Feb. 15, 2007

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Feb. 16 Game Tracker vs. Long Beach State
Feb. 17 Game Tracker vs. Long Beach State
Feb. 18 Game Tracker vs. Long Beach State
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Owls Continue Homestand With Weekend Series vs. Long Beach State
The Rice baseball team (3-3) continues its eight-game homestand on Friday, Feb. 16, with the first of a three-game weekend series against 20th-ranked Long Beach State. Game times with the Dirtbags at Reckling Park are 4 pm, 2 pm and 1 pm, respectively (all times central)... Tickets are available at the Rice Ticket Office or may be purchased on-line at the above link.

Broadcast Information • Friday & Sunday's games on 91.7 FM
Friday and Sunday's games of the Long Beach State series will be broadcast on the radio in the Houston area on KTRU (91.7 FM). Every Rice baseball game is broadcast around the world on the Internet. A direct link to the audio feed is provided above and on the baseball schedule page. Veteran broadcasters Matt McCabe, Dan Perez are mike-side for the Owls' baseball action this season.

Selected Home Games On OwlVision
A total of 21 selected home games at Reckling Park, including each of the three meetings against Long Beach State this weekend, are slated for a live broadcast on OwlVision. OwlVision is a subscription-based service which matches the play-by-play audio with a video feed to create a television-like broadcast on the Internet (either live or in an archived format). The service has proved to be very popular with fans and alumni living throughout the world. Information about the service and subscription prices are available at the above link.

National Ranking Update • Rice Holds Spot In Top Seven
The consensus No. 1 team in the country in the preseason, the Owls dropped in the polls after a 1-3 stretch from Feb. 6-11. In the latest polls, Rice is fourth in Rivals.com, sixth in both Collegiate Baseball and by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) and seventh in Baseball America. The USA Today/ESPN poll will be announced at a later time... The Owls had the preseason No. 1 ranking on the strength of seven starters returning to the regular lineup as well 11 experienced pitchers back in 2007. The newcomers making their Rice debut in 2007 were tabbed as among the best recruiting classes in the country by a host of baseball publications.

Head Coach Wayne Graham
Three-time national coach of the year and Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Graham (Texas, 1970) is in his 16th season at Rice. He is 687-273 with the Owls (423-93 at home, 204-142 in road games and 60-38 at neutral sites). His overall winning percentage is .716, the best in school history. Another way of looking at Graham's .716 win percentage is that it is the equivalent of a major league team winning 116 games in a single year... Graham's record against Long Beach State is 0-1 (0-1 home)... Under Graham, the Owls clinched another automatic postseason bid in 2006, making 12-straight seasons for Rice to earn an NCAA appearance. The 2003 bid culminated with the Owls' first national championship. Rice played in the 1994-95-96 Southwest Conference tournaments (winning the final league title in '96), won the 1997-98-99 WAC tournaments, shared the 2000 WAC title with San Jose State before winning the 2001-02-03-04-05 titles outright. He added the C-USA tournament championship in 2006 and advanced into the NCAA tournament in 1995-96-97-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-05-06... Graham was named the WAC coach of the year in 1998, '99, '02 and the co-coach of the year in '03. He was named the Keith LeClair C-USA Coach of the Year in 2006, his first year in the league... Rice has made five appearances in the NCAA College World Series under Graham (1997, '99, `02, `03, `06)... Graham has led the Owls to number-one rankings for seven weeks during the 1999 season, for six weeks during the '01 campaign, two weeks in '02, six weeks in 2003 (the last of which established some staying power), three weeks in 2004 and 12 weeks in 2006... Graham's San Jacinto Gators dominated the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., in the 1980s, winning five national titles in six years (1985-86-87, 89-90)... The Austin American-Statesman named Graham its SWC coach of the year in '95 after he led the Owls to their first NCAA tournament appearance... Collegiate Baseball was especially cognizant of Graham's efforts at San Jac. He was named the newspaper's coach of the decade for all levels in the 1980s after winning those five junior college national titles, and CB tabbed him the NJCAA coach of the century... One of the few current collegiate coaches to have played in the major leagues (N.Y. Mets in 1963, Philadelphia in 1964), Graham is aided by assistant coaches Mike Taylor (Prairie View A&M, 1997; seventh year), David Pierce (Houston, 1988; fifth year), Patrick Hallmark (Rice, 1995; second year)... Graham will coach at third base. Taylor will be at first base.

1,262 Career Wins For Graham
Wayne Graham owns 687 career wins at Rice, but he also has 1,262 victories when including his 11 years at San Jacinto North College where he won five national championships. Graham's collegiate record is 1,262-386 in a 26-year career that began in 1981.

