Rice University
Lamar
Road Swing Opens in Beaumont
4/30/2024 5:56:00 PM | Baseball
Five straight away from Reckling Park
Rice and Lamar meet for the first of two midweek games over the next two weeks on Wednesday, opening a five-game road swing for the Owls. After the game in Beaumont, the Owls will leave Houston on Thursday morning for a weekend series in Charlotte. The road swing concludes with a game #1Texas A&M on May 7 before opening the final homestand of 2024 with the return meeting with Lamar at Reckling Park on May 8.
Watch: ESPN+
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 calling Rice baseball and will have the radio call on Wednesday.
Pitching Matchup
- RHP Karl Ralamb (0-2, 4.50/2.33) vs. RHP Trhea Morse (4-0, 2.79/1.45)
Rice Recently
- Rice has won three in a row on the road, eight of its last 10 overall, and seven of the last nine AAC games, picking up wins in three consecutive conference series for the first time since 2017.
- Rice has hit .291 over the last 10 games while the pitching staff has a combined 3.06 ERA and the defense has fielded at a .983 clip. In the first 33 games of the year, the Owls were hitting .229, the staff ERA was 5.50 and the fielding percentage was .968.
- They have scored 36 runs during the three-game road winning streak at USF. The total is the most in a series for Rice since they scored 42 at UAB in 2017 and more than their combined total in the previous 11 conference games.
- The Owls have not won four straight on the road since the final four games of the 2022 season when they defeated Houston and then swept the season's final series at FIU.
- In winning five straight vs. South Florida and UTSA, the Owls scored at least nine runs in each game for the first time since 2010 (March 28-April 4).
Tense Ones
Nine of the last 11 games at Reckling Park have been decided by two runs or less, six of them by one run. The e Owls split a pair of 15-inning games, both by 4-3 scores in a matter of eight days, losing to Memphis and defeating UAB. Rice has not played multiple games of 15 innings or more since 2013 when they played a 17-inning game at Hawai'i and matched that with an epic 17-inning loss to North Carolina State in the Super Regional.
Late Life
Rice outscored its opponents 17-12 in the eighth and ninth innings over the past six games. In their previous 37 games, the Owls were outscored 49-32.
Lower Third
The bottom third of the Owls' order has hit a combined .304 (21x69) and scored 18 runs over the last six games. In the first 34 games of the season, the lower third of the Owls' batting order hit a combined .197 and scored 35 runs.
Doubling Up the Outs
Rice is second in the AAC and ranks ninth nationally with 39 double plays in the first 40 games and 1Rice is second in the AAC and ranks fifth nationally with 45 double plays in the first 43 games and sixth nationally with 1.05 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.
