reached the College World Series. The win was Baylor's first in 10 games against Rice at Reckling. The teams have face nine times in Houston at Minute Maid Park, with Rice holding a 6-3 lead (4-3 as Minute Maid Park, 2-0 as Enron Field).
Bixby Family 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.
Starting Pitchers
Rice will start freshman RHP Parker Smith (1-0; 1.13 ERA) while Baylor will counter with RHP Henry Cone (0-0, 6.75). Smith made his collegiate debut in relief against Texas on 2/20 (2,2,1,1,0,0) and followed that with a midweek start at HBU in the first meeting between former Rice and Astros teammates José Cruz Jr. and Lance Berkman. Smith worked six shutout innings in which he allowed a pair of hits and struck out four while throwing just 56 pitches. Smith prepped at Houston's Bellaire HIS, the same school that sent Cruz to Rice in 1992.
Quick Hits
• Rice has now homered in eight consecutive games at home dating back to 2021 and has four homers in three games at Reckling Park this year.
• Aaron Smigelski has hit in his first six collegiate games (8x20), the first two as a pinch hitter and the last three as a starter.
• Austin Bullman drove in a career-high five vs. Lamar on Sunday, four on a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 8th. He drove in a career-high five and were the most by an Owl since Nathan Becker drove in five last season at ODU. He has also reached base in all seven games this year.
• Antonio Cruz has hit in four straight and five of seven.
• Guy Garibay Jr. has hit seven of his eight career homers at Reckling Park, He hit his first career homer at Louisiana on 2/28, hit five at home the remainder of 2021 and has kept up the streak in 2022.
• Nathan Becker hit safely in all three games of the Lamar series and was 3x9 in two games as the DH.
• Connor Walsh made his 2022 debut on Saturday vs. Lamar and was 3x8 in his first two games of the season.
The Green, Green Grass of Home
The Owls have packed up the road grays until the end of March as Rice hosts a 17-game homestand by hosting Lamar this 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.
How to Follow:
Watch: CUSAtv
Listen: Online / Rice Mobile App
Live Stats
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 first pitch. Veteran J.P. Heath is now in his 14th 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, as well as 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.
Rice-Baylor Did You Know?
While Rice and Baylor met annually through 2007, the schools have only met played five times since, all of them officially at a neutral site. The schools met at Minute Maid Park for the Astros college tournament in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2019 and they faced off in the winner's game of the 2011 Regional at Reckling where Baylor was the home team. The Bears downed the top-seeded Owls 3-2 in the winner's bracket game, but went on to drop a pair of games to California, who eventually reached the College World Series. The win was Baylor's first in 10 games against Rice at Reckling. The teams have face nine times in Houston at Minute Maid Park, with Rice holding a 6-3 lead (4-3 as Minute Maid Park, 2-0 as Enron Field).
Bixby Family 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.
Starting Pitchers
Rice will start freshman RHP Parker Smith (1-0; 1.13 ERA) while Baylor will counter with RHP Henry Cone (0-0, 6.75). Smith made his collegiate debut in relief against Texas on 2/20 (2,2,1,1,0,0) and followed that with a midweek start at HBU in the first meeting between former Rice and Astros teammates José Cruz Jr. and Lance Berkman. Smith worked six shutout innings in which he allowed a pair of hits and struck out four while throwing just 56 pitches. Smith prepped at Houston's Bellaire HIS, the same school that sent Cruz to Rice in 1992.
Quick Hits
• Rice has now homered in eight consecutive games at home dating back to 2021 and has four homers in three games at Reckling Park this year.
• Aaron Smigelski has hit in his first six collegiate games (8x20), the first two as a pinch hitter and the last three as a starter.
• Austin Bullman drove in a career-high five vs. Lamar on Sunday, four on a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 8th. He drove in a career-high five and were the most by an Owl since Nathan Becker drove in five last season at ODU. He has also reached base in all seven games this year.
• Antonio Cruz has hit in four straight and five of seven.
• Guy Garibay Jr. has hit seven of his eight career homers at Reckling Park, He hit his first career homer at Louisiana on 2/28, hit five at home the remainder of 2021 and has kept up the streak in 2022.
• Nathan Becker hit safely in all three games of the Lamar series and was 3x9 in two games as the DH.
• Connor Walsh made his 2022 debut on Saturday vs. Lamar and was 3x8 in his first two games of the season.
The Green, Green Grass of Home
The Owls have packed up the road grays until the end of March as Rice hosts a 17-game homestand by hosting Lamar this 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.
Players Mentioned
Inf.
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OF
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OF
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INF
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P
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Inf./OF
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