Probable Rice Rotation
Wayne Graham announced the Owls' probable pitching rotation for the Long Beach State series is staying the same as a week ago. The Rice trio of Chris Kelley (Jr., RHP, 0-0, 1.23), Ryan Berry (Fr., RHP, 1-0, 0.00) and Joe Savery (Jr., LHP, 1-0, 0.00) returns in the same order this weekend after three solid outings at the Houston College Classic (Feb. 9-11). So far the three pitchers have combined to allow just one earned run in 22.1 innings while striking out 18.

Here's Who's Hot
Through six games junior outfielder Chad Lembeck is 7-for-21 (.333) with three RBI, three runs scored and a double. He enters the weekend with a four-game hitting streak... Senior catcher Travis Reagan is 3-for-7 (.429) with a home run... Though this space is normally reserved for the hitters, Rice's pitchers deserve a little shout-out. Through six games the staff has two shut outs and an ERA is 2.05. The Owls have held 191 hitters to a combined .215 batting average.

Previous Game • Owls Hang On To Clip UTSA Roadrunners, 4-3
With no shortage of late-inning drama, the Owls rallied from a two-run deficit, rode senior pitcher Ryne Tacker's sterling relief performance through the middle innings, and then hung-on for a 4-3 win over visiting Texas-San Antonio Feb. 13 at Reckling Park... Holding a narrow two-run lead in the top of the ninth with the bases-loaded and just one away, the Owls escaped with a one-run win. A wild pitch on a strikeout scored one to make it a 4-3 game with two away, but there were still two Roadrunners in scoring position. The next batter, UTSA's Michael Rockett, then hit a ground ball to the right side where junior first baseman Joe Savery recorded the final out of the game as hitter and fielder kicked up a cloud of dirt on a sprint to the bag... Rice moved to an even 3-3 on the season. UTSA dropped to 0-1 playing in its season-opener, but the Roadrunners were sharp from the start and jumped on the scoreboard for a run in the top of the first inning. Marshal Davis led off with a walk and he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Michael Rockett singled up the middle to drive Davis home for a 1-0 lead... The Roadrunners added a run in the third. Greg Sillivent and Rockett hit back-to-back singles and a Rice error in the outfield allowed both men to move up an extra 90 feet. Sillivent scored on a ground out to the right side to stretch the margin to 2-0... Rice came right back and tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Travis Reagan and Chad Lembeck collected infield hits and a walk to Brian Friday loaded the bases. Aaron Luna drew a walk to score one run and Jess Buenger was hit by a pitch to tie it, 2-2... In the fourth Jordan Dodson singled and advanced to second on a Reagan's sacrifice bunt. Rice ended up not needing to play small-ball because Tyler Henley followed with a two-run homer to right field that gave the Owls a 4-2 advantage... While the Rice offense regained the lead Tacker was already firmly in command on the mound. The senior right-hander came out of the bullpen in the top of the fourth and scattered six hits while posting a career-high nine strikeouts without any walks in a season-long 5.1 innings of work. The veteran from Benbrook earned his first win two years after sitting out all of last year with an injury. He reluctantly came out of the game in the ninth to a standing Reckling Park crowd of 2,046 that hadn't seen him pitch at home since 2005.

Berry Earns C-USA Pitcher Of The Week Award
True freshman Ryan Berry was named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 11, the league office announced from its headquarters in Dallas on Feb. 12 (Mon.). Berry fired 6.0 shutout innings against nationally-ranked Baylor on Feb. 10 for a convincing win in the first start of his NCAA career. He limited the Bears to three hits and a walk while striking out a team-high seven batters. The right-hander from Humble, Tex., held 21 hitters faced to a combined .220 batting average and just two advanced into scoring position. The University of Houston's Jimmy Cesario was named the C-USA Hitter of the Week. Cesario went 8-for-12 (.750) with three walks, a double and a home run while scoring three times.

