Friday, April 8
Ruston, LA
6:00 PM
Rice University
at
Louisiana Tech
Bulldogs Up Next For Owls
4/7/2022 10:43:00 PM | Baseball
Three-game series starts on Friday at 6 p.m.
Rice resumes Conference USA road action this weekend as the Owls take on Louisiana Tech in a three-game series at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park in Ruston, Louisiana.
How to Follow:
Watch: CUSAtv
Listen: Online / Rice Mobile App
Live Stats
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Cooper Chandler (1-5, 5.50) vs. LHP Cade Gibson (4-1, 2.61)
Saturday: RHP Alex DeLeon (2-1, 5.00) vs. - RHP Ryan Jennings (1-1, 5.03)
Sunday: Both teams TBD
Owl on the Hill
#32 Cooper Chandler
6-2, 200, Gr. Frisco, Texas)
Making his eighth start (all in the Friday slot)... Picked up his first win as an Owl and his first as a collegian in two years at Marshall in his last road start, 7-2 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 each of his last three starts, matching the longest outing by an Owl this year... Ranks ninth in the league in season strikeouts (42) and tied for sixth in C-USA games (20)... 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 fourth start of the year, third in the weekend rotation, and the eighth of his career... Four starts this season are a career-best, surpassing his total of three in the shortened 2020 campaign... Picked up the win in his first start vs. Harvard on 3/6... ND in his last two starts (4/3 at Marshall, 4/10 vs. FAU) but struck out a career-high six in 4.1 innings at Marshall... 1-0 in two 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-LA Tech Did You Know?
Rice and Louisiana Tech have met 61 times in a series that began with a pair of games at Rice in 1969. The schools met again for a pair of games in 1980 before becoming conference foes in the WAC from 2002-05. They met from 2011-13 in non-conference action before returning to conference competition in 2014. Rice leads the overall series 45-16, and the C-USA series 13-12, including a 4-1 record in games played in the Conference USA tournament. Rice is 11-7 all-time in Ruston but has lost the last six since the Bulldogs joined C-USA. Rice's last win in Ruston was on 5/8/13 (15-2) 0-6 in Ruston in Conference USA.
RICE vs LA Tech (45-16)
4/11/2021 Reckling Park L 4 - 13
4/10/2021 Reckling Park L 6 - 20 (7)
4/10/2021 Reckling Park L 6 - 7 (7)
4/9/2021 Reckling Park L 0 - 6
5/23/2019 Biloxi, Miss. W 4 - 3
4/28/2019 Reckling Park W 3 - 2 (10)
4/27/2019 Reckling Park W 4 - 2
4/26/2019 Reckling Park W 3 - 1
5/24/2018 Biloxi, Miss. W 6 - 2
3/17/2018 Ruston, La. L 4 - 6
3/17/2018 Ruston, La. L 3 - 7
3/16/2018 Ruston, La. L 2 - 8
4/9/2017 Reckling Park L 0 - 6
4/8/2017 Reckling Park W 3 - 2 (10)
4/7/2017 Reckling Park L 4 - 6
5/28/2016 Hattiesburg, MS W 11 - 9
5/28/2016 Hattiesburg, MS L 10 - 13
5/25/2016 Hattiesburg, MS W 13 - 12
5/21/2016 Ruston, La. L 5 - 10
5/20/2016 Ruston, La. L 3 - 4 (15)
5/19/2016 Ruston, La. L 2 - 12
3/15/2015 Reckling Park W 9 - 2
3/14/2015 Reckling Park W 8 - 7
3/13/2015 Reckling Park W 4 - 2
5/17/2014 Reckling Park W 4 - 3 (11)
5/16/2014 Reckling Park W 3 - 0
5/15/2014 Reckling Park W 11 - 2
5/8/2013 Ruston, La. W 15 - 2
3/13/2013 Reckling Park W 7 - 5
3/12/2013 Reckling Park W 4 - 2
3/20/2011 Reckling Park W 11 - 3
3/19/2011 Reckling Park W 5 - 2
3/18/2011 Reckling Park W 5 - 1
4/24/2005 Reckling Park W 6 - 2
4/23/2005 Reckling Park W 17 - 1
4/22/2005 Reckling Park W 12 - 6
4/10/2005 Ruston, LA W 11 - 4
4/9/2005 Ruston, LA W 9 - 6
4/8/2005 Ruston, LA L 2 - 3
5/30/2004 Reckling Park W 8 - 1
5/29/2004 Reckling Park W 10 - 0 (7)
5/29/2004 Reckling Park L 5 - 6 (10)
5/28/2004 Reckling Park W 10 - 0
4/24/2004 Ruston, LA W 7 - 0
4/23/2004 Ruston, LA W 4 - 1
4/26/2003 Reckling Park W 8 - 2
4/25/2003 Reckling Park W 13 - 3
4/24/2003 Reckling Park W 2 - 1
3/9/2003 Ruston, LA W 12 - 0
3/8/2003 Ruston, LA W 5 - 3
3/7/2003 Ruston, LA W 4 - 3
5/26/2002 Ruston, LA W 13 - 1
