Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Travel to No. 4 Rice
3/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 24, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Fresno State (12-16) at No. 4 Rice (17-6)
Dates: March 26-28, 2004
First Pitch: 5 p.m./Noon/11 a.m.
Stadium: Reckling Park (3,500)
Location: Houston, Texas
Radio: KMJ AM 580
Series: Rice 21, FS 12
On Deck
Fresno State opens its 12th season in the Western Athletic Conference with a three-game tilt at No. 4 Rice this weekend ... Since 1976, the Bulldogs are 19-10 in conference openers including 7-4 in the WAC ... Marks the second time Fresno State has met Rice in its conference lid lifter in Houston (Feb. 25-27, 2000) ... First pitch on Friday is 5 p.m. PST with a 12 p.m. start on Saturday and 11 a.m start on Sunday ... KMJ AM 580 will air all three of this weekend's games with George Takata calling the play-by-play and Bulldog Baseball Hall of Famer Steve Hosey providing analysis ... Gametracker will also be available for all three games via Fresno State's official athletics website, gobulldogs.com ... Fresno State is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season ... The Bulldogs will play 10 of their next 13 games on the road with their lone respit coming next weekend when they play host to Louisiana Tech ... Bulldogs are also seeking their first series win of the season ... Have dropped their first six this year.
Fresno State vs. Rice
The Owls lead the all-time series 21-12 dating back to 1994 ... Fresno State recorded a pair of series opening victories against the Owls last year including a 7-3 win in Fresno (4/11/03) to snap a seven-game losing streak to Rice ... Fresno State sent 11 men to the plate and scored six times in the bottom of the eighth inning ... Also downed the Owls 2-1 in Houston ... Rice's Philip Humber suffered the loss in both contests ... Prior to that victory, the last time the Bulldogs were victorious was May 12, 2001 when they won their second straight over No.11 Rice, 11-5 ... Fresno State took the series opener 1-0 behind Nick Moran's complete game three-hit shutout ... Also marks the last time the Bulldogs won a series from their conference rival ... Fresno State swept a three-game series from Rice in Fresno in 1997 (2-1, 6-3, 2-1) ... Only time the Bulldogs have swept the Owls in the all-time series ... Fresno State took two of three at Rice to open conference play in 2001 (5-2, 9-5, 0-8) ... Is Fresno State's lone series win at Rice ... Mike Batesole is 2-4 all-time against the Owls.
Scouting the Owls
Defending national champion Rice enters the weekend with a 17-6 record including a 15-10 win over No. 10 Texas A&M Tuesday in College Station ... Chris Kolkhorst boasts a WAC-leading .388 batting average including a team high two home runs ... Team paces WAC with a .299 batting average ... Fresno State is second with a .296 clip ... Philip Humber and Wade Townsend have each registered four wins to compliment their stellar ERAs (Humber 1.45-1st WAC, Townsend 1.81 ERA-2nd) ... Wayne Graham is in his 13th season as head coach at Rice.