All-America Owls
A number of Owls have been piling up individual honors in the preseason. The Rice junior foursome of Cole St.Clair, Joe Savery, Brian Friday and Tyler Henley have appeared on the major preseason all-America listings.
• St.Clair, a left-handed relief pitcher, was named a first team preseason all-America by Collegiate Baseball, Rivals.com and the NCBWA. He is a third team preseason all-America by Baseball America. In 2006 St.Clair was among the NCAA leaders and nearly tied the Rice single season school record with 11 saves. He went 7-2 on the mound and maintained a 1.82 ERA in 74.1 innings of work, holding 258 batters faced to a composite .151 batting average. After the college season he was selected to represent his country and pitch for the United States national team over the summer. He went 4-0 with three saves and he compiled an 0.69 ERA in 26 innings for Team USA against various international opponents who are often professional players back in their native countries. Rice is awaiting his first appearance of 2007.
• Savery, a left-handed pitcher and first baseman, was tabbed as a first team preseason all-America selection by Baseball America and second team honoree by Collegiate Baseball, Rivals.com and the NCBWA. The versatile Savery posted another sensational season on both sides of the ball in 2006. The standout from nearby Lamar High School was the most valuable player of the C-USA Tournament and an all-regional selection who batted .335 with nine home runs and 66 RBI in 69 games. In 11 starts on the mound Savery posted a 5-1 record and a 2.76 ERA in 62 innings. He held a total of 229 batters faced to a composite .240 batting average.
• Friday was named a second team preseason all-America at shortstop by Rivals.com and third team honoree by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA. The Houston native from Bellaire Episcopal High School led the Blue & Gray and finished among the C-USA's best in batting average (.353), hits (95), doubles (22), runs scored (66), total bases (150), on-base percentage (.437) and stolen bases (17). He is one of three Owls to start all 70 games and his defense up the middle was just as steady as the 20-game hitting streak he had during the year.
• Henley led Conference USA in runs (74), doubles (26), triples (7) and total bases (156) and he finished among the C-USA leaders in hits (92), RBI (54), at bats (274), hit-by-pitch (20). He batted .385 in 10 games played in the NCAA Tournament, going 15-for-39 with six doubles and a home run for a postseason slugging percentage of .615.

The C-USA Favorites
With the junior tandem of pitcher/first baseman Joe Savery and pitcher Cole St.Clair selected as the 2007 preseason Conference USA player and pitcher of the year (respectively) the Rice baseball team has been picked as the unanimous C-USA favorite in the annual preseason coaches' poll... The Owls garnered all nine first place votes from the league's nine head coaches. The Blue & Gray placed a league-high five members on the preseason all-conference team. In addition to Savery and St. Clair, shortstop Brian Friday and outfielders Tyler Henley and Aaron Luna earned All-C-USA recognition. The top five predicted order of finish in the conference was...
Rice (9)
Tulane
Houston
Southern Miss
East Carolina
(first place votes in parentheses)

Player of the Year
Joe Savery, Rice (Jr., p/1b)

Pitcher of the Year
Cole St.Clair, Rice (Jr., p)

Preseason All-Conference USA Team
P: Ricky Hargrove, Jr., Houston
P: Sean Morgan, Jr., Tulane
P: Joe Savery, Jr., Rice
P: Cole St.Clair, Jr., Rice
RP: Daniel Latham, Sr., Tulane
C: Luis Flores, So., Houston
IF: Adam Amar, Sr., Memphis
IF: Brad Emaus, Jr., Tulane
IF: Brian Friday, Jr., Rice
IF: Trey Sutton, Jr., Southern Miss
OF: K.K. Chalmers, Jr., Memphis
OF: Tyler Henley, Jr., Rice
OF: Aaron Luna, So., Rice
OF: Warren McFadden, So., Tulane
DH/UT: Brendan Murphy, Sr., Marshall

Henley Streaking In Centerfield
Junior centerfielder Tyler Henley has been a fixture in the starting lineup the past two years for one of the top collegiate teams in the country. With six starts this season, Henley has now made 136-consecutive starts and 125 of those have been as the Owls' leadoff hitter (91.9 percent). When leading off an inning over the last two years, the standout from Colleyville, Tex., has reached base an eye-opening 45.2 percent of the time. That is not a good way for the opposing defense to start an inning. Henley has scored 146 runs during his 136-game starting streak.

Cooled By A Draft
Five Rice players were selected in the first 11 rounds of the 2006 Major League Baseball amateur draft, and seven Owls were drafted overall. The top five signed and joined the professional ranks but two, senior Ryne Tacker and junior Tyler Henley, returned for the 2007 season. Tacker was selected in the 49th round by the Seattle Mariners even though he did not pitch last year. Henley was selected in the 50th round by the Houston Astros even though he was just a sophomore. Josh Rodriguez (57th pick overall, Cleveland Indians), Bryce Cox (third round, Boston) Eddie Degerman (fourth, St. Louis), Greg Buchanan (ninth, Houston) and Craig Crow (11th, Texas) were the five draftees who signed.

Quick On The Opposition
Long Beach State (4-2) moved into a Top 20 ranking this week for a good reason. The Dirtbags are one of the hottest teams in the nation after taking two-of-three games from the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns (Feb. 9-11) and two-of-three from Pac-10 power USC in the opening weekend of the season. LBSU was on its way to another potential win (vs. nationally-ranked Pepperdine on Feb. 6) when that game was suspended. That contest will be resumed on April 10... In the only previous meeting between the two schools (Feb. 18, 2006), Long Beach State defeated Rice 4-1 at Reckling Park as part of tournament action at the Coca-Cola Classic.