Friday, April 22
Hattiesburg, MS
6:00 PM
Rice University
at
#6 Southern Miss
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Golden Eagles Next Up for Owls
4/21/2022 4:00:00 PM | Baseball
Rice takes on 6th-ranked Southern Miss in Hattiesburg
Coming off their first week without a midweek game this season, Rice travels to Hattiesburg this weekend for three games against Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles entered the week ranked No. 5 by Perfect Game, No. 6 by D1Baseball.com, No. 6 in the coaches poll, and No. 7 by Baseball America.
How to Follow:
ESPN+: Game One / Game Two / Game Three
Listen: Online / Rice Mobile App / Varsity Network
Live Stats
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Cooper Chandler (1-6, 6.18) vs.RHP Tanner Hall (6-0, 2.21)
Saturday: RHP Alex DeLeon (2-2, 5.86) vs.RHP Hunter Riggins (5-2, 2.61)
Sunday: TBA vs. RHP Hurson Waldrep (3-1, 2.01)
Owls on the Hill
#32 Cooper Chandler
6-2, 200, Gr. Frisco, Texas)
Making his 10th start (all in the Friday slot), the most since Matt Canterino started all 15 Friday games in 2019)... 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA in five C-USA starts... Picked up his first win as an Owl and his first in two years overall at Marshall on 3/25 (6,4,2,2,2,7)... Last previous win came in his final start of 2020 for Pepperdine vs. FIU (2/29)... Has worked six innings in four of his last five starts... Tied for sixth in the league in season strikeouts (54) and as well as in C-USA games (32)... 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 sixth start of the year, fifth consecutive (all in the weekend rotation), and the 10th of his career... Took the loss in his last start vs. UTSA on 4/16 (4,8,7,7,1,3)... Six starts this season are a career-best, surpassing his total of three in the shortened 2020 campaign... Opened the year with five relief outings before making a start in the fourth game vs. Harvard and picking up the win... Second win came in relief vs. UAB on 3/18... ND in his last start (4/3 at Marshall) but struck out a career-high six in 4.1 innings... 1-0 in four career conference starts...Win came in a rain-shortened, five-inning shutout of Charlotte in the final game of 2021 (5,3,0,0,1,2).
Rice-Southern Miss Series
Rice leads the overall series 30-25 and the series in Hattiesburg 13-10. Rice is 19-15 all-time at Pete Taylor Park thanks to four appearances in the C-USA Championship (2009, 20014-16). The schools have met 48 times in the regular season with Rice leading 26-22 and seven times at the C-USA championship with the teams tied 4-4. They have met five times in the championship game of the conference tournament with Rice winning in 2009, 2013, and 2017 and Southern Miss taking the title in 2010 and 2016. Each of Rice's last two championship game wins were walk-offs, at home at Reckling Park in the 11th inning in 2013 and in Biloxi in the bottom of the ninth in 2017, while their win in 2009 came courtesy of a two-run rally in the bottom of the eighth. Southern Miss captured the crown in 2016 when the tying run was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on a two-out double that had cut the margin to 3-2. Southern Miss has won the last three in the series after taking the last three of the four-game series at Reckling last season. This will be the Owls' first appearance at Pete Taylor Park since 2018. Rice won the final game of that series as freshman Trei Cruz capped a five-run rally in the eighth with a two-out, two-run single to give the Owls a 7-6 win over the14th ranked Golden Eagles. That win came one day after Southern Miss downed the Owl 8-7 in 12 innings, the longest game by innings in the series history and the only time in the regular season they have gone to extra innings.
