Rice University Athletics
Friday, February 23
Lafayette, LA
6:00 p.m.
Rice University
at
Louisiana
Photo by: Maria Lysaker - Rice Athletics
Owls Open Road Slate at Louisiana
2/22/2024 10:49:00 PM | Baseball
Three games vs. the Ragin' Cajuns
Owls Open 2024 Road Schedule in Lafayette
Rice hits the road for the first time in 2024 this weekend with a trip east on I-10 to face the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. Game times are set for 6:00 p.m. on Friday, 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Following the weekend series, the Owls will wrap up the month of February home matchup with 2023 CWS champion LSU, the first visit to Reckling Park by the Tigers since the 2002 Super Regional in which the Owls blanked LSU in both games to punch their ticket to Omaha. The College World Series theme continues over the weekend as Rice hosts Stanford in a three-game series.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Online / Varsity Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast Game One/Game Two/Game Three
Full Game Notes: RiceOwls.com
On the Air
All Rice games are available over the internet at RiceOwls.com and on the Varsity Network app. J.P. Heath is back for his 16th season calling games with an assist this weekend by Lonnie King when Heath is calling Rice men's basketball. All three games will also be carried on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald handling the play-by-play and Brennan Breaux (Friday) and Eric Mouton (Saturday/Sunday) providing the color commentary.
Owls and Ragin' Cajuns
The Owls and Ragin' Cajuns have met a total of 35 times overall. Rice leads the series 18-17, after snapping an 11-game Louisiana winning streak in the finale of the season-opening series last year. This will be just the second series between the two in Lafayette. They first met from 2/26-27/93 with Rice taking the opener 9-6 and then dropping both 7-inning games in a doubleheader the following day. They met in a single game in 2011, with Rice winning 2-1 thanks to an 8th-inning solo homer by current Marlins reliever and Sulphur, LA native JT Chargois. That win was the Owls' last win in the series before the 11-game losing streak. Louisiana swept all three of the most recent games in Lafayette (2/26-28/21). The schools have played 30 times in the regular season, with Rice leading 16-14, and five times over the course of two NCAA Regional appearances (1999 & 2015) with the Ragin Cajuns holding a 3-2 lead. The majority of the games (26) have been played in Houston while seven have been played in Lafayette and two in Austin, Texas. The games in Houston have been 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-seed Owls required 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 became 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.
Pitching Matchups
RHP Parker Smith (0-1, 2.25) vs. RHP Jack Martinez (0-0, 0.00)
LHP J.D. McCracken (0-0, 1.69) vs. LHP Chase Morgan (0-0, 6.00)
LHP TBA vs. RHP Carson Fluno (0-0, 4.50)
Owls on the Hill
#26 Parker Smith
6-4 230 Jr. Houston, Texas (Bellaire)
Preseason All-AAC first team selection by conference coaches... No decision in his first start of the year vs. Notre Dame (4,2,3,1,4,7)... 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) on the road in his career (66, 61, 26, 16, 11, 45)... 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 2 career starts vs. Louisiana (9.1, 10, 8, 7, 4, 6)... First-team, All-Conference USA selection in2023 and invited to attend the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp after a standout season at the front of the Owls' rotation … Finished the regular season ranked second in C-USA with a 2.75 ERA, tied for second in innings (85), and ranked fifth in strikeouts (80), strikeouts looking (26), and opponent's batting average (.231) … Made 15 consecutive starts, 14 as the series opener, the most since Matt Canterino started 15 straight in 2019 … Owls scored 39 runs for him in his 15 starts, 24 in 10 C-USA starts (22 in his last 8) ... Left seven of his starts with the lead and trailed in just three ... Rice was 6-9 in his starts ...Saw his streak of 10 straight series-opening starts end at MTSU when he was pushed back to Saturday due to a forecast of rain on Friday … Became the first Owl since 2019 to be named C-USA Pitcher of the Week for his 1-0 win at FAU on March 30 ... Worked a career-best 8.2 innings and struck out a career-high nine to combine with Matthew Linskey on the first home conference shutout against FAU since 2017 ... Bettered his strikeout total two weeks later when he fanned 14 vs. Charlotte in a 1-0 loss … Made four starts in the regular season against ranked opponents (#2 Stanford on 2/24; #15 Texas Tech on 3/3, #19 DBU on 4/28 and #22 UTSA on 5/5) and had no decisions while posting a 2.45 ERA in those outings (6 ER in 22.0 IP). He was named to the 2023 Shriners College Classic All-Tournament team after he tossed six shutout innings against #15 Texas Tech.
