No. 14 Rice Next
3/8/2011 10:47:00 AM | Baseball
First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.
Sam Houston brings a 10-2 season mark into the contest while Rice stands 8-5 for the year. The Bearkats have gone 4-0 in tournament play on back-to-back weekends, rolling up victories over Nebraska, Michigan, Massachusetts and Northern Colorado.
Third baseman Ryan Mooney (.489), outfielders Greg Olson (.444) and Mark Hudson (.378), first baseman Chris Andreas (.378) and shortstop Braeden Riley (.346) are leading a Bearkat lineup that has produced a .336 team batting average and totaled 94 runs in the team's 12 games.
Cody Dickson (2-0, 5.87 earned run average) will draw the starting assignment on the mound for Sam Houston. The Bearkat pitching staff has limited opponents to a .219 batting average and produced a 2.83 earned run average.
Rice ranks as the number two "winningest" NCAA Division I baseball program since 2000. During the 21st century only Florida State (with 552 total victories) has won more games than the Owls (534 wins).
The Owls escaped Huntsville with an 8-7 win over the Bearkats last year. In 2009, Sam Houston won 8-6 in Huntsville but lost to the Owls 9-3 in their regular season meeting at Reckling and 5-2 at Rice in the NCAA tournament.
Next action for the Bearkat baseball team following Tuesday's game in Houston will be Sam Houston's 2011 opening Southland Conference series.
SHSU will play host to UT-Arlington in a three-game series this weekend. Game times at Don Sanders Stadium on 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 11, 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 12 and 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 13.
Tickets for all Sam Houston baseball home games at Don Sanders Stadium are on sale online now at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