Rice at Southern Miss (14-9)
4/1/2018 W 7 - 6
3/31/2018 L 7 - 8 (12)
3/30/2018 L 1 - 12
5/29/2016# L 2 - 3
4/24/2016 L 1 - 2
4/23/2016 W 4 - 3
4/22/2016 L 1 - 2
4/27/2014 L 6 - 8
4/26/2014 W 3 - 2
4/25/2014 W 5 - 0
3/24/2013 W 6 - 3
3/23/2013 W 3 - 0
3/22/2013 L 1 - 10
5/21/2011 L 3 - 7
5/20/2011 W 16 - 2
5/19/2011 W 4 - 0
5/24/2009# W 8 - 6
3/22/2009 L 4 - 5
3/21/2009 W 16 - 4
3/20/2009 W 4 - 3
3/25/2007 W 18 - 5
3/24/2007 W 5 - 3
3/23/2007 L 3 - 9
#Conference USA Tournament
A Perfect Memory
Thursday is the 10th anniversary of Philip Humber's perfect game for the Chicago White Sox against the Seattle Mariners. Later this season, former Owl and current Yankee Lucas Luetge will commemorate his part in a combined no-hitter by Seattle against the Dodgers. He was one of five relievers who followed Kevin Millwood to the mound in a 1-0 win on June 8, 2012. Luetge was the first of two former Owls to contribute to a combined no-hitter. Tony Cingrani was the second of four Dodger relievers to follow Walker Buehler to hold San Diego hitless on May 4, 2018 in a game played in Monterey, Mexico.
Ranked Wins
Southern Miss will be the Owls' third nationally-ranked opponent this season. The Owls opened the season with three games at preseason #1 Texas and hosted #15 Texas Tech for three games at Reckling. The Owls' last win over a team in the top ten in one of the college baseball polls at the time of the game was on 3/18/18 when the Owls bested #7 TCU 7-2. Their last win over a top ten opponent on the road was on 6/16/16 when the Owls beat #6 LSU 10-6 to force a seventh and deciding game in the Baton Rouge Regional.
Lights Out Linskey
Matthew Linskey is tied for seventh in C-USA with four saves, which is two shy of the Owls' team total from 2021... Did not allow a run in his first 14 appearances, and has struck out 38 in 16.2 innings (20.5 per nine innings)... Worked a career- best three innings at LA Tech on 4/10 and struck out eight (also a career-high and one less than the season-high for any Owl in 2021). On the season, he is holding opposing hitters to a .164 batting average (10x61). Opposing hitters are hitting .154 (4x26) with runners on base.
Hot Corner
Jack Riedel has made 13 starts and third and has at least one hit in 11 of those starts. He has started the last eight at third and is hitting .314 wtih a pair of homers over that stretch.
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).
Doubling Up
With three doubles on Sunday vs. UTSA, Rice now has 68 doubles in 37 games, one more than they totaled in 53 games last year. Austin Bullman leads the Owls and ranks sixth in C-USA with 11 doubles on the season and is tied for second with six in C-USA games.
Getting it Done in a Pinch
Rice pinch hitters are hitting .344 (11x32) the Owls' most pinch hits since they collected 19 in 2007 (19x57). Nathan Becker (3x5) 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 .207 average so far (6x29).
Coming in Bunches
Rice has scored at least three runs in an inning 21 times in the last 21 games after doing it only six times in the first 16 games.
Quick Hits
• Nathan Becker Leads the Owls with a .349 average and a .448 on-base percentage and is third with a career-high 37 hits... Opened the season by reaching base in 26 games (the longest streak by an Owl since 2017) and has reached in 26 of his 27 starts.
• Jack Ben-Shoshan Moved into the starting role in center vs. UTSA and singled in his first at-bat, breaking an 0-22 streak after singling in his first career at-`bat on 2/19. Hit safely in all three games vs. UTSA (4x12) along with his first two RBi and his fourth stolen base (tied for the team lead).
• Austin Bulman Leads the Owls in doubles (11), homers (7), and total bases (74) and is tied for the lead with 29 RBI... Tied for eighth in with 21 hits and tied for ninth with 39 total bases in conference action... Slammed a pair of homers at Marshall in his return to his home state. Owls' active career leader with 16 homers... Has three of the Owls' six homers on the road...12-game hitting streak this year was the longest by an Owl since 2018.