#29 J.D. McCracken
6-3, 215 Jr. Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Middle Tennessee Christian/Tennessee)
No decision in his first start of the year, vs. Notre Dame on 17 (5.1,2,3,1,3,4)... Made his debut for Rice with a start against Louisiana on 2/18/23 (1.1,1,5,5,5,1). Second on the team with 13 starts, 71.2 innings, and 58 strikeouts in his first extensive collegiate action … Closed the regular season strongly, posting a 3.29 ERA over his last two starts, highlighted by a C-USA Pitcher of the Week performance vs. FIU to set the stage for the Owls' postseason-clinching win… Held the Panthers to a first-inning double over 7.2 innings while striking out six and walking just two … Retired 17 in a row at one point vs. the Panthers ... Struck out a season-high seven in five innings vs. DBU
Rice hits the road for the first time in 2024 this weekend with a trip east on I-10 to face the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. Game times are set for 6:00 p.m. on Friday, 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Following the weekend series, the Owls will wrap up the month of February home matchup with 2023 CWS champion LSU, the first visit to Reckling Park by the Tigers since the 2002 Super Regional in which the Owls blanked LSU in both games to punch their ticket to Omaha. The College World Series theme continues over the weekend as Rice hosts Stanford in a three-game series.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Online / Varsity Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast Game One/Game Two/Game Three
Full Game Notes: RiceOwls.com
On the Air
All Rice games are available over the internet at RiceOwls.com and on the Varsity Network app. J.P. Heath is back for his 16th season calling games with an assist this weekend by Lonnie King when Heath is calling Rice men's basketball. All three games will also be carried on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald handling the play-by-play and Brennan Breaux (Friday) and Eric Mouton (Saturday/Sunday) providing the color commentary.
Owls and Ragin' Cajuns
The Owls and Ragin' Cajuns have met a total of 35 times overall. Rice leads the series 18-17, after snapping an 11-game Louisiana winning streak in the finale of the season-opening series last year. This will be just the second series between the two in Lafayette. They first met from 2/26-27/93 with Rice taking the opener 9-6 and then dropping both 7-inning games in a doubleheader the following day. They met in a single game in 2011, with Rice winning 2-1 thanks to an 8th-inning solo homer by current Marlins reliever and Sulphur, LA native JT Chargois. That win was the Owls' last win in the series before the 11-game losing streak. Louisiana swept all three of the most recent games in Lafayette (2/26-28/21). The schools have played 30 times in the regular season, with Rice leading 16-14, and five times over the course of two NCAA Regional appearances (1999 & 2015) with the Ragin Cajuns holding a 3-2 lead. The majority of the games (26) have been played in Houston while seven have been played in Lafayette and two in Austin, Texas. The games in Houston have been 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-seed Owls required 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 became 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.
Pitching Matchups
RHP Parker Smith (0-1, 2.25) vs. RHP Jack Martinez (0-0, 0.00)
LHP J.D. McCracken (0-0, 1.69) vs. LHP Chase Morgan (0-0, 6.00)
LHP TBA vs. RHP Carson Fluno (0-0, 4.50)
Owls on the Hill
#26 Parker Smith
6-4 230 Jr. Houston, Texas (Bellaire)
Preseason All-AAC first team selection by conference coaches... No decision in his first start of the year vs. Notre Dame (4,2,3,1,4,7)... 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) on the road in his career (66, 61, 26, 16, 11, 45)... 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 2 career starts vs. Louisiana (9.1, 10, 8, 7, 4, 6)... First-team, All-Conference USA selection in2023 and invited to attend the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp after a standout season at the front of the Owls' rotation … Finished the regular season ranked second in C-USA with a 2.75 ERA, tied for second in innings (85), and ranked fifth in strikeouts (80), strikeouts looking (26), and opponent's batting average (.231) … Made 15 consecutive starts, 14 as the series opener, the most since Matt Canterino started 15 straight in 2019 … Owls scored 39 runs for him in his 15 starts, 24 in 10 C-USA starts (22 in his last 8) ... Left seven of his starts with the lead and trailed in just three ... Rice was 6-9 in his starts ...Saw his streak of 10 straight series-opening starts end at MTSU when he was pushed back to Saturday due to a forecast of rain on Friday … Became the first Owl since 2019 to be named C-USA Pitcher of the Week for his 1-0 win at FAU on March 30 ... Worked a career-best 8.2 innings and struck out a career-high nine to combine with Matthew Linskey on the first home conference shutout against FAU since 2017 ... Bettered his strikeout total two weeks later when he fanned 14 vs. Charlotte in a 1-0 loss … Made four starts in the regular season against ranked opponents (#2 Stanford on 2/24; #15 Texas Tech on 3/3, #19 DBU on 4/28 and #22 UTSA on 5/5) and had no decisions while posting a 2.45 ERA in those outings (6 ER in 22.0 IP). He was named to the 2023 Shriners College Classic All-Tournament team after he tossed six shutout innings against #15 Texas Tech.
#29 J.D. McCracken
6-3, 215 Jr. Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Middle Tennessee Christian/Tennessee)
No decision in his first start of the year, vs. Notre Dame on 17 (5.1,2,3,1,3,4)... Made his debut for Rice with a start against Louisiana on 2/18/23 (1.1,1,5,5,5,1). Second on the team with 13 starts, 71.2 innings, and 58 strikeouts in his first extensive collegiate action … Closed the regular season strongly, posting a 3.29 ERA over his last two starts, highlighted by a C-USA Pitcher of the Week performance vs. FIU to set the stage for the Owls' postseason-clinching win… Held the Panthers to a first-inning double over 7.2 innings while striking out six and walking just two … Retired 17 in a row at one point vs. the Panthers ... Struck out a season-high seven in five innings vs. DBU
Players Mentioned
WBB: 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