#17 DBU (31-10, 15-3 C-USA) vs. RICE (17-23, 7-11 C-USA)
April 28-30 | Houston, TX | Reckling Park
 
DBU GAME NOTES - (PDF)

MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
Live Video: CUSA.tv
Live Audio: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Twitter: @DBU_Baseball
Facebook: DBU Baseball
 
DBU BASEBALL ON THE AIR
Join Brendan Smith and Reagan Ratcliff on the Patriot Broadcasting Network for all the live play-by-play action for this weekend's showdown with the Owls.
 
The PBN crew will break down the Patriots' matchup with Rice approximately 30 minutes prior to first pitch on The Warm-Up Show. Fans will have the opportunity to listen to interviews with DBU coaches and players ahead of game time.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday
DBU: RHP Ryan Johnson (5-2 W-L, 2.72 ERA, 56.1 IP, 12 BB, 80 K)
vs.
RU: RHP Parker Smith (2-2 W-L, 1.89 ERA, 62.0 IP, 15 BB, 65 K)
 
Saturday
DBU: RHP Braxton Bragg (5-1 W-L, 3.78 ERA, 52.1 IP, 14 BB, 58 K)
vs.
RU: LHP J.D. McCracken (1-3 W-L, 5.68 ERA, 44.1 IP, 22 BB, 32 K)
 
Sunday
DBU: RHP Zach Heaton (3-1 W-L, 2.82 ERA, 38.1 IP, 16 BB, 32 K)
vs.
RU: TBA
 
PATRIOT STORYLINES
- The Patriots had their program-record 14-game win streak snapped on Tuesday with a 5-8 loss to TCU.
- DBU owns the nation's No. 15 RPI according to D1Baseball.com, the best of any team in the state of Texas.
- The Patriots have a 0.5-game lead over UTSA for first place in Conference USA.
- Jace Grady was named the C-USA Hitter of the Week on Monday. Grady hit .533 (8-15) last week with three home runs, eight RBI, and a 1.267 slugging percentage.
- Kyle Amendt was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List on Wednesday. Amendt ranks fifth in saves (9) nationally and has not allowed a run in 10 consecutive outings (10.2 innings).
- Ryan Johnson leads C-USA in strikeouts with 80, a mark that also ranks as the 11th-most in the nation. He is 10 punchouts away from tying Cory Taylor (2014) for the 10th-most strikeouts in a single-season in program history.
- DBU's pitching staff ranks in the top 25 nationally in four categories including No. 7 in strikeouts per 9 innings (11.1) and No. 20 in ERA (3.97), hits allowed per nine innings (7.87), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.71).
- The Patriot bats are first in C-USA in doubles (90), home runs (63), and slugging percentage (.503). The offense also gets on base at the second-highest clip in the league (.389).
- Ethan Mann leads C-USA in RBI (51) and his 12 home runs are fourth-most in the league.
- DBU's 86 stolen bases are 17th-most in the nation. The Patriots are on pace to break the school's single-season record held by the 2004 team that swiped 113 bags.
 
SCOUTING RICE
- Rice took one of three games from Middle Tennessee over the weekend. They did not play a midweek game this week.
- The Owls are in the midst of a 14-game stretch where they have gone 3-11.
- Rice is in a three-way tie with Florida Atlantic and Western Kentucky for sixth place in the C-USA standings.
- As a squad, the Owls have a .242 batting average and a 5.42 ERA.
- Parker Smith owns the 12th-best ERA in the country (1.89) along with Conference USA's third-best WHIP (1.03) and total number of strikeouts (65).
- Pierce Gallo (.313 batting average) is the lone hitter on the roster hitting above .300.
- Manny Garza is the conference's fifth-most difficult hitter to punch out, seeing strike three once every 8.9 at-bats.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Rice leads the all-time series against DBU, 24-11. The Patriots are 6-7 against the Owls in DBU's Division I era dating back to 2004. This weekend marks the first meeting against Rice since Febuary, 21, 2017, when DBU defeated Rice, 8-4, at Reckling Park.

ON DECK
After their series with Rice, the Patriots will return to Dallas for a five-game home stand starting with a match against Oklahoma on Tuesday at 6:30 pm.