• Antonio Cruz Has seven hits in his last 29 at-bats.... was 2x5 with two doubles (career-best) and three RBI (tied career-best) after entering the game vs. Texas A&M CC... Has scored five runs in his last seven games.
• Pierce Gallo Leads the Owls with a .333 average in C-USA games (20x60)... Became the fourth Owl this season to collect four hits in a game with a 4x6 effort vs. UTSA on Sunday while also matching his career-high with four RBI... Has driven in 21 runs in his last 22 games after driving in just one in the first 14.. Has started the last 12 at second base after opening the year with 24 starts at short.... Leads C-USA with 109 assists overall (3rd in conference games with 39)
• Guy Garibay Jr. Leads the team in hits (40), multi-hit games (12), and runs (28), tied for second with nine doubles... 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.
• Manny Garza Returned to the lineup vs. UTSA on 4/16 after missing 30 games because of an injury with a splash, collecting a career-high four hits (4x4), including his first career double.
• Johnny Hoyle Has made 10 starts this year (four at 3B, 3 at 2B, 2 in CF, 1 at 1 at 1B). Three hits in a start vs. Sam Houston were a 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)... Has started the last 12 at short… Committed only one error over his last 37 games dating back to last season and none in his last 24 (99 chances).
• Justin Long Leads the team with a career-high 23 walks... 6x16 over his last five starts, including three two-hit games... 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 who was unable to regain his footing in time to hold the runners.
• Jack Riedel Has hit 10 of his last 12 to raise his average from .240 to .292... Leads the Owls with a .313 average on the road (10x32) and has two of the Owls six homers away from Reckling.
• Aaron Smigelski Tied for the team lead with 29 RBI... Drove in a career-high five while going 3x5 vs. HBU on 4/5… Singled twice and drove in three runs in the Owls' 11-run fifth innings… Broke an 0x13 stretch with a double vs. A&MCC on 3/30... 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... Slugged 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 at home this season.
• Connor Walsh Tied for the team lead with four stolen bases.
• Drew Woodcox Fifth on the team with six doubles and has eight extra-base hits in his last 16 games after collecting none in his first 13 games.
Quick Pitches
• Thomas Burbank Picked up his first career win in a start vs. HBU on 4/5 (5,1,0,0,2,5) and came back five days later to work five innings in a start vs. LA Tech (5,7,3,3,0,2) to take a tough 3-1 loss.. 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 a fourth vs. UTSA on 4/17 and has added three in midweek action.
• Brandon Deskins Broke a four-game losing streak by picking up the win in relief vs. UTSA on 4/17, matching his season-high with 3.2 innings out of the pen while giving up one hit and fanning three... Worked a scoreless eighth in the win at Sam Houston on 4/12.
• Roel Garcia Tossed two scoreless innings out of the pen at Sam Houston on Tuesday...Worked a team-high 4.0 innings in relief vs. FAU on 4/2 (4,5,2,2,0,4) but was tagged with the loss... 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)... Fanned six in two innings at LA Tech on 4/9... Opened the year with a relief outing at Texas and then made four weekend starts… Walked four in 2.1 innings vs. Longhorns, but has walked only five in his last 23.1 innings while striking out 25... 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 Pitched two scoreless innings in relief vs. UTSA on 4/16 and has allowed just one run over his last 7.2 relief innings (five appearances).. Made his second start at Sam Houston on 4/12 (2.2, 2,1,1,4,0)... .Made his starting debut in his last outing (vs. A&MCC on 3/30: 2.1,1,3,3,3,2)... 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 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 Leads the team with 17 appearances... Earned his first career win coming on in relief at Sam Houston on Tuesday... Came into a 2-1 game with two outs and a runner at second and retired the nation's leader in RBI (Carlos Contreras) and retired him on a fly ball to center.
• Tom Vincent Picked up his first career win in relief against Sam Houston on 3/16.