5/25/2002 Ruston, LA W 4 - 1
5/24/2002 Ruston, LA W 6 - 3
4/27/2002 Reckling Park W 7 - 6
4/26/2002 Reckling Park W 9 - 1
4/25/2002 Reckling Park W 3 - 2
2/28/1980 Cameron Field L 2 - 3 (8)
2/28/1980 Cameron Field W 5 - 3 (7)
3/11/1969 Rice Baseball Field W 3 - 2
3/10/1969 Rice Baseball Field W 5 - 4 (12)
Showtime
Four former Owls are on Opening Day rosters as Major League Baseball opens its 2022 season. Anthony Rendon is in his third season with the Los Angeles Angels and ninth overall after hitting .320 with a homer and four RBI this spring. Reliever Lucas Luetge returns for a second season in the Yankees bullpen and his fifth overall in the majors. Tyler Duffey is in his eighth season with Minnesota while his former Rice teammate, JT Chargois (who was also drafted by the Twins in second round by the Twins the same year they took Duffey in the fifth round) is back with Tampa after joining the Rays last season from Seattle before the trade deadline.
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 159 innings (18 games), Owls pitchers have fanned 169.
Getting it Done in a Pinch
Rice pinch hitters are hitting .393 (11x28) 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 .214 average so far (6x28).
Coming in Bunches
Rice has scored at least three runs in an innings 18 times in the last 14 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 53 in the first 30 games. The Owls finished 2021 with 67 in 53 games last year.
Clearing the Bases
The Owls are hitting .333 with the bases loaded (16x48) 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 12 appearances, has struck out 26 in 11.2 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 .354 average and a .474 on base percentage and third with a career-high 28 hits... Has reached base in a career-best 24 consecutive games, the longest streak by an Owl since 2017 when Dominic DiCaprio (30) and Tristan Gray (29) led the team... Becker extended his streak on three occasions with a pinch hit single.
• Austin Bulman Leads the team in homers (7, ties career-high) RBI (26) and total bases (62). Slammed a pair of homers at Marshall in his return to his home state. Owls active career leader with 16 homers.
• Antonio Cruz Has seven hits in his last 22 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 Has hit in 13 of his last 15... Leads the Owls with a .353 average in C-USA games (12x34) Drove in a career-high four runs vs. Sam Houston and has driven in 16 runs in his last 15 games after driving in just one in the first 14.
• Guy Garibay Jr. Leads the team in hits (37), multi-hit games (11), runs (26), doubles (8)... 11 multi-hit games and eight 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 eight of his last 10 (.324, 12x37) 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) and has hit in four of his first five games.
• Justin Long leads the team with 21 walks, one 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 five straight and in 12 of his last 15 games…. Has made five starts and third and has hit in all five (.500, 8x16).
• Aaron Smigelski Drove in a career-high five while going 3x5 vs. HBU on Tuesday… 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... 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 Third on the team with six doubles and has eight extra-base hits in his last 13 games after collecting none in his first 13 games.
Quick Pitches
• Thomas Burbank Picked up his first career win on Tuesday in a start vs. HBU (5,1,0,0,2,5).. 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 three 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 Worked a team-high 4.0 innings in relief vs. FAU on Saturday (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)... 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 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 13 appearances.
• Tom Vincent Picked up his first career win in relief against Sam Houston...
