Rice University Athletics
Friday, May 3
Charlotte, NC
1:00 p.m.
Rice University
at
Charlotte
Owls And Charlotte Double Up on Friday
5/3/2024 12:28:00 AM | Baseball
First pitch at 1 p.m.
Rice continues its five-game road swing this weekend with a scheduled three-game series that has been adjusted due to predicted inclement weather in the Charlotte area. The schools will meet in a doubleheader on Friday with the first game scheduled for 1 p.m. (central) and the second to start 50 minutes after the first. Game three is listed as TBD, pending weather developments.
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 this weekend.
Pitching Matchups
The Owls are 5-2 in games decided in two runs or less over the last 11 after winning two of the first 12… Nine of the last 11 games at Reckling Park have been decided by two runs or less, six of them by one run… The 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. l.
Late Life
Rice outscored its opponents 17-12 in the eighth and ninth innings over the past seven 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 .308 (25x81) and scored 20 runs over the last seven 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 tied for first in the AAC and third nationally with 46 double plays in the first 45 games and Rice leads the AAC and ranks fifth 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.
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 this weekend.
Pitching Matchups
- Game One: RHP Parker Smith (4-3, 4.02/1.47) vs. LHP Cole Reynolds (4-5, 5.54/1.46)
- Game Two: J.D. McCracken (4-4, 4.69/1.69) vs. LHP Chase Carson (2-1, 6.31/1.74)
- Game Three: Tucker Alch (0-2, 2.93/1.30) vs. RHP Adam Stanton (0-1, 4.76/1.65)
- Rice has won four in a row on the road, nine of its last 11 overall, and seven of the last nine AAC games while picking up wins in three consecutive conference series for the first time since 2017.
- 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.
- They have scored 44 runs during the four-game road winning streak and their 36 runs at South Florida from April 19-21 were 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.
- Rice has hit .300 over the last 11 games (122x406) while the pitching staff has a combined 3.31 ERA and .229 opponents' batting average the defense has fielded at a .984 clip. In the first 34 games of the year, the Owls were hitting .223, the staff ERA was 5.50 and the fielding percentage was .968.
- 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).
The Owls are 5-2 in games decided in two runs or less over the last 11 after winning two of the first 12… Nine of the last 11 games at Reckling Park have been decided by two runs or less, six of them by one run… The 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. l.
Late Life
Rice outscored its opponents 17-12 in the eighth and ninth innings over the past seven 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 .308 (25x81) and scored 20 runs over the last seven 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 tied for first in the AAC and third nationally with 46 double plays in the first 45 games and Rice leads the AAC and ranks fifth 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.
Players Mentioned
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