• Garret Zaskoda Worked a season-high 3.2 innings vs. UTSA on 4/15 (3.2,5,1,1,0,2) and has three outings this year of at least three innings. Tied his career-high with four K's (in three innings) vs. Houston... Has worked at least an inning in 10 of 11 appearances.
How to Follow:
ESPN+: Game One / Game Two / Game Three
Listen: Online / Rice Mobile App / Varsity Network
Live Stats
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Cooper Chandler (1-6, 6.18) vs.RHP Tanner Hall (6-0, 2.21)
Saturday: RHP Alex DeLeon (2-2, 5.86) vs.RHP Hunter Riggins (5-2, 2.61)
Sunday: TBA vs. RHP Hurson Waldrep (3-1, 2.01)
Owls on the Hill
#32 Cooper Chandler
6-2, 200, Gr. Frisco, Texas)
Making his 10th start (all in the Friday slot), the most since Matt Canterino started all 15 Friday games in 2019)... 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA in five C-USA starts... Picked up his first win as an Owl and his first in two years overall at Marshall on 3/25 (6,4,2,2,2,7)... Last previous win came in his final start of 2020 for Pepperdine vs. FIU (2/29)... Has worked six innings in four of his last five starts... Tied for sixth in the league in season strikeouts (54) and as well as in C-USA games (32)... 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 sixth start of the year, fifth consecutive (all in the weekend rotation), and the 10th of his career... Took the loss in his last start vs. UTSA on 4/16 (4,8,7,7,1,3)... Six starts this season are a career-best, surpassing his total of three in the shortened 2020 campaign... Opened the year with five relief outings before making a start in the fourth game vs. Harvard and picking up the win... Second win came in relief vs. UAB on 3/18... ND in his last start (4/3 at Marshall) but struck out a career-high six in 4.1 innings... 1-0 in four career conference starts...Win came in a rain-shortened, five-inning shutout of Charlotte in the final game of 2021 (5,3,0,0,1,2).
Rice-Southern Miss Series
Rice leads the overall series 30-25 and the series in Hattiesburg 13-10. Rice is 19-15 all-time at Pete Taylor Park thanks to four appearances in the C-USA Championship (2009, 20014-16). The schools have met 48 times in the regular season with Rice leading 26-22 and seven times at the C-USA championship with the teams tied 4-4. They have met five times in the championship game of the conference tournament with Rice winning in 2009, 2013, and 2017 and Southern Miss taking the title in 2010 and 2016. Each of Rice's last two championship game wins were walk-offs, at home at Reckling Park in the 11th inning in 2013 and in Biloxi in the bottom of the ninth in 2017, while their win in 2009 came courtesy of a two-run rally in the bottom of the eighth. Southern Miss captured the crown in 2016 when the tying run was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on a two-out double that had cut the margin to 3-2. Southern Miss has won the last three in the series after taking the last three of the four-game series at Reckling last season. This will be the Owls' first appearance at Pete Taylor Park since 2018. Rice won the final game of that series as freshman Trei Cruz capped a five-run rally in the eighth with a two-out, two-run single to give the Owls a 7-6 win over the14th ranked Golden Eagles. That win came one day after Southern Miss downed the Owl 8-7 in 12 innings, the longest game by innings in the series history and the only time in the regular season they have gone to extra innings.
