Baseball is Back!

Rice opens its 108th season of baseball on February 17 with the first of three games against Louisiana. Rice is 13-10 in its first game of the season at Reckling Park, 6-7 as the season opener, and 7-3 as the home opener. Rice has lost its last six season-opening games at Reckling since Austin Kubtiza outdueled Mark Appel of Stanford on his way to leading Rice to a 5-1 win on Feb. 15, 2013.

Promotional
The first 500 fans through the gates on Friday will receive a commemorative t-shirt and all fans will be treated to postgame fireworks. Fans on Saturday will receive a 2023 Rice Baseball schedule magnet.

Where to Watch?
All three games will be carried on CUSAtv.

Rice Play-By-Play On The Web
Every Rice baseball game is scheduled for a live audio broadcast on the Internet at RiceOwls.com or at on the Varsity Network App. Veteran J.P. Heath is now in his 15th season as the voice of the Owls.

Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Parker Smith (2-3, 4.19) vs. RHP Jake Hammond (3-1, 3.77)
Saturday: TBA vs. RHP Blake McGehee ('22 RS @Ole Miss)
Sunday: TBA vs. RHP Jackson Nezuh (1-0, 8.22 ERA @Florida State)

Owls on the Hill
#26 Parker Smith
6-4 230 So. Houston, Texas
Appeared in 13 games with 10 starts (tied for second on the team) in his freshman campaign… Finished the season with a 2-3 record and a 4.19 ERA, tops among the starters… Winning pitcher in the Owls' first and last wins of 2022… Made his collegiate debut at Texas on 2/20 and his starting debut three days later against HBU… He worked six shutout innings against the Huskies, allowed a pair of hits and struck out four while throwing just 56 pitches to earn both his and head coach Jose Cruz Jr.'s first career victories… Closed the season with a win at FIU in the season finale, (5.1, 3,1,0,1,0)… Lowered his ERA from 5.29 to 4.19 in his last two starts (Game 3 vs. Houston on 5/17 and at FIU on 5/21) by allowing only one earned run in 10.2 innings, with seven hits, one walk and no strikeouts… Pitched for the Santa Barbara Foresters during the summer and led them to the NBC World Series title… Started and won the championship game vs. the Hays Larks with six innings of one-run ball, scattering four hits and striking out five…Was 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts and named to the NBC World Series All-American team… was 5-0 in seven starts for the Foresters during the summer season, with a 2.31 ERA, 1.07 WHiP, 37 strikeouts, and only eight walks in 25 innings.

The Series
The Owls and Ragin' Cajuns have met a total of 31 times overall. Rice leads the series 17-15, but Louisiana has won the last nine. They have played 27 times in the regular season (Rice leads 15-12) and five times over the course of two NCAA Regional appearances (1999 & 2015) with the Ragin Cajuns holding a 3-2 lead. They have met 23 times in Houston, with those games spread over six different venues (Rice Baseball Field, Cameron Field, The Astrodome, Reckling Park, Cougar Field and Minute Maid Park). The schools advanced to the inaugural Super Regional round of the 1999 NCAA championship, and the top-seeed Owls were in need of an alternate hosting location as Cameron Field had already been demolished to make way for Reckling Park. The Astrodome, which was unavailable to host a regional, was available the following week and become the first major league park to host a portion of the NCAA tournament. The series moved to Reckling Park in 2002. The schools also met twice in the 2015 Regional hosted by Houston at Cougar Field. The Cajuns defeated the Owls in their opening game 7-6 and then met again less than 12 hours after the Owls had outlasted Houston in 20-innings, with Rice falling 5-2. They met at their fifth venue (and second major league ballpark) in 2016 during the Astros Shriners' Classic with Louisiana taking a 4-2 decision.

Dawn of an Era
Rice opens the 24th season of baseball at Reckling Park debuting its a state-of-the-art Act Global TM NR34 synthetic turf playing surface. The renovation of the 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. Rice is the first Division I program to install Ryan-Sanders Sports Services' RS3 Turf signature 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 infill is 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. Reckling Park's turf was the host of 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.

Home at The Reck
Rice has compiled a 510-214 record at home since Reckling Park opened in 2000, the same year that the Houston Astros opened their new home in downtown Houston, first as Enron Field and now Minute Main Park.

New and Old Faces on the Staff
Associate head coach Paul Janish is the veteran of the Owls coaching staff, entering his sixth season at his alma mater after concluding a 13-year playing career that included stints with Cincinnati, Atlanta and Baltimore. Rob Hardy is in his second season with the Owls, his first as an assistant coach after coming to Rice last season as the Director of Player Development. Pitching coach Parker Bangs is in his first season on South Main after four seasons at Davidson, where his staff led the conference and finished eighth nationally with a 3.86.The newest addition to the staff is former South Carolina infielder DC Arendas as the Owls new Director of Player Development.

They Know the Feeling
Associate head coach Paul Janish and pitching coach Parker Bangs both own College World Series championship rings. Janish was the starting shortstop for the Owls' 2003 CWS winners while Bangs pitched for South Carolina's 2010 National Champions.

Formidable Slate Ahead
Rice faced the 52^nd toughest schedule in the nation last year, the highest since they faced the 24^thtoughest in 2018. This year's lineup of 34 teams averaged 33 wins last year, highlighted by three games at Stanford (2022 CWS), two vs. Texas A&M (2022 CWS) and three-game series against NCAA tournament teams Louisiana, Louisiana Tech and Dallas Baptist.

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Parker Smith