Rice University
SFA
SFA and Sam Houston Up Next for Owls
3/14/2022 6:15:00 PM | Baseball
Pair of midweek games prior to the start of C-USA play
Rice's 17-game homestand enters its final set of six games the Owls host SFA and Sam Houston for weeknight games on Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
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.
Rice-SFA/Sam Houston Did You Know?
his will be the fifth game between the Owls and Lumberjacks at Reckling Park and the first since 2015. Rice has won all four meetings at Reckling, including a 3-2 win in 10 innings in 2013. The schools met 25 times between 1982 and 1995. The last game of that stretch was the season opener and the Owls won 20-3 as Jose Cruz Jr. was 3x5, scored four runs, and hit a pair of homers. The next day he set a school record (since tied by his son Trei) by driving in 10 while hitting three homers vs. Southwest Texas State.
Rice and Sam Houston have met 23 times at Reckling (20 regular season and three NCAA Regional) with Rice holding a 13-10 lead (2-1 in postseason) in the series. Their last meeting came in 2021 at Minute Maid Park in the Shriner's College Classic. The teams have traded road wins in the last six meetings on campus, with Rice winning in Huntsville in 2017-19 and the Bearkats taking the three at Reckling over that stretch. Rice last won at home against Sam Houston in 2016 as the Owls completed a sweep of the season series with a 5-3 win on May 29.
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
Staring pitchers for both games are TBA at this time.
In Check
Texas Tech came into Reckling Park hitting .285 as a team and had slugged 18 homers in its first 14 games, but the Owls held them to a .254 average on the weekend and surrendered only one home run. The Owls held the Red Raiders, who had scored 12 runs in the first inning over their first 14 games, to one unearned run in the first inning of the three games.
Punchouts
Owls pitching topped double figures in strikeouts in three consecutive games last week (Houston 11 & Texas Tech 10 & 13) for the first time since they did it in each game of the series vs. Southern last year (March 19-21).
Welcome Back
After the limited seating restrictions of 2021, baseball fans are returning to Reckling. The three games with Texas Tech drew 7,225 fans, the largest non-season opening series since they drew 7,618 vs. Southern Miss in 2019.
Quick Hits
• Aaron Smigelski has hit in 10 of his first 11 games of his college career (13x36), the first two as a pinch hitter and the last nine as a starter... Despite missing five games, he leads the team with 11 RBI.
• Austin Bulman leads the Owls in runs (10), hits (14) and is second with 10 RBI and eight walks. He has reached base in 13 of 16 games.
• Guy Garibay Jr. has hit eight of his nine 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 home streak in 2022... He leads Owls in homers (3) and doubles (6). His six doubles match his output in 48 games last season.
• Nathan Becker has reached base in all 11 games he's played in this season. Three times he has extended his streak with a pinch hit single.'
• Jack Riedel was 3x3 with a home run and double after entering the Houston game in the fourth inning.
Quick Pitches
• Matthew Linskey has not allowed a run in his first six appearances and has struck out the side in each of his last three appearances while converting his first two save opportunities. He has 12 strikeouts in five innings this year.
• Garrett Zaskoda leads the bullpen with 12 innings and matched his career-high with four K's (in three innings) vs. Houston.
• David Shaw shares the lead with seven relief appearances and has not allowed a run in his last five appearances.
Getting it Done in a Pinch
Rice pinch hitters are 7x19 so far this year, matching the number of pinch hits the Owls collected during the 2021 season. The Owls hit .194 (7x36) last season. Nathan Becker (3x4) leads the team, matching Ben Dukes (3x10) total as the team leader last year.
