Friday, March 15
Reckling Park
8:00 p.m.
Rice University
vs
Houston Christian
Closer To Home; Owls and HCU Open Series Friday
3/14/2024 6:47:00 PM | Baseball
Next eight games inside the city limits
Closer to Home
After traveling nearly 5,000 miles to play four games, Rice opens a stretch of eight games within the city of Houston that will involve less than 25 miles of travel. The Owls open the slate with a three-game series against Houston Christian. The Owls will host the opener at 6:30 on Friday and the finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday while the middle game will be at Husky Field on Saturday at 2 p.m. The H-Town stretch continues with the first two games of the Silver Boot Series with Houston on March 19 &20 and concludes with the Owls AAC debut by hosting Tulane on March 22-24.
Watch ESPN+ (Friday and Sunday only)
Listen: Online / Varsity Network
Live Stats: Sidearm
Full Game Notes: RiceOwls.com
On the Air
J.P. Heath returns for his 16th season behind the mic full-time with the conclusion of the men's basketball season. Heath will also provide the audio for both ESPN+ broadcasts from Reckling Park this weekend.
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Parker Smith (2-2, 2.86/1.50) vs. RHP Jonathan Valdez (0-1, 3.48/1.16)
Saturday: LHP J.D. McCracken (1-1, 3.96/1.44) vs. RHP Parker Edwards (1-2, 5.59/1.66)
Sunday: Undecided vs. RHP Jett Feltman (2-1, 6.61/1.53)
Owls and Huskies
Rice and HCU have met 32 times in baseball in a series that dates back to1966. Rice leads the series 28-4 and has won the last eight in a row. Three of the Huskies' four wins have come in extra innings, the last two by 8-7 scores. Their first win came on 2/29/68 at Rice (12-11 in 10 innings) and they followed that win a win in the first game of the series in 1969 (8-3 on 2/18/69). Rice won the next 15 between the two schools before the Huskies took an 8-7 decision in 11 innings on 3/3/18 and downed Rice 8-7 in 10 innings on 2/20/21 in the first game of a four-game series.
Doubling Up the Outs
The Owls lead the AAC and rank third nationally with 20 double plays in the first 16 games. They rank fourth nationally with 1.25 per game. They finished 199th in the nation last year with 33 twin killings and 230th overall with an average of .57 per game. The last time the Owls averaged more than a double play per game was 2013 when they turned 69 in 66 games (1.08). They ranked sixth nationally in total double plays that year and 10th in average per game.
Two-Baggers
After hitting only six doubles in the first nine games (and no more than one in any game), Rice has hit 16 in the last seven games. including 10 in the four games in Hawai'i.
Starting it off
Rice starting pitchers have a combined 4.30 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP through the first 16 games while holding opposing hitters to a combined .230 batting average and allowing only three homers in 69 innings. They have worked into the sixth in eight of 12 weekend starts this year and allowed five hits or less in eight of 12.
After traveling nearly 5,000 miles to play four games, Rice opens a stretch of eight games within the city of Houston that will involve less than 25 miles of travel. The Owls open the slate with a three-game series against Houston Christian. The Owls will host the opener at 6:30 on Friday and the finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday while the middle game will be at Husky Field on Saturday at 2 p.m. The H-Town stretch continues with the first two games of the Silver Boot Series with Houston on March 19 &20 and concludes with the Owls AAC debut by hosting Tulane on March 22-24.
Watch ESPN+ (Friday and Sunday only)
Listen: Online / Varsity Network
Live Stats: Sidearm
Full Game Notes: RiceOwls.com
On the Air
J.P. Heath returns for his 16th season behind the mic full-time with the conclusion of the men's basketball season. Heath will also provide the audio for both ESPN+ broadcasts from Reckling Park this weekend.
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Parker Smith (2-2, 2.86/1.50) vs. RHP Jonathan Valdez (0-1, 3.48/1.16)
Saturday: LHP J.D. McCracken (1-1, 3.96/1.44) vs. RHP Parker Edwards (1-2, 5.59/1.66)
Sunday: Undecided vs. RHP Jett Feltman (2-1, 6.61/1.53)
Owls and Huskies
Rice and HCU have met 32 times in baseball in a series that dates back to1966. Rice leads the series 28-4 and has won the last eight in a row. Three of the Huskies' four wins have come in extra innings, the last two by 8-7 scores. Their first win came on 2/29/68 at Rice (12-11 in 10 innings) and they followed that win a win in the first game of the series in 1969 (8-3 on 2/18/69). Rice won the next 15 between the two schools before the Huskies took an 8-7 decision in 11 innings on 3/3/18 and downed Rice 8-7 in 10 innings on 2/20/21 in the first game of a four-game series.
Doubling Up the Outs
The Owls lead the AAC and rank third nationally with 20 double plays in the first 16 games. They rank fourth nationally with 1.25 per game. They finished 199th in the nation last year with 33 twin killings and 230th overall with an average of .57 per game. The last time the Owls averaged more than a double play per game was 2013 when they turned 69 in 66 games (1.08). They ranked sixth nationally in total double plays that year and 10th in average per game.
Two-Baggers
After hitting only six doubles in the first nine games (and no more than one in any game), Rice has hit 16 in the last seven games. including 10 in the four games in Hawai'i.
Starting it off
Rice starting pitchers have a combined 4.30 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP through the first 16 games while holding opposing hitters to a combined .230 batting average and allowing only three homers in 69 innings. They have worked into the sixth in eight of 12 weekend starts this year and allowed five hits or less in eight of 12.
Players Mentioned
LHP
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P
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