Friday, April 1
Houston, Texas
6:30 PM
Rice University
vs
FAU
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Owls Collide at Reckling This Weekend
3/31/2022 5:22:00 PM | Baseball
First of three at 6:30 Friday
Week 3 of the 2022 Conference USA regular season will see Rice host Florida Atlantic at Reckling Park for the first time since 2018. Game times are set for 6:30 Friday, 2:00 Saturday and 12:30 on Sunday.
How to Follow:
Watch: CUSAtv
Listen: Online / Rice Mobile App
Live Stats
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Cooper Chandler (1-4, 4.76) vs. LHP Hunter Cooley (3-1, 4.42)
Saturday: RHP Alex DeLeon (2-1, 5.32) vs. RHP Tibur Rivero (3-0, 5.76)
Sunday: TBA vs. LHP Tyler Burnham (1-0, 4.61)
Owls on the Hill
#43 Cooper Chandler
(6-2, 200, Gr. Frisco, Texas)
Making his seventh start (all in the Friday slot)... Picked up his first win as an Owl and his first as a collegian in his last start, 7-2 at Marshall (6,4,2,2,2,7)... His last previous win came in his final start of 2020 for Pepperdine vs. FIU (2/29)... Has worked six innings in each of his last two starts, matching the longest outing by an Owl this year... Has posted a 1.50 ERA in his two conference starts (4th best)... Ranks sixth in the league in season strikeouts (36) and tied for sixth in C-USA games (14)... Has struck out at least five in every start this year... Started the season opener at Texas and the home opener vs. Lamar... Returned home to Texas for his final collegiate season after posting a 12-5 record and 3.17 ERA over 147.2 innings (98 strikeouts/45 walks) for the Waves and earning Freshman All-American honors in 2018. He pitched in six games with three starts last season at Pepperdine.
#17 Alex DeLeon (6-0, 190, Sr. Lago Vista, Texas)
Making his third start of the year, second in the weekend rotation and the seventh of his career... Three starts this season matches his career-best of three in the shortened 2020 campaign... Picked up the win in his first start vs. Harvard on 3/6...ND in his last start (3/27 at Marshall) but struck out a career-high six in 4.1 innings... 1-0 with a 5.12 ERA in nine career conference appearances... The win came in a rain-shortened, five-inning shutout of Charlotte in the final game of 2021 (5,3,0,0,1,2).
Rice-FAU Did You Know?
The Owls have faced each other 24 times since the Florida chapter joined C-USA. Rice won the first eight meetings, but FAU has won 10 of the last 16 including the last five in a row. Rice's last three wins in the series have come in the C-USA Championship (all in Biloxi. MS). The last game of the more recent series at Reckling (4/22/18) resulted in the first tie game in the stadium's history (6-6) as Rice saw the game called by curfew with a pair of runners on and no one out in the bottom of the ninth.
RICE VS. FAU (13-10-1)
3/17/2019 Boca Raton, FL L 4 - 12
3/16/2019 Boca Raton, FL L 7 - 12
3/15/2019 Boca Raton, FL L 2 - 4
5/26/2018 Biloxi, Miss. L 4 - 7
5/26/2018 Biloxi, Miss. L 8 - 9(10)
5/25/2018 Biloxi, Miss. W 5 - 4
4/22/2018 Reckling Park T 6 - 6
4/21/2018 Reckling Park L 3 - 5
4/20/2018 Reckling Park L 10 - 14
5/27/2017 Biloxi, Miss. W 13 - 2(7)
5/24/2017 Biloxi, Miss. W 5 - 3
4/2/2017 Boca Raton, Fla. L 2 - 8
4/1/2017 Boca Raton, Fla. W 5 - 4
3/31/2017 Boca Raton, Fla. L 2 - 3
5/26/2016 Hattiesburg, MS W 6 - 4(10)
5/15/2016 Reckling Park L 3 - 10
5/13/2016 Reckling Park W 9 - 1
5/10/2015 Boca Raton, Fla. W 5 - 2
5/9/2015 Boca Raton, Fla. W 5 - 1
5/8/2015 Boca Raton, Fla. W 6 - 0
3/23/2014 Reckling Park W 3 - 2(12)
3/22/2014 Reckling Park W 14 - 1
3/21/2014 Reckling Park W 2 - 0
2/23/2007 Reckling Park W 4 - 2
Punchouts
Owls pitching topped double figures in strikeouts in three consecutive games vs. Marshall, the second time they have done so this year. The last time Rice pitchers topped double figures in more than three consecutive games was from 4/13-26/19 (Charlotte, MTSU-3, LA Tech)... Owls pitchers have reached double digits in 10 of the last 14 games. In their last 126 innings (14 games), Owls pitchers have fanned 140.
