Tuesday, April 15
6:30 PM
Rice University
vs
Houston
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Owls Host Houston in Silver Glove Finale
4/14/2025 9:19:00 PM | Baseball
Bee there for first pitch!
SILVER GLOVE FINALE: Rice plays its final home game in April and also the final game of the 2025 Silver Glove Series by hosting Houston at 6:30 on Tuesday. The game will also be the last midweek game until May 7 when the Owls welcome Prairie View A&M to Reckling Park for the final non-conference game of 2025.
HOT LINKS
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: Sidearm
FIRST PITCHES: In addition to a first pitch thrown by a representative from Mid First Bank, the Owls will also welcome Joseph Elam back to Reckling Park some 48 hours after he became a viral sensation as he removed a beehive that had developed on the ledge of the USF dugout prior to Sunday's game. Elam is the owner of Bee Removal of Houston and was summoned to the field to clear the hive to allow the final game of the series to be played, and play was only delayed by 11 minutes. His method of removing the hive with his bare hands and without any other protective clothing was featured on a number of ESPN's daytime programs on Monday.
ON THE AIR: Jason Metko will have the call on RiceOwls.com and the Varsity Network app on Friday, while J.P. Heath and Kyle Rogers will have the call on ESPN+.
WEEKEND NOTES: After losing the opener to South Florida 14-3 in seven innings on Friday, Rice returned the favor to the Bulls on Saturday with a 15-4 win in seven innings and then took the series with a 5-3 win on Sunday. The win in seven innings on Saturday marked the first time the Owls had run-ruled a conference opponent at home since a 10-0 win over Middle Tennessee on 4/5/15. Blaine Brown's walk-off grand slam to end the game was the first walk-off slam by an Owl since Craig Manuel in 2012 and his six RBI in the game were the most by an Owl since Justin Collins drove in six exactly six years early to the date vs. Charlotte. The series win was the first for the Owls this year, but their second in as many seasons against South Florida. The Owls hit an even .400 over the weekend with runners in scoring position, compared with a .244 average coming into the weekend.
HONORED: Hiram Bocachica was named to the AAC Honor Roll after posting a 1.433 OPS in four games last week. Bocachica slugged .900 last week, with two homers and six RBI, also scored six runs and had an on-base percentage of .533. He twice matched his career-high for RBI, driving in three vs. Houston on April 8 and South Florida on April 12. Prior to the weekend, reliever Jack Ben-Shoshan and Jamie Arnold of Florida State were named Driveline Baseball's pitchers of the week. Ben-Shoshan was honored for his previous week's work including a save at Sam Houston in which he struck out a career-high nine.
SILVER GLOVE SERIES: Rice and Houston began competing for the Silver Glove in 1998, and Rice has won the series in 18 of the 28 seasons while posting a 62-39 record. The series has seen 36 of the 101 games decided by two runs or less, with Rice holding a 22-14 advantage. There have been 14 Silver Glove shutouts (Rice 9, Houston 4) with the most recent a 1-0 Cougar win at home on 4/10/18. After Houston left Conference USA prior to 2014, the three-game series had been played with home games on each campus and the final game at Constellation Field through 2019. The series returned solely to each campus in 2022 when the Houston Astros purchased the Sugarland Skeeters franchise to use as the home base for their Triple-A team.
UP NEXT: The Owls hit the road for the next six games over the next two weekends, taking on Memphis and UAB in three-game series before returning to Reckling Park on May 2 to host Charlotte.
HOT LINKS
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: Sidearm
FIRST PITCHES: In addition to a first pitch thrown by a representative from Mid First Bank, the Owls will also welcome Joseph Elam back to Reckling Park some 48 hours after he became a viral sensation as he removed a beehive that had developed on the ledge of the USF dugout prior to Sunday's game. Elam is the owner of Bee Removal of Houston and was summoned to the field to clear the hive to allow the final game of the series to be played, and play was only delayed by 11 minutes. His method of removing the hive with his bare hands and without any other protective clothing was featured on a number of ESPN's daytime programs on Monday.
ON THE AIR: Jason Metko will have the call on RiceOwls.com and the Varsity Network app on Friday, while J.P. Heath and Kyle Rogers will have the call on ESPN+.
WEEKEND NOTES: After losing the opener to South Florida 14-3 in seven innings on Friday, Rice returned the favor to the Bulls on Saturday with a 15-4 win in seven innings and then took the series with a 5-3 win on Sunday. The win in seven innings on Saturday marked the first time the Owls had run-ruled a conference opponent at home since a 10-0 win over Middle Tennessee on 4/5/15. Blaine Brown's walk-off grand slam to end the game was the first walk-off slam by an Owl since Craig Manuel in 2012 and his six RBI in the game were the most by an Owl since Justin Collins drove in six exactly six years early to the date vs. Charlotte. The series win was the first for the Owls this year, but their second in as many seasons against South Florida. The Owls hit an even .400 over the weekend with runners in scoring position, compared with a .244 average coming into the weekend.
HONORED: Hiram Bocachica was named to the AAC Honor Roll after posting a 1.433 OPS in four games last week. Bocachica slugged .900 last week, with two homers and six RBI, also scored six runs and had an on-base percentage of .533. He twice matched his career-high for RBI, driving in three vs. Houston on April 8 and South Florida on April 12. Prior to the weekend, reliever Jack Ben-Shoshan and Jamie Arnold of Florida State were named Driveline Baseball's pitchers of the week. Ben-Shoshan was honored for his previous week's work including a save at Sam Houston in which he struck out a career-high nine.
SILVER GLOVE SERIES: Rice and Houston began competing for the Silver Glove in 1998, and Rice has won the series in 18 of the 28 seasons while posting a 62-39 record. The series has seen 36 of the 101 games decided by two runs or less, with Rice holding a 22-14 advantage. There have been 14 Silver Glove shutouts (Rice 9, Houston 4) with the most recent a 1-0 Cougar win at home on 4/10/18. After Houston left Conference USA prior to 2014, the three-game series had been played with home games on each campus and the final game at Constellation Field through 2019. The series returned solely to each campus in 2022 when the Houston Astros purchased the Sugarland Skeeters franchise to use as the home base for their Triple-A team.
UP NEXT: The Owls hit the road for the next six games over the next two weekends, taking on Memphis and UAB in three-game series before returning to Reckling Park on May 2 to host Charlotte.
Players Mentioned
RHP
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LHP/OF
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