Tuesday, April 11
Houston, Texas
6:30 PM
Rice University
vs
Lamar
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Lamar and McNeese Face Owls in Weeknight Clashes
4/11/2023 12:20:00 PM | Baseball
First pitch at 6:30 each night
Rice hosts Lamar and McNeese in a pair of non-conference weeknight games on Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:30 before completing an eight-game homestand with a C-USA weekend series vs. Charlotte. The game vs. Lamar is the return game of a home-and-home with the Cardinals that saw Rice win 9-3 in Beaumont on 3/28. This is the first meeting between Rice and McNeese since 2006.
How to Follow:
Watch: CUSAtv
Listen: Online / Varsity Network JP Heath
Live Stats: Sidearm
Game Notes
Pitching Matchup
Tuesday (Lamar)
RHP Garrett Stratton (0-0, 0.00/0.00) vs. RHP Patrick Hail (1-0, 3.57/1.28)
Wednesday (McNeese) TBA vs. TBA
Owl on the Hill
#16 Garrett Stratton
6-2 175 Fr. Houston, Texas
Making his second appearance and starting debut... Made his collegiate debut with a scoreless inning vs. LA Tech in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday... 9-1 with a 1.87 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 96 strikeouts in 59 innings as a senior at Strake Jesuit and the Houston Chronicle Greater Houston Pitcher of the Year as a junior after posting a 10-3 record with a 2.29 ERA as a junior as Strake captured the Region III championship and reached the 6A state semifinals.
2003 Connections
Both Lamar and McNeese had notable moments against Rice in the Owls' national championship season in 2003. The Owls were 58-12 that year, two of those losses coming against Lamar. The Cardinals snapped the Owls' 30-game winning streak, 7-5 at Reckling Park on 4/9. The Cardinals also won the return game in Beaumont, 9-5 on 4/22, becoming the only team to win a series against the Owls that year. McNeese met Rice in the opening game of the 2006 Regional at Reckling Park and led Rice 2-1 until the Owls tied it in the bottom of the seventh. The Cowboys had runners at first and third with none out in the top of the eighth, but with two outs, Dane Bubela threw out the go-ahead run at the plate on a single. In the bottom of the 10th, Enrique Cruz walked with one out, stole second with two outs, and scored the winning run on a single by Craig Stansberry.
Streak Breakers
The win in the second game of the doubleheader with Louisiana Tech snapped a nine-game overall losing streak for the Owls as well as a six-game losing streak vs. the Bulldogs at Reckling. The Owls' 1-0 win at FAU on 3/31 snapped an eight-game losing streak to C-USA's other group of Owls, while Rice's 3-2 win over Texas Tech at Minute Maid Park broke a seven-game losing streak for Rice while also snapping the Red Raiders' 10-game streak to open the season.
Smith Honored for FAU Gem
Parker Smith's sparkling effort at FAU on 3/31 allowed him to become the first Rice pitcher to earn C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors in nearly four years. Smith worked a career-best 8.2 innings and struck out a career-high nine before Matthew Linskey came on to retire the final hitter and close out a 1-0 win. The shutout was the first at home in conference action for FAU since 2017. Smith scattered seven hits and did not walk a batter to earn the Owls' first weekly pitching honor from the conference since Evan Kravetz on May 13, 2019.
Making Progress
Rice is 15-17 through 32 games, compared with a 9-23 record at the same point last year (9-24 after 33 games) and finished 2022 at 17-39.
How to Follow:
Watch: CUSAtv
Listen: Online / Varsity Network JP Heath
Live Stats: Sidearm
Game Notes
Pitching Matchup
Tuesday (Lamar)
RHP Garrett Stratton (0-0, 0.00/0.00) vs. RHP Patrick Hail (1-0, 3.57/1.28)
Wednesday (McNeese) TBA vs. TBA
Owl on the Hill
#16 Garrett Stratton
6-2 175 Fr. Houston, Texas
Making his second appearance and starting debut... Made his collegiate debut with a scoreless inning vs. LA Tech in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday... 9-1 with a 1.87 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 96 strikeouts in 59 innings as a senior at Strake Jesuit and the Houston Chronicle Greater Houston Pitcher of the Year as a junior after posting a 10-3 record with a 2.29 ERA as a junior as Strake captured the Region III championship and reached the 6A state semifinals.
2003 Connections
Both Lamar and McNeese had notable moments against Rice in the Owls' national championship season in 2003. The Owls were 58-12 that year, two of those losses coming against Lamar. The Cardinals snapped the Owls' 30-game winning streak, 7-5 at Reckling Park on 4/9. The Cardinals also won the return game in Beaumont, 9-5 on 4/22, becoming the only team to win a series against the Owls that year. McNeese met Rice in the opening game of the 2006 Regional at Reckling Park and led Rice 2-1 until the Owls tied it in the bottom of the seventh. The Cowboys had runners at first and third with none out in the top of the eighth, but with two outs, Dane Bubela threw out the go-ahead run at the plate on a single. In the bottom of the 10th, Enrique Cruz walked with one out, stole second with two outs, and scored the winning run on a single by Craig Stansberry.
Streak Breakers
The win in the second game of the doubleheader with Louisiana Tech snapped a nine-game overall losing streak for the Owls as well as a six-game losing streak vs. the Bulldogs at Reckling. The Owls' 1-0 win at FAU on 3/31 snapped an eight-game losing streak to C-USA's other group of Owls, while Rice's 3-2 win over Texas Tech at Minute Maid Park broke a seven-game losing streak for Rice while also snapping the Red Raiders' 10-game streak to open the season.
Smith Honored for FAU Gem
Parker Smith's sparkling effort at FAU on 3/31 allowed him to become the first Rice pitcher to earn C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors in nearly four years. Smith worked a career-best 8.2 innings and struck out a career-high nine before Matthew Linskey came on to retire the final hitter and close out a 1-0 win. The shutout was the first at home in conference action for FAU since 2017. Smith scattered seven hits and did not walk a batter to earn the Owls' first weekly pitching honor from the conference since Evan Kravetz on May 13, 2019.
Making Progress
Rice is 15-17 through 32 games, compared with a 9-23 record at the same point last year (9-24 after 33 games) and finished 2022 at 17-39.
Players Mentioned
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