At the Plate
In their last 10 games, the Owls have raised their team batting average 43 points (.210 to .253) by hitting. 314 (113x360). They have reached double figures in hits in seven of the last 10 compared with three times in the first 16 games.
Getting it Done in a Pinch
Rice pinch hitters are 11x24, their most pinch hits since they collected 19 in 2007 (19x57). Nathan Becker (3x4) leads the team, matching Ben Dukes (3x10) total as the team leader last year. On the other side of the diamond, Rice pitchers have held opposing pinch hitters to a .208 average so far (5x24).
Coming in Bunches
Rice has scored at least three runs in an innings in 16 times in the last 10 games after doing it only six times in the first 16 games.
Doubling Up
Rice matched its season-high with six doubles vs. A&M CC on Wednesday and now has 48 in the first 26 games. The Owls finished 2021 with 67 in 53 games last year.
Clearing the Bases
The Owls are hitting .343 with the bases loaded (13x342) including three grand slams. The Owls have hit their last five slams at Reckling Park:
Rice's last grand slam on the road came on April 12, 2019 when Justin Collins and Andrew Dunlap each slammed one in the first inning at Charlotte.
Lights Out Linskey
Matthew Linskey is tied for the C-USA lead with four saves, which is two shy of the Owls' team total from 2021... He has not allowed a run in his first 11 appearances, has struck out 24 in 10.2 innings and is holding opposing hitters to a .111 average.
In Good Company
Aaron Smigelski homered twice on 3/20 vs. UAB, the second time in the last three games the freshman homered in consecutive at bats in a game. The last Owl to have multiple games with at least two home runs in the same season was Tristan Gray in 2017. Anthony Rendon was the last to have more than two in a season... He had three, two-homer games during the 2010 regular season and added a three-home run game against Rider in the Austin Regional on his way to winning the Dick Howser Trophy and being named player of the year by Baseball America and Rawlings Sporting Goods.
Quick Hits
• Nathan Becker Leads the Owls with a .368 average, second with a .515 on-base percentage and third with a career-high 25 hits (had 24 in 95 at-bats as a freshman)... Has reached base in a career-best 21 consecutive games, the longest streak by an Owl since Ryan Chandler reached in each of the final 23 games of the 2018 season. Three times he has extended his streak with a pinch-hit single.
• Austin Bulman Tied for the team lead in homers (6) second in total bases (51). Slammed a pair of homers at Marshall in his return to his home state. Six homers this season are one shy of his career-high of seven last year (in 141 at bats). Owls active career leader with 15 homers.
• Antonio Cruz Has five hits in his last 13 at-bats.... was 2x5 with two doubles (career best) and three RBI (tied career high) after entering the game vs. Texas A&M CC... Has scored a run in his last four games (5 total).
• Pierce Gallo Has hit in 10 of his last 12 and is hitting a team-best .375 in C-USA games... Drove in a career-high four runs vs. Sam Houston and has driven in 15 runs in his last 11 games after driving in just one in the first 14.
• Guy Garibay Jr. Leads the team in hits (33), multi-hit games (10), runs (20), doubles (7) and RBI (21)... 10 multi-hit games and seven doubles are career-highs (9 & 6 as a freshman)... Collected a career-best four hits vs. SFA and matched it the next night vs. Sam Houston... After hitting his first career homer at Louisiana on 2/28/21 he has hit his last nine homers at Reckling Park.
• Johnny Hoyle Has hit in a career-best eight straight games (.414, 12x29) while scoring seven runs, driving in three and stealing three bases... Three hits in a start vs. Sam Houston were his career high.
• Hal Hughes Returned to action after recovering from a preseason injury and delivered an RBI single in his first at-bat (3/30 vs. A&M CC).
• Justin Long leads the team with 20 walks, two shy of his total in 44 games as a freshman... Was 3x6 with five walks in the series at Marshall... Picked up his first multi-RBI game of the year vs. Sam Houston driving in a pair on a sac fly when his bases-loaded drive to center was snagged by the diving Bearkats centerfielder.
• Jack Riedel has hit in nine of his last 12 games.
