Silver Glove Finale Set for Tuesday

Final Four in 2022 Opens at Houston
The Rice Owls wrap up their 2022 season with four road games, opening the set with the final game of the Silver Glove Series at Houston on Tuesday, followed by three games in Miami against FIU from Thursday through Saturday.

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Pitching Matchup
Tuesday: Parker Smith (1-3, 5.29 ERA) vs. LHP Malachi Lott (0-0, 2.57)

Owl on the Hill
#26 Parker Smith
6-4, 230, Fr. Houston, Texas
Making his ninth start of the year and his third consecutive in the Silver Glove Series... Started Game One of the Silver Glove on 3/8, but was not involved in the decision (3.1,4,5,3,1,2) and his start in Game Two on 5/4 was his first since 3/26 (2,3,1,1,0,1)... First Owl to start three Silver Glove games in the same year since Josh Baker started three of the four games in 2004... Wade Townsend made three starts vs. Houston in 2003 and added a fourth in Game Three of the 2003 Super Regional to send the Owls on to Omaha ... Smith has made five starts in midweek games and three in the weekend rotation) and a pair of relief appearances... ... 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 on 2/23 in the first meeting between former Rice road roommates/Astros teammates José Cruz Jr. and Lance Berkman. Smith worked six shutout innings, allowed a pair of hits and struck out four while throwing just 56 pitches. Joined his head coach in earning his first career collegiate win in a 6-2 victory... Smith prepped at Houston's Bellaire HS, the same school that sent Cruz to Rice in 1992.

The Silver Glove Series
Rice and Houston began competing for the Silver Glove in 1998 and Rice has won the series in 18 of the previous 24 seasons while posting 60-31 record. The series has seen 59 of the 91 games decided by one run, with Rice holding a 30-29 advantage. After Houston left Conference USA prior to 2014, the three-game series had been played with home games on each campus and the final game at Constellation Field through 2019. The series returned to campus-only in 2022 when the Houston Astros purchased the Sugarland Skeeters franchise to use as the home base for their Triple-A team. An All-Silver Glove Series team is named at the conclusion of each year's event. Current Owls' Associate Head Coach Paul Janish was named to the team for his efforts in 2003. Janish hit .304 in 15 career games in the Silver Glove and the Owls were 12-3 in his starts.

Rice-Houston Did You Know?
Rice leads the all-time series, which began in 1948, 108-85. Other than the 2021 COVID-impacted season, the schools have met annually since 1971. The Cougars opened Reckling Park on 2/8/00 by defeating Rice 6-2, but Rice leads the overall series at Reckling 32-10. The schools have met 53 times on the Houston campus since the Cougars' home field was reconstructed in 1995 (45 regular season, 5 postseason) with Rice holding a 32-19 advantage overall and 29-17 in the regular season. Rice head coach José Cruz Jr. was 7-3 in 10 career games vs. Houston from 1993-95 and hit .306 in his career 11x36). In his debut in the rivalry on 3/13/93 at Cameron Field, he was 4x5 with a homer and four RBI as the Owls won 17-4. Two years later, he was part of the Owls' largest run production in the series, as Rice won 26-7 at Cougar Field on 3/19/94. Cruz was 4x4 and also walked three times while scoring four runs.

Tough Slate
Rice's 2022 schedule ranks as the 30th toughest in the country and second in C-USA in the most recent tabulation by the NCAA. The Owls' past opposition had compiled a .569 winning percentage through May 6. Middle Tennessee led C-USA schools with a .575 winning percentage for its past competition (24th overall).

End of an Era
Last weekend's series with Middle Tennessee was the final set of games played on natural grass at Reckling Park, where the Owls compiled a final record of 510-213 on the sod. Rice announced plans on May 9 to replace the natural grass field with a state-of-the-art Act Global TM NR34 synthetic turf playing surface in time for the opening of drills in the fall of 2022. The renovation of the 23-year-old facility's playing surface was made possible by a lead gift from former Owl and World Series champion Anthony Rendon and his wife Amanda, through their foundation Husky Owl, along with support from Rice alumni JC and Jen Kneale, the RBI Club and Rice University. Texas- based sports field construction company Ryan-Sanders Sports Services, (RS3 Turf) will be the installer for the project. Rice will become the RS3 Turf signature NCAA Division I baseball field featuring its new NR34 system manufactured by Act Global. Features of the NR34 system include a natural ball bounce, reduced infill splash, and a ball pace that closely simulates a natural grass playing surface. The feature infill will be an organic Brockfill (wood chips as opposed to rubber) specifically designed to reduce surface heat in the summer. A Brockpad will also be featured to help reduce surface impact and promote player safety. RS3 (parent company Ryan Sanders) has been based in Texas for the past 22 years.In addition to serving as the home field for five of the Owls' seven College World Series teams, Reckling Park has hosted 10 NCAA Regional, five NCAA Super Regionals, and a pair of Conference USA Championships since it first opened in 2000. The original field was renovated after the 2007 season to install an upgraded drainage system that vastly increased the facility's ability to withstand the impact of thunderstorms.

