McCracken Named C-USA Pitcher of the Week
5/22/2023 12:45:00 PM | Baseball
Second Owl honored this year
Rice lefthanded pitcher J.D. McCracken has been named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week for his clutch performance vs. FIU last weekend. The 2023 C-USA Players of the Week are presented by Blenders Eyewear.
McCracken worked a career-high 7.2 innings and held the Panthers to hitless after allowing a run-scoring double in the first inning, setting the stage for the Owls to clinch a berth in the C-USA tournament with a run in the bottom of the ninth. He allowed only two additional baserunners after the first inning and retired 17 FIU hitters in a row from the second and seventh innings before allowing a leadoff walk in the eighth. He combined with relievers Jack Ben-Shoshan and Matthew Linskey for the first one-hitter by Rice since Matt Canterino and Jackson Parthasarathy combined to allow just one single and two walks while striking out 14 in a 4-0 win over WKU at Reckling Park on March 23, 2018.
McCracken is the second Rice pitcher to earn Pitcher of the Week honors from Conference USA. Parker Smith was honored after this 1-0 win at FAU on March 30. The last time Rice had more than one pitcher to earn the weekly honor from C-USA was in 2019, when Parthasarathy (March 4), Canterino (April 29) and Evan Kravetz (May 13) were honored.
Rice will open play in the Conference USA Championship on Wednesday at 4 p.m. when the eighth-seeded Owls take on top-seed and 17th ranked DBU.
McCracken worked a career-high 7.2 innings and held the Panthers to hitless after allowing a run-scoring double in the first inning, setting the stage for the Owls to clinch a berth in the C-USA tournament with a run in the bottom of the ninth. He allowed only two additional baserunners after the first inning and retired 17 FIU hitters in a row from the second and seventh innings before allowing a leadoff walk in the eighth. He combined with relievers Jack Ben-Shoshan and Matthew Linskey for the first one-hitter by Rice since Matt Canterino and Jackson Parthasarathy combined to allow just one single and two walks while striking out 14 in a 4-0 win over WKU at Reckling Park on March 23, 2018.
McCracken is the second Rice pitcher to earn Pitcher of the Week honors from Conference USA. Parker Smith was honored after this 1-0 win at FAU on March 30. The last time Rice had more than one pitcher to earn the weekly honor from C-USA was in 2019, when Parthasarathy (March 4), Canterino (April 29) and Evan Kravetz (May 13) were honored.
Rice will open play in the Conference USA Championship on Wednesday at 4 p.m. when the eighth-seeded Owls take on top-seed and 17th ranked DBU.
Players Mentioned
RHP
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