• Garrett Zaskoda Matched his season high by working three innings vs. FAU on 4/1. Tied his career-high with four K's (in three innings) vs. Houston... Has worked at least an inning in nine of 10 appearances.
How to Follow:
Watch: CUSAtv
Listen: Online / Rice Mobile App
Live Stats
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Cooper Chandler (1-5, 5.50) vs. LHP Cade Gibson (4-1, 2.61)
Saturday: RHP Alex DeLeon (2-1, 5.00) vs. - RHP Ryan Jennings (1-1, 5.03)
Sunday: Both teams TBD
Owl on the Hill
#32 Cooper Chandler
6-2, 200, Gr. Frisco, Texas)
Making his eighth start (all in the Friday slot)... Picked up his first win as an Owl and his first as a collegian in two years at Marshall in his last road start, 7-2 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 each of his last three starts, matching the longest outing by an Owl this year... Ranks ninth in the league in season strikeouts (42) and tied for sixth in C-USA games (20)... 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 fourth start of the year, third in the weekend rotation, and the eighth of his career... Four starts this season are a career-best, surpassing his total of three in the shortened 2020 campaign... Picked up the win in his first start vs. Harvard on 3/6... ND in his last two starts (4/3 at Marshall, 4/10 vs. FAU) but struck out a career-high six in 4.1 innings at Marshall... 1-0 in two 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-LA Tech Did You Know?
Rice and Louisiana Tech have met 61 times in a series that began with a pair of games at Rice in 1969. The schools met again for a pair of games in 1980 before becoming conference foes in the WAC from 2002-05. They met from 2011-13 in non-conference action before returning to conference competition in 2014. Rice leads the overall series 45-16, and the C-USA series 13-12, including a 4-1 record in games played in the Conference USA tournament. Rice is 11-7 all-time in Ruston but has lost the last six since the Bulldogs joined C-USA. Rice's last win in Ruston was on 5/8/13 (15-2) 0-6 in Ruston in Conference USA.
RICE vs LA Tech (45-16)
4/11/2021 Reckling Park L 4 - 13
4/10/2021 Reckling Park L 6 - 20 (7)
4/10/2021 Reckling Park L 6 - 7 (7)
4/9/2021 Reckling Park L 0 - 6
5/23/2019 Biloxi, Miss. W 4 - 3
4/28/2019 Reckling Park W 3 - 2 (10)
4/27/2019 Reckling Park W 4 - 2
4/26/2019 Reckling Park W 3 - 1
5/24/2018 Biloxi, Miss. W 6 - 2
3/17/2018 Ruston, La. L 4 - 6
3/17/2018 Ruston, La. L 3 - 7
3/16/2018 Ruston, La. L 2 - 8
4/9/2017 Reckling Park L 0 - 6
4/8/2017 Reckling Park W 3 - 2 (10)
4/7/2017 Reckling Park L 4 - 6
5/28/2016 Hattiesburg, MS W 11 - 9
5/28/2016 Hattiesburg, MS L 10 - 13
5/25/2016 Hattiesburg, MS W 13 - 12
5/21/2016 Ruston, La. L 5 - 10
5/20/2016 Ruston, La. L 3 - 4 (15)
5/19/2016 Ruston, La. L 2 - 12
3/15/2015 Reckling Park W 9 - 2
3/14/2015 Reckling Park W 8 - 7
3/13/2015 Reckling Park W 4 - 2
5/17/2014 Reckling Park W 4 - 3 (11)
5/16/2014 Reckling Park W 3 - 0
5/15/2014 Reckling Park W 11 - 2
5/8/2013 Ruston, La. W 15 - 2
3/13/2013 Reckling Park W 7 - 5
3/12/2013 Reckling Park W 4 - 2
3/20/2011 Reckling Park W 11 - 3
3/19/2011 Reckling Park W 5 - 2
3/18/2011 Reckling Park W 5 - 1
4/24/2005 Reckling Park W 6 - 2
4/23/2005 Reckling Park W 17 - 1
4/22/2005 Reckling Park W 12 - 6
4/10/2005 Ruston, LA W 11 - 4
4/9/2005 Ruston, LA W 9 - 6
4/8/2005 Ruston, LA L 2 - 3
5/30/2004 Reckling Park W 8 - 1
5/29/2004 Reckling Park W 10 - 0 (7)
5/29/2004 Reckling Park L 5 - 6 (10)
5/28/2004 Reckling Park W 10 - 0
4/24/2004 Ruston, LA W 7 - 0
4/23/2004 Ruston, LA W 4 - 1
4/26/2003 Reckling Park W 8 - 2
4/25/2003 Reckling Park W 13 - 3
4/24/2003 Reckling Park W 2 - 1
3/9/2003 Ruston, LA W 12 - 0
3/8/2003 Ruston, LA W 5 - 3
3/7/2003 Ruston, LA W 4 - 3
5/26/2002 Ruston, LA W 13 - 1
5/25/2002 Ruston, LA W 4 - 1
5/24/2002 Ruston, LA W 6 - 3
4/27/2002 Reckling Park W 7 - 6
4/26/2002 Reckling Park W 9 - 1
4/25/2002 Reckling Park W 3 - 2
2/28/1980 Cameron Field L 2 - 3 (8)