Rice at Southern Miss (14-9)
4/1/2018 W 7 - 6
3/31/2018 L 7 - 8 (12)
3/30/2018 L 1 - 12
5/29/2016# L 2 - 3
4/24/2016 L 1 - 2
4/23/2016 W 4 - 3
4/22/2016 L 1 - 2
4/27/2014 L 6 - 8
4/26/2014 W 3 - 2
4/25/2014 W 5 - 0
3/24/2013 W 6 - 3
3/23/2013 W 3 - 0
3/22/2013 L 1 - 10
5/21/2011 L 3 - 7
5/20/2011 W 16 - 2
5/19/2011 W 4 - 0
5/24/2009# W 8 - 6
3/22/2009 L 4 - 5
3/21/2009 W 16 - 4
3/20/2009 W 4 - 3
3/25/2007 W 18 - 5
3/24/2007 W 5 - 3
3/23/2007 L 3 - 9
#Conference USA Tournament
A Perfect Memory
Thursday is the 10th anniversary of Philip Humber's perfect game for the Chicago White Sox against the Seattle Mariners. Later this season, former Owl and current Yankee Lucas Luetge will commemorate his part in a combined no-hitter by Seattle against the Dodgers. He was one of five relievers who followed Kevin Millwood to the mound in a 1-0 win on June 8, 2012. Luetge was the first of two former Owls to contribute to a combined no-hitter. Tony Cingrani was the second of four Dodger relievers to follow Walker Buehler to hold San Diego hitless on May 4, 2018 in a game played in Monterey, Mexico.
Ranked Wins
Southern Miss will be the Owls' third nationally-ranked opponent this season. The Owls opened the season with three games at preseason #1 Texas and hosted #15 Texas Tech for three games at Reckling. The Owls' last win over a team in the top ten in one of the college baseball polls at the time of the game was on 3/18/18 when the Owls bested #7 TCU 7-2. Their last win over a top ten opponent on the road was on 6/16/16 when the Owls beat #6 LSU 10-6 to force a seventh and deciding game in the Baton Rouge Regional.
Lights Out Linskey
Matthew Linskey is tied for seventh in C-USA with four saves, which is two shy of the Owls' team total from 2021... Did not allow a run in his first 14 appearances, and has struck out 38 in 16.2 innings (20.5 per nine innings)... Worked a career- best three innings at LA Tech on 4/10 and struck out eight (also a career-high and one less than the season-high for any Owl in 2021). On the season, he is holding opposing hitters to a .164 batting average (10x61). Opposing hitters are hitting .154 (4x26) with runners on base.
Hot Corner
Jack Riedel has made 13 starts and third and has at least one hit in 11 of those starts. He has started the last eight at third and is hitting .314 wtih a pair of homers over that stretch.
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).
Doubling Up
With three doubles on Sunday vs. UTSA, Rice now has 68 doubles in 37 games, one more than they totaled in 53 games last year. Austin Bullman leads the Owls and ranks sixth in C-USA with 11 doubles on the season and is tied for second with six in C-USA games.
Getting it Done in a Pinch
Rice pinch hitters are hitting .344 (11x32) the Owls' most pinch hits since they collected 19 in 2007 (19x57). Nathan Becker (3x5) 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 .207 average so far (6x29).
Coming in Bunches
Rice has scored at least three runs in an inning 21 times in the last 21 games after doing it only six times in the first 16 games.
Quick Hits
• Nathan Becker Leads the Owls with a .349 average and a .448 on-base percentage and is third with a career-high 37 hits... Opened the season by reaching base in 26 games (the longest streak by an Owl since 2017) and has reached in 26 of his 27 starts.
• Jack Ben-Shoshan Moved into the starting role in center vs. UTSA and singled in his first at-bat, breaking an 0-22 streak after singling in his first career at-`bat on 2/19. Hit safely in all three games vs. UTSA (4x12) along with his first two RBi and his fourth stolen base (tied for the team lead).
• Austin Bulman Leads the Owls in doubles (11), homers (7), and total bases (74) and is tied for the lead with 29 RBI... Tied for eighth in with 21 hits and tied for ninth with 39 total bases in conference action... Slammed a pair of homers at Marshall in his return to his home state. Owls' active career leader with 16 homers... Has three of the Owls' six homers on the road...12-game hitting streak this year was the longest by an Owl since 2018.
• Antonio Cruz Has seven hits in his last 29 at-bats.... was 2x5 with two doubles (career-best) and three RBI (tied career-best) after entering the game vs. Texas A&M CC... Has scored five runs in his last seven games.
