Houston Regional: Rice cruises past Alcorn State 14-2

Houston, TX -- By the sixth inning, Rice lefthander Abe Gonzales made up his mind to finish what he started. The top-seeded Owls backed up Gonzales’ first career complete game with season-high 22 hits on the way to a 14-2 victory over fourth-seeded Alcorn State at the Houston Regional.

“I didn’t ever think about not going the whole game,” Gonzales said. “I felt like that’s what I should do, I felt like that’s what I could do and it was time to do it.”

Rice will play second-seeded Baylor in a winner’s bracket game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Reckling Park. The Bears beat California 6-4 in the regional opener.

Gonzales held the Braves to a pair runs while keeping the nation’s third-best base-stealing team off the base paths. He allowed seven hits, did not walk a batter and kept coach Wayne Graham from having to use his bullpen early in the four-team, double-elimination tournament. The previous career-high for Gonzales was 6 2/3 innings against East Carolina earlier this season.

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Alcorn State conjures visions of upset by TSU

Graham sees cause for Rice to be on alert

Houston, TX - When the regional pairings were announced for the NCAA baseball tournament, the Rice Owls already had a head-start on scouting reports. "They're not going to surprise us, that's for sure," Rice coach Wayne Graham said of No. 2 seed Baylor and No. 3 seed California being placed in the Houston Regional. "They've already beaten us."

Familiarity and a touch of don't-remind-us history will offer plenty of incentives why the top-seeded Owls can't overlook or underestimate the field in the four-team, double-elimination regional that begins Friday at Reckling Park.

The Owls, the No. 8 national seed, open the regional against fourth-seeded Alcorn State. The appearance of the Southwestern Athletic Conference champion offers another reminder of how quickly things can go awry in the postseason. In 2004, the Owls were the defending national champions and No. 6 national seed heading into the regional opener against Texas Southern.

HOUSTON REGIONAL
Reckling Park, Houston (Host: Rice)

No. 1 Rice (41-19, 16-8 in C-USA)
17th appearance (17 straight), automatic, Conference USA regular-season co-champion and tournament champion, No. 8 national seed

No. 2 Baylor (29-26, 13-14 in Big 12)
17th appearance (third straight), at-large, sixth place in Big 12 Conference

No. 3 California (31-20, 13-13 in Pac-10)
12th appearance (second straight), at-large, sixth place in Pacific-10 Conference

No. 4 Alcorn State (27-28, 19-4 in SWAC)
First appearance, automatic, Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion

Rice's young pitching staff was thrown into the fire immediately during the Owls' challenging nonconference schedule, as ballyhooed freshmen righthanders Austin Kubitza (6-4, 2.33) and John Simms (3-2, 3.32) each took turns in the weekend rotation when the Owls opened against Stanford. Those young power arms matured in conference play, helping lead the Owls to a share of their fifth CUSA title in the six seasons since they joined the league, as well as their fourth CUSA tournament title.

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NCAA: Alcorn State to Face Rice in Houston Regional

Lorman, MS - The Alcorn State Braves will face Rice University Friday at 6PM at Reckling Park on the campus of Rice, in Houston, Texas in one of many NCAA Regionals.

The Braves, making their first NCAA baseball appearance, will enter with a 27-28 overall record. Conference USA winner Rice enters with a 41-19 record and are ranked 8th nationally.

ASU, winners of the SWAC tournament, were primed to play in the state of Mississippi. Southern Mississippi didn't get a Regional host birth, however, and are meeting rival Mississippi State in the Atlanta Regional Friday.

Junior pitcher Steve Easter of Chicago, the SWAC leader in wins with eight, says that it doesn't really matter where the Braves are sent:" I had no preference but there were several projected sites. I and we are just happy to be going anywhere."

Easter doesn't know if he will start Friday, but would be ready: "I hadn't really thought about it, but it would really be big to start. As long as I would keep my pitches down and the defense works for me we'd be okay." Easter knows nothing about the Owl lineup, but may by Friday: "I don't know anything about them, but I have faced a couple of their players before. They are always good and them winning their conference says it all. That's all I need to know about them."

The other teams in the Houston Regional are Baylor at 29-26 and California at
31-20. They meet at 3PM Friday.

Should ASU win Friday, they would play at 6PM Saturday. Should they lose they would play at 2PM Saturday.

Games will be broadcast back to Mississippi on WPRL 91.7 FM.

By Alcorn State Athletics
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