2/28/1980 Cameron Field W 5 - 3 (7)
3/11/1969 Rice Baseball Field W 3 - 2
3/10/1969 Rice Baseball Field W 5 - 4 (12)
Showtime
Four former Owls are on Opening Day rosters as Major League Baseball opens its 2022 season. Anthony Rendon is in his third season with the Los Angeles Angels and ninth overall after hitting .320 with a homer and four RBI this spring. Reliever Lucas Luetge returns for a second season in the Yankees bullpen and his fifth overall in the majors. Tyler Duffey is in his eighth season with Minnesota while his former Rice teammate, JT Chargois (who was also drafted by the Twins in second round by the Twins the same year they took Duffey in the fifth round) is back with Tampa after joining the Rays last season from Seattle before the trade deadline.
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 159 innings (18 games), Owls pitchers have fanned 169.
Getting it Done in a Pinch
Rice pinch hitters are hitting .393 (11x28) 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 .214 average so far (6x28).
Coming in Bunches
Rice has scored at least three runs in an innings 18 times in the last 14 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 53 in the first 30 games. The Owls finished 2021 with 67 in 53 games last year.
Clearing the Bases
The Owls are hitting .333 with the bases loaded (16x48) 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 12 appearances, has struck out 26 in 11.2 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 .354 average and a .474 on base percentage and third with a career-high 28 hits... Has reached base in a career-best 24 consecutive games, the longest streak by an Owl since 2017 when Dominic DiCaprio (30) and Tristan Gray (29) led the team... Becker extended his streak on three occasions with a pinch hit single.
• Austin Bulman Leads the team in homers (7, ties career-high) RBI (26) and total bases (62). Slammed a pair of homers at Marshall in his return to his home state. Owls active career leader with 16 homers.
• Antonio Cruz Has seven hits in his last 22 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 Has hit in 13 of his last 15... Leads the Owls with a .353 average in C-USA games (12x34) Drove in a career-high four runs vs. Sam Houston and has driven in 16 runs in his last 15 games after driving in just one in the first 14.
• Guy Garibay Jr. Leads the team in hits (37), multi-hit games (11), runs (26), doubles (8)... 11 multi-hit games and eight 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 eight of his last 10 (.324, 12x37) 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) and has hit in four of his first five games.
• Justin Long leads the team with 21 walks, one 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 five straight and in 12 of his last 15 games…. Has made five starts and third and has hit in all five (.500, 8x16).
• Aaron Smigelski Drove in a career-high five while going 3x5 vs. HBU on Tuesday… 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... 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 Third on the team with six doubles and has eight extra-base hits in his last 13 games after collecting none in his first 13 games.
Quick Pitches
• Thomas Burbank Picked up his first career win on Tuesday in a start vs. HBU (5,1,0,0,2,5).. 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 three 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 Worked a team-high 4.0 innings in relief vs. FAU on Saturday (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)... 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 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 13 appearances.
• Tom Vincent Picked up his first career win in relief against Sam Houston...
• Garrett Zaskoda Matched his season high by working three innings vs. FAU on 4/1. Tied his career-high with four K's (in three innings) vs. Houston... Has worked at least an inning in nine of 10 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