• Aaron Smigelski Broke an 0x13 stretch with a double vs. A&MCC on Wednesday... Collected a hit in 15 of the first 17 games of his college career (19x51), the first two as a pinch hitter and the last 13 as a starter... Has five homers in his last seven games at Reckling Park, including homers in three consecutive at-bats (his last vs. SFA and his first two vs. UAB)... His first homer against the Blazers was measured by StatCast at 444 feet, the longest by an Owl.
• Connor Walsh Was 4x12 with a triple and three RBI in the series with Marshall... Leads the Owls with four steals.
• Drew Woodcox Has hit in his last eight games at Reckling (.368, 14x38) while also scoring 10 runs and driving in seven.
Quick Pitches
• Thomas Burbank Made his second appearance out of the bullpen on Sunday in the finale at Marshall and took the loss... Worked three innings in relief against Texas Tech on 3/11 and struck out a season-high four (3,2,1,1,1,4)... Made three starts on the weekend to open the year and has added two starts in midweek action.
• Brandon Deskins Worked 3.2 innings in relief vs. A&M CC, the longest relief stint by an Owl this year.
• Roel Garcia Picked up his first win of the year with three shutout innings in relief at Marshall on 3/26 (3,1,0,0,2,3)... Opened the year with a relief outing at Texas and then made four weekend starts.... Struck out a career-high nine in four innings in a start vs. Texas Tech on 3/12 (4,2,2,0,1,9).
• Mark Perkins Picked up his first career win with a career-long three innings against SFA on 3/15. After being touched for a pair of doubles and walking a batter without recording an out in his debut at Texas, he's allowed two runs in 7.2 innings (five appearances).
• Parker Smith Has made six starts (three in the weekend rotation)... Worked a season-low one inning in his last start at Marshall (1,3,4,2,0,2)... 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 the former Rice road roommates 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 as he and head coach Jose Cruz Jr. each earned their first collegiate wins. Smith prepped at Houston's Bellaire HS, the same school that sent Cruz to Rice in 1992.
• David Shaw Tied with Tom Vincent for the team lead by stranding eight of 10 inherited runners.
• Tom Vincent Picked up his first career win in relief against Sam Houston...
• Garrett Zaskoda Matched his career-high with four K's (in three innings) vs. Houston... Has worked at least an inning in eight of nine appearances.
How to Follow:
Watch: CUSAtv
Listen: Online / Rice Mobile App
Live Stats
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Cooper Chandler (1-4, 4.76) vs. LHP Hunter Cooley (3-1, 4.42)
Saturday: RHP Alex DeLeon (2-1, 5.32) vs. RHP Tibur Rivero (3-0, 5.76)
Sunday: TBA vs. LHP Tyler Burnham (1-0, 4.61)
Owls on the Hill
#43 Cooper Chandler
(6-2, 200, Gr. Frisco, Texas)
Making his seventh start (all in the Friday slot)... Picked up his first win as an Owl and his first as a collegian in his last start, 7-2 at Marshall (6,4,2,2,2,7)... His last previous win came in his final start of 2020 for Pepperdine vs. FIU (2/29)... Has worked six innings in each of his last two starts, matching the longest outing by an Owl this year... Has posted a 1.50 ERA in his two conference starts (4th best)... Ranks sixth in the league in season strikeouts (36) and tied for sixth in C-USA games (14)... Has struck out at least five in every start this year... Started the season opener at Texas and the home opener vs. Lamar... Returned home to Texas for his final collegiate season after posting a 12-5 record and 3.17 ERA over 147.2 innings (98 strikeouts/45 walks) for the Waves and earning Freshman All-American honors in 2018. He pitched in six games with three starts last season at Pepperdine.
#17 Alex DeLeon (6-0, 190, Sr. Lago Vista, Texas)
Making his third start of the year, second in the weekend rotation and the seventh of his career... Three starts this season matches his career-best of three in the shortened 2020 campaign... Picked up the win in his first start vs. Harvard on 3/6...ND in his last start (3/27 at Marshall) but struck out a career-high six in 4.1 innings... 1-0 with a 5.12 ERA in nine career conference appearances... The win came in a rain-shortened, five-inning shutout of Charlotte in the final game of 2021 (5,3,0,0,1,2).
Rice-FAU Did You Know?
The Owls have faced each other 24 times since the Florida chapter joined C-USA. Rice won the first eight meetings, but FAU has won 10 of the last 16 including the last five in a row. Rice's last three wins in the series have come in the C-USA Championship (all in Biloxi. MS). The last game of the more recent series at Reckling (4/22/18) resulted in the first tie game in the stadium's history (6-6) as Rice saw the game called by curfew with a pair of runners on and no one out in the bottom of the ninth.