Getting it Done in a Pinch
Thanks to Jack Riedel's pinch-hit home run on Saturday, Rice pinch hitters are now hitting .325 (13x40) the Owls' most pinch hits since they collected 19 in 2007 (19x57). Riedel's pinch homer was the first by an Owl since Luis Aviles drilled a grand slam in the top of the ninth at FIU on 5//18/18 and was the first by an Owl at Recking since Chase McDowell on 2/22/11 vs. Lamar. Nathan Becker leads the team with four pinch hits this year. The last Owl to have four pinch hits in a season was Grayson Lewis (4x15). The last to have more than four was Keenan Cook, who was 5x9 in 2012.   On the other side of the diamond, Rice pitchers have held opposing pinch hitters to a .233 average so far (10x43).

Solid Up the Middle
As a team, Rice leads C-USA and ranks 35th nationally with 41 double plays this season, thanks in large part to the play of Pierce Gallo who has started 50 of 51 games this season (31 at short and 19 at second base). He opened the year at short and then moved to second for 19 games when Hal Hughes returned from an injury and moved back to shortstop for the Charlotte series. Gallo leads Conference USA with 150 assists and is tied for second with 30 double plays.

Doubling Up
Owls hitters have 94 doubles in 51 games, 27 more than they totaled in 53 games last year.

Coming in Bunches
Rice has scored at least three runs in an inning 27 times in the last 36 games after doing it only six times in the first 16 games.

Quick Hits
• Nathan Becker 3x8 with a double vs. MTSU... Leads the Owls with a .329 average and a .418 on-base percentage and third with a career-high 51 hits... Opened the season by reaching base in 26 games (the longest streak by an Owl since 2017) and has reached in 37 of his 40 starts overall and 21 of 23 starts in conference, while also going 4x6 as a pinch hitter, the most pinch-hits by an Owl since 2015.
• Jack Ben-Shoshan 0x3 in one start vs. MTSU and also appeared as a pinch-runner.. 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)... Has started five of the last six in center.
• Austin Bulman 4x11 vs. MTSU... Leads the Owls in homers (9), doubles (15), RBI (37) extra-base hits (26), slugging percentage (.507) and total bases (102)... Has hit in 23 of 27 conference games and has five of his seven multi-RBI games in C-USA 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' nine homers on the road...12-game hitting streak this year was the longest by an Owl since 2018.
• Antonio Cruz 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.
• Justin Dunlap 1x5 in a start vs. MTSU on 5/14... Made his first start since 3/12 at Southern Miss on 4/24 and was 1x3 with a walk... Started vs. Houston on 5/9 and was 1x5.
• Pierce Gallo 2x10 vs. MTSU... Leads the Owls with a .305 average in C-USA games (32x105) and with 10 steals in all games... Became the second Owl this season with a pair of four-hit games when he was 4x5 vs. WKU on 4/30... Collected four RBI in the same game and leads the team with three games with four RBI (two of them in C-USA play)... Has driven in 29 runs in his last 32 games after driving in just one in the first 14.. Has started 27 games at short and 19 at second base.. Leads C-USA with 150 assists overall... Tied for 2nd with 30 double plays in all games.
• Guy Garibay Jr. 4x13 in three games vs. MTSU... Hitting .339 and slugging .551 at Recking Park (10 doubles, five homers) and 31 of his 33 RBI... Hit his first road home run at Charlotte since his career opening series against Louisiana last season... Had gone 113 at-bats on the road without a homer since connecting for the first of his career at Louisiana on 2/28/21… Leads the team in hits (57), multi-hit games (16), walks (29) and runs (39) and is second in RBI (33) and doubles (14),... All totals are career highs... Collected a career-best four hits vs. SFA and matched it the next night vs. Sam Houston.
• Manny Garza 5x11 in three games vs. MTSU... Has hit in 10 of 13 starts (20x43) since returning to action after missing 30 games with an injury... Has six multi-hit games in 11 C-USA starts and has also thrown out eight base runners in conference play (tied for third)... Hit his first career triple and added a double vs. Houston on 5/3... Started two of three at Southern Miss and threw out all three attempting to steal... Returned to the lineup vs. UTSA on 4/16 with a splash, collecting a career-high four hits (4x4), including his first career double.
• Johnny Hoyle Has made 16 starts this year (4 at 3B, 9 at 2B, 2 in CF, 1 at 1B). Three hits in a start vs. Sam Houston were his career-high.
• Justin Long 1x9 in three games vs.MTSU... Hitting .324 in 15 road games (12x37)... Six of his last eight starts have been at third... 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 1x5 in two games vs. MTSU... Slugged the Owls first pinch hit homer since 2018 and the first at home since 2011 to start a two-out rally vs. Middle Tennessee to force the game into extra innings. Has collected three hits in a game three times (tied for third on the team).
• Benjamin Rosengard 1x2 with an RBI and also walked in Game Two of the Silver Glove Series 11 starts this season (5 at third, 3 at second and 3 at short).
• Aaron Smigelski 0x2 vs. Middle Tennessee… Leads the team with eight multi-RBI games, is tied for second in homers (6) and is third in RBI (31)...Looking to become the first freshman to lead the Owls in RBI since Trei Cruz tied for the lead with 45 in 2018... 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 3x12 with triple vs. Middle Tennessee... Has started the last eight in center and is hitting .357 over that stretch (10x28) with seven runs and six RBI... Set career-highs for hits (4), runs (3), home runs (2) and RBI (5) at Charlotte… Homers were his first in over a year and the second, which drew the Owls to within one at 14-13, was measured by StatCast at 466 feet.
• Drew Woodcox Tied for fifth on the team with six doubles and has eight extra-base hits in his last 17 games after collecting none in his first 13 games

