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Rice Team Capsule
Posted: Fri June 11, 1999 at 12:37 p.m. EDT
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Coach: Wayne Graham
Nickname: Owls
Record: 58-13
Conference: Western Athletic
Location: Houston, Texas
Enrollment: 2,600
NCAA Tournament Region and Seed: Lubbock, 1
College World Series appearance: 2nd
National Championships: none
Last CWS appearance: 1997
1999 NCAA Tournament Results
Regional: Lost to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 8-4
Beat Rutgers, 6-1
Beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 27-1
Beat Texas Tech, 3-1
Beat Texas Tech, 15-11
Super Regional: Lost to Southwestern Louisiana, 12-8
Beat Southwestern Louisiana, 10-1
Beat Southwestern Louisiana, 8-3
Probable Starting Lineup
C -- Zane Curry (.291, 1 HR, 31 RBI)
1B -- Jacob Baker (.322, 5, 49)
2B -- Brett Smith (.301, 8, 48)
SS -- Damon Thames (.377, 9, 68)
3B -- Matt Fox (.315, 2, 31)
LF -- Charles Williams (.368, 7, 49)
CF -- Jason Gray (.327, 19, 71)
RF -- Will Ford (.403, 11, 70)
DH -- Justin Berg (.315, 3, 48)
SP -- Jeff Nichols (15-3, 4.94 ERA)
SP -- Mario Ramos (13-2, 2.42)
SP -- Kenny Baugh (11-2, 2.25)
RP -- Jesse Kurtz-Nicholl (8 saves, 2.54)
OUTLOOK: No. 8 national seed. Barely reached Omaha. Lost its
first game of both the Regional and Super Regional. The Owls
score runs, plain and simple. They set a school record for hits
en route to a school-record 58 wins and a third straight WAC
title. The lineup is deep and experienced, with three seniors
among the starting nine -- a rarity for college baseball. 1B
Jacob Baker, C Zane Curry and DH Justin Berg form the nucleus,
but CF Jason Gray is the star, having compiled 19 homers and 71
RBI. SS Damon Thames is Rice's all-time leader with a .400
batting average. He leads this year's squad in hits (114), runs
(83) and doubles (24). Ford and Berg bring seven-game hitting
streaks into the CWS. Berg shares the catching duties with Zane
Curry, who is batting .291 and has made five errors in 61 games.
The team also has speed, having accumulated 36 triples, the
highest season total in school history. The Owls had 10 players
selected in the 1999 draft. OF Charles Williams was the highest
pick, going in the fifth round, 162nd overall, to the St. Louis
Cardinals. He is tied with Gray for the team lead with eight
triples. RHs Jeff Nichols and Kenny Baugh and LH Mario Ramos are
the key starters, while senior LH Jesse Kurtz-Nicholl, who also
doubles as an outfielder, is a stabilizing force in the bullpen.
Baugh, Ramos, Kurtz-Nicholl, LH Peter Terrana and RH Marc Gwyn
all have ERAs below 3.00. Ramos has struck out 142 batters in
148 2/3 innings. Nichols has started 55 games in is career,
equaling Ron howard (1988-91) for the most in program history.
© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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