RICE VS. FAU (13-10-1)
3/17/2019 Boca Raton, FL L 4 - 12
3/16/2019 Boca Raton, FL L 7 - 12
3/15/2019 Boca Raton, FL L 2 - 4
5/26/2018 Biloxi, Miss. L 4 - 7
5/26/2018 Biloxi, Miss. L 8 - 9(10)
5/25/2018 Biloxi, Miss. W 5 - 4
4/22/2018 Reckling Park T 6 - 6
4/21/2018 Reckling Park L 3 - 5
4/20/2018 Reckling Park L 10 - 14
5/27/2017 Biloxi, Miss. W 13 - 2(7)
5/24/2017 Biloxi, Miss. W 5 - 3
4/2/2017 Boca Raton, Fla. L 2 - 8
4/1/2017 Boca Raton, Fla. W 5 - 4
3/31/2017 Boca Raton, Fla. L 2 - 3
5/26/2016 Hattiesburg, MS W 6 - 4(10)
5/15/2016 Reckling Park L 3 - 10
5/13/2016 Reckling Park W 9 - 1
5/10/2015 Boca Raton, Fla. W 5 - 2
5/9/2015 Boca Raton, Fla. W 5 - 1
5/8/2015 Boca Raton, Fla. W 6 - 0
3/23/2014 Reckling Park W 3 - 2(12)
3/22/2014 Reckling Park W 14 - 1
3/21/2014 Reckling Park W 2 - 0
2/23/2007 Reckling Park W 4 - 2
Punchouts
Owls pitching topped double figures in strikeouts in three consecutive games vs. Marshall, the second time they have done so this year. The last time Rice pitchers topped double figures in more than three consecutive games was from 4/13-26/19 (Charlotte, MTSU-3, LA Tech)... Owls pitchers have reached double digits in 10 of the last 14 games. In their last 126 innings (14 games), Owls pitchers have fanned 140.
At the Plate
In their last 10 games, the Owls have raised their team batting average 43 points (.210 to .253) by hitting. 314 (113x360). They have reached double figures in hits in seven of the last 10 compared with three times in the first 16 games.
Getting it Done in a Pinch
Rice pinch hitters are 11x24, their most pinch hits since they collected 19 in 2007 (19x57). Nathan Becker (3x4) leads the team, matching Ben Dukes (3x10) total as the team leader last year. On the other side of the diamond, Rice pitchers have held opposing pinch hitters to a .208 average so far (5x24).
Coming in Bunches
Rice has scored at least three runs in an innings in 16 times in the last 10 games after doing it only six times in the first 16 games.
Doubling Up
Rice matched its season-high with six doubles vs. A&M CC on Wednesday and now has 48 in the first 26 games. The Owls finished 2021 with 67 in 53 games last year.
Clearing the Bases
The Owls are hitting .343 with the bases loaded (13x342) including three grand slams. The Owls have hit their last five slams at Reckling Park:
- Nathan Becker, 5th inning vs. SFA 3/15
- Guy Garibay Jr. 2nd inning vs. SFA 3/15
- Austin Bulman, 8th inning vs. Lamar 2/27
- Hal Hughes. 1st inning vs. Charlotte 5/16/21
- Connor Walsh, 8th inning vs. Southern 3/19/21
Rice's last grand slam on the road came on April 12, 2019 when Justin Collins and Andrew Dunlap each slammed one in the first inning at Charlotte.
Lights Out Linskey
Matthew Linskey is tied for the C-USA lead with four saves, which is two shy of the Owls' team total from 2021... He has not allowed a run in his first 11 appearances, has struck out 24 in 10.2 innings and is holding opposing hitters to a .111 average.
In Good Company
Aaron Smigelski homered twice on 3/20 vs. UAB, the second time in the last three games the freshman homered in consecutive at bats in a game. The last Owl to have multiple games with at least two home runs in the same season was Tristan Gray in 2017. Anthony Rendon was the last to have more than two in a season... He had three, two-homer games during the 2010 regular season and added a three-home run game against Rider in the Austin Regional on his way to winning the Dick Howser Trophy and being named player of the year by Baseball America and Rawlings Sporting Goods.