Quick Pitches
• Thomas Burbank Second on the team with ten starts and has made four relief appearances... Worked a career-best 3.2 innings in relief to close out the game at Charlotte on 5/6 (3.2,3,1,1,1,4). His four strikeouts were his most as a reliever. Made his first career Friday start vs. WKU on 4/29 and took the loss (2.2,2,2,2,2,3)… 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.. 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 started a pair of Sunday games (UTSA, @Southern Miss)... Also started three midweek games.
• Micah Davis Has not allowed a run in two of his last four appearances and has six strikeouts in his last four innings.. Worked a season-high two innings vs. Houston on 5/3 (2,2,0,0,1,2).
• Alex DeLeon 18 appearances this year, 10 in relief along with a career-high eight starts...Worked five innings in relief against MTSU on 5/13 (5,5,3,3,1,4)... Picked up his team-leading third win in a start against WKU on May Day (5,2,1,1,2,2)... 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...Tossed the Owls last complete game shutout, holding Charlotte, off the scoreboard on 5/16/21 (5,3,0,0,1,2) in a shutout shortened to five innings to close out the 2021 season for Rice.

• Brandon Deskins Has made a career-high 21 appearances this season, including four starts… Second on the team with 50 strikeouts (20 looking, T9 in CUSA) ... 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 Second on the team with a 3.77 ERA at home (13 ER in 31 IP)... Tied for second on the team with a career-high 50 strikeouts... Tossed two scoreless innings out of the pen at Sam Houston on 4/12... 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… 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   Worked a career-best four innings in relief at Charlotte on 5/7 (4,3,2,2,2,1).... Pitched two scoreless innings in relief vs. UTSA on 4/16 and has allowed just three runs over his last 13.0 relief innings (eight 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.
• Parker Smith Returned to the mound vs. Houston on 5/3 for his first start since 3/26 at Marshall (2,3,1,1,1,2) and then made a relief appearance at Charlotte on 5/7... Has started both games of the Silver Glove Series... Has mad seven starts (three in the weekend rotation) and three relief appearances... Started game one of the Silver Glove on 3/8, but was not involved in the decision (3.1,4,5,3,1,2)... 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 on 2/23 in the first meeting between former Rice road roommates/Astros teammates José Cruz Jr. and Lance Berkman. Smith worked six shutout innings, allowed a pair of hits and struck out four while throwing just 56 pitches. Joined his head coach in earning his first career collegiate win in a 6-2 win... Smith prepped at Houston's Bellaire HS, the same school that sent Cruz to Rice in 1992.
• Tom Vincent Picked up his first career win in relief against Sam Houston on 3/16.
• Garret Zaskoda Worked a season-high 4.0 innings vs. Louisiana on 5/10 (4.0,6,2,1,0,6) and struck out a career-high six batters... Leads the team with a 3.60 ERA at home (10 ER in 25 IP) has four outings this year of at least three innings... had four K's (in three innings) vs. Houston... Has worked at least an inning in 14 of 17 appearances.

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Becker

Jack Ben-Shoshan

Austin Bulman

Thomas Burbank

Antonio Cruz

Micah Davis

Alex DeLeon

Brandon Deskins

Justin Dunlap

Pierce Gallo

Roel Garcia

Guy Garibay Jr.

Manny Garza

Johnny Hoyle

Hal Hughes

Justin Long

Mark Perkins

Jack Riedel

Benjamin Rosengard

Aaron Smigelski

Parker Smith

Tom Vincent

Connor Walsh

Drew Woodcox

Garret Zaskoda

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