• Pierce Gallo Leads the Owls with a .333 average in C-USA games (20x60)... Became the fourth Owl this season to collect four hits in a game with a 4x6 effort vs. UTSA on Sunday while also matching his career-high with four RBI... Has driven in 21 runs in his last 22 games after driving in just one in the first 14.. Has started the last 12 at second base after opening the year with 24 starts at short.... Leads C-USA with 109 assists overall (3rd in conference games with 39)
• Guy Garibay Jr. Leads the team in hits (40), multi-hit games (12), and runs (28), tied for second with nine doubles... 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.
• Manny Garza Returned to the lineup vs. UTSA on 4/16 after missing 30 games because of an injury with a splash, collecting a career-high four hits (4x4), including his first career double.
• Johnny Hoyle Has made 10 starts this year (four at 3B, 3 at 2B, 2 in CF, 1 at 1 at 1B). Three hits in a start vs. Sam Houston were a 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)... Has started the last 12 at short… Committed only one error over his last 37 games dating back to last season and none in his last 24 (99 chances).
• Justin Long Leads the team with a career-high 23 walks... 6x16 over his last five starts, including three two-hit games... 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 who was unable to regain his footing in time to hold the runners.
• Jack Riedel Has hit 10 of his last 12 to raise his average from .240 to .292... Leads the Owls with a .313 average on the road (10x32) and has two of the Owls six homers away from Reckling.
• Aaron Smigelski Tied for the team lead with 29 RBI... Drove in a career-high five while going 3x5 vs. HBU on 4/5… Singled twice and drove in three runs in the Owls' 11-run fifth innings… Broke an 0x13 stretch with a double vs. A&MCC on 3/30... 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... Slugged 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 at home this season.
• Connor Walsh Tied for the team lead with four stolen bases.
• Drew Woodcox Fifth on the team with six doubles and has eight extra-base hits in his last 16 games after collecting none in his first 13 games.
Quick Pitches
• Thomas Burbank Picked up his first career win in a start vs. HBU on 4/5 (5,1,0,0,2,5) and came back five days later to work five innings in a start vs. LA Tech (5,7,3,3,0,2) to take a tough 3-1 loss.. 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 a fourth vs. UTSA on 4/17 and has added three in midweek action.
• Brandon Deskins Broke a four-game losing streak by picking up the win in relief vs. UTSA on 4/17, matching his season-high with 3.2 innings out of the pen while giving up one hit and fanning three... Worked a scoreless eighth in the win at Sam Houston on 4/12.
• Roel Garcia Tossed two scoreless innings out of the pen at Sam Houston on Tuesday...Worked a team-high 4.0 innings in relief vs. FAU on 4/2 (4,5,2,2,0,4) but was tagged with the loss... 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)... Fanned six in two innings at LA Tech on 4/9... Opened the year with a relief outing at Texas and then made four weekend starts… Walked four in 2.1 innings vs. Longhorns, but has walked only five in his last 23.1 innings while striking out 25... 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 Pitched two scoreless innings in relief vs. UTSA on 4/16 and has allowed just one run over his last 7.2 relief innings (five appearances).. Made his second start at Sam Houston on 4/12 (2.2, 2,1,1,4,0)... .Made his starting debut in his last outing (vs. A&MCC on 3/30: 2.1,1,3,3,3,2)... 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 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 Leads the team with 17 appearances... Earned his first career win coming on in relief at Sam Houston on Tuesday... Came into a 2-1 game with two outs and a runner at second and retired the nation's leader in RBI (Carlos Contreras) and retired him on a fly ball to center.
• Tom Vincent Picked up his first career win in relief against Sam Houston on 3/16.
• Garret Zaskoda Worked a season-high 3.2 innings vs. UTSA on 4/15 (3.2,5,1,1,0,2) and has three outings this year of at least three innings. Tied his career-high with four K's (in three innings) vs. Houston... Has worked at least an inning in 10 of 11 appearances.
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02