Quick Hits
• Nathan Becker Leads the Owls with a .368 average, second with a .515 on-base percentage and third with a career-high 25 hits (had 24 in 95 at-bats as a freshman)... Has reached base in a career-best 21 consecutive games, the longest streak by an Owl since Ryan Chandler reached in each of the final 23 games of the 2018 season. Three times he has extended his streak with a pinch-hit single.
• Austin Bulman Tied for the team lead in homers (6) second in total bases (51). Slammed a pair of homers at Marshall in his return to his home state. Six homers this season are one shy of his career-high of seven last year (in 141 at bats). Owls active career leader with 15 homers.
• Antonio Cruz Has five hits in his last 13 at-bats.... was 2x5 with two doubles (career best) and three RBI (tied career high) after entering the game vs. Texas A&M CC... Has scored a run in his last four games (5 total).
• Pierce Gallo Has hit in 10 of his last 12 and is hitting a team-best .375 in C-USA games... Drove in a career-high four runs vs. Sam Houston and has driven in 15 runs in his last 11 games after driving in just one in the first 14.
• Guy Garibay Jr. Leads the team in hits (33), multi-hit games (10), runs (20), doubles (7) and RBI (21)... 10 multi-hit games and seven doubles are career-highs (9 & 6 as a freshman)... Collected a career-best four hits vs. SFA and matched it the next night vs. Sam Houston... After hitting his first career homer at Louisiana on 2/28/21 he has hit his last nine homers at Reckling Park.
• Johnny Hoyle Has hit in a career-best eight straight games (.414, 12x29) while scoring seven runs, driving in three and stealing three bases... Three hits in a start vs. Sam Houston were his career high.
• Hal Hughes Returned to action after recovering from a preseason injury and delivered an RBI single in his first at-bat (3/30 vs. A&M CC).
• Justin Long leads the team with 20 walks, two shy of his total in 44 games as a freshman... Was 3x6 with five walks in the series at Marshall... Picked up his first multi-RBI game of the year vs. Sam Houston driving in a pair on a sac fly when his bases-loaded drive to center was snagged by the diving Bearkats centerfielder.
• Jack Riedel has hit in nine of his last 12 games.
• Aaron Smigelski Broke an 0x13 stretch with a double vs. A&MCC on Wednesday... Collected a hit in 15 of the first 17 games of his college career (19x51), the first two as a pinch hitter and the last 13 as a starter... Has five homers in his last seven games at Reckling Park, including homers in three consecutive at-bats (his last vs. SFA and his first two vs. UAB)... His first homer against the Blazers was measured by StatCast at 444 feet, the longest by an Owl.
• Connor Walsh Was 4x12 with a triple and three RBI in the series with Marshall... Leads the Owls with four steals.
• Drew Woodcox Has hit in his last eight games at Reckling (.368, 14x38) while also scoring 10 runs and driving in seven.
Quick Pitches
• Thomas Burbank Made his second appearance out of the bullpen on Sunday in the finale at Marshall and took the loss... Worked three innings in relief against Texas Tech on 3/11 and struck out a season-high four (3,2,1,1,1,4)... Made three starts on the weekend to open the year and has added two starts in midweek action.
• Brandon Deskins Worked 3.2 innings in relief vs. A&M CC, the longest relief stint by an Owl this year.
• Roel Garcia Picked up his first win of the year with three shutout innings in relief at Marshall on 3/26 (3,1,0,0,2,3)... Opened the year with a relief outing at Texas and then made four weekend starts.... Struck out a career-high nine in four innings in a start vs. Texas Tech on 3/12 (4,2,2,0,1,9).
• Mark Perkins Picked up his first career win with a career-long three innings against SFA on 3/15. After being touched for a pair of doubles and walking a batter without recording an out in his debut at Texas, he's allowed two runs in 7.2 innings (five appearances).
• Parker Smith Has made six starts (three in the weekend rotation)... Worked a season-low one inning in his last start at Marshall (1,3,4,2,0,2)... 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 the former Rice road roommates 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 as he and head coach Jose Cruz Jr. each earned their first collegiate wins. Smith prepped at Houston's Bellaire HS, the same school that sent Cruz to Rice in 1992.
• David Shaw Tied with Tom Vincent for the team lead by stranding eight of 10 inherited runners.
• Tom Vincent Picked up his first career win in relief against Sam Houston...
• Garrett Zaskoda Matched his career-high with four K's (in three innings) vs. Houston... Has worked at least an inning in eight of nine appearances.
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/ BaseballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
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VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
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