Meet The Owls R MEET THE OWLS ! 2009 RICE OWLS BASEBALL 29 R Meet The Owls Collegiate Baseball/Third Team)... Conference USA Freshman of the Year/ All-Freshman Team... All C-USA (First Team)... All-Silver Glove Series... Andrew Whataburger College Classic All-Tournament Team... Minute Maid Park 30 All-Tournament Team... National Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 10)... Led Benak C-USA in strikeouts (125), innings (122.2) and starts (20)... Shared the team P w R/R and conference lead in wins (11, with eventual MLB first round draft pick 6-5 w 215 w Fr.-HS Joe Savery)... Finished among the NCAA leaders in strikeouts (14th) and Houston wins (tied for 16th)... Tied the most wins recorded in a single season by a Rice freshman in school history (set by eventual major league pitchers (Langham Creek) Matt Anderson in 1995 and Philip Humber in 2002)... Among C-USA leaders in ERA (3.01) and opponents’ batting average (.248)... Averaged 8.2 hits and ”beh-NOCK” 2.5 walks allowed, with 9.2 strikeouts per 9.0 innings... Averaged 6.0 innings Big right-hander who continues to improve as he evolves into a full- per start... Threw seven-plus innings nine times, including a nine-inning time pitcher... Great upside. complete game win against Marshall... The complete game effort was the Wayne Graham said — “Andrew pitched well in the fall. If he keeps first by a Rice pitcher since Josh Geer in June 2005... Pitched 7.1 innings getting stronger he could pitch himself into a serious role in the spring.” in the Super Regional opener against sixth-ranked Texas A&M, allowing High School — A 2008 graduate of Langham Creek High School in the just two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out 10... Fanned 10 northwest Houston area... Led the Lobos to a 22-6 record and a bi-district or more in a game four times... Struck out a career-high 12 batters on the title as a senior... Earned honorable mention all-District 17-5A honors at road against an East Carolina team that won 40 games and advanced to a first base... Served as team captain... Played in the both the city and state regional... Struck out 11 against Big 12 foe Texas Tech... Won the winner’s versions of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) all-star bracket start in the Regional against 16th-ranked TCU, where he scattered games as a junior in 2007... Helped the 2007 LCHS squad to a 17-1 record six hits and a walk while striking out seven in 6.1 frames... Went 1-1 and and Top 15 national ranking... Coached by Armando Sedeno. struck out 23 batters in a combined 20.0 innings in the NCAA Tournament... Personal — Full Name: Andrew Franklin Benak. Born Jan. 31, 1990 in Started and won regular season games against regional-bound teams Houston. Parents: Dan and Sandy Benak of Houston (one sister). Grand- East Carolina, Baylor, Long Beach State, Memphis and TCU... Also faced father, Jerry Sims, was a three-year baseball letterman at Rice (1956-58) eventual regional teams Cal State Fullerton, Texas, Nebraska, Southern who helped lead his Owl team to the program’s first winning record in Miss and Sam Houston State... Pitched 50.2 innings against ranked teams more than 30 years. College: Lovett. and recorded 56 strikeouts... Went 6-2 with a 2.30 ERA in C-USA starts... Made only three relief appearances all season: his Division I debut on Ryan Berry 28 P w R/R 6-1 w 195 w Jr.-2L Humble (Humble HS) Possesses pitching acumen with the arm to match... Enters third season as the Owls’ opening-game pitcher of weekend series... Honored as the Houston area preseason college player of the year by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers of America. Wayne Graham said — “Obviously one of the better starting pitchers in college baseball. We expect big things.” At Rice — 2008: All-Conference USA (First Team)... Houston College Classic All-Tournament Team... Was invited to the 2008 Team USA national trials upon his return from the College World Series... Led the team and was among the best in the conference in starts (16), innings pitched (104.0) and strikeouts (86)... Averaged a steady 6.1 innings per start... Opposing hitters batted a composite .259 against him... Averaged 7.4 strikeouts per 9.0 innings... Struck out a career-high 13 in 8.1 innings against C-USA foe Southern Miss, a team that went on to play in the NCAA Tournament... Started on opening day for the Owls on the road against nationally-ranked Long Beach State... Fired a complete game, three-hit shutout on the road at Memphis... Blanked nationally-ranked Tulane for 8.0 innings before leav- ing with a comfortable lead... Also notched wins over Oklahoma, Houston and East Carolina... Pitched a total of 62 innings against NCAA Tourna- ment teams, posting a 5-3 record and 3.34 ERA against that elite competi- tion... 2007: National Freshman Pitcher of the Year (Collegiate Baseball)... Ryan Berry has been the Owls’ series-opening starter in each of the past two years, All-America (American Baseball Coaches Association/Second Team; including the opening game in back-to-back trips to the College World Series. 30 2009 RICE OWLS BASEBALL Meet The Owls R opening day, a March road game at Texas, and the championship final of the C-USA Tournament... Did not allow an earned run and struck out eight in 6.2 innings working in relief. International — Gained valuable experience pitching for the United States national team over the summer against older, and often profession- al, players from all over the world... Went 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA in seven ap- pearances for Team USA, including the Pan American Games in Brazil and World Port Tournament in The Netherlands... Held the Japanese national team scoreless for 7.2 innings, allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out three... Fired a 7.0-inning complete game shutout against Chi- na for first international victory, scattering four hits and no walks while striking out seven... Also faced teams from Nicaragua, Brazil, The Neth- erlands and Chinese Taipei... Faced 129 batters and held all international opponents to a composite .202 batting average. High School — 2006 graduate of Humble High... Coached by David Sitton... Earned all-state honors as a pitcher... All-District 22-5A selection... Maintained a grade point average of 4.5. Personal — Full Name: Ryan Paul Berry. Born: Aug. 3, 1988, in Hous- ton. Parents: William and Lora Berry, Humble (two brothers and one sister). Major: civil engineering. Served as the defensive coordinator for Hanszen College’s powderpuff football team in the fall. College: Hanszen. Rice Statistics Year ERA W L App GS CG SHO CBO SV IP H R ER BB SO 2B 3B HR BF Avg WP HBP 2007 3.01 11 3 23 20 1 0 4 0 122.2 112 52 41 34 125 21 2 10 519 .248 6 16 2008 3.63 8 5 17 16 1 1 1 0 104.0 103 47 42 31 86 17 3 7 441 .259 6 4 Totals 3.30 19 8 40 36 2 1 5 0 226.2 215 99 83 65 211 38 5 17 960 .253 12 20 Game Highs 2008 Season Career 9.0, at Memphis, Apr.5 Innings Pitched 9.0, twice 13, Southern Miss, Mar.28 Strikeouts 13, Southern Miss, Mar.28, 2008 2, East Carolina, Apr.18 Wild Pitches 2, twice 1, four times Hit Batters 4 vs. North Carolina, J20, 2007 The offense got a boost when Jess Buenger returned to the lineup. RBI and three runs scored in the series-opener against UAB... Also had multi-hit games against Houston, Memphis and Creighton... Drew two or Jess more walks in a game three different times... Batted .345 with a home run 14 and a double in C-USA games (10-of-29)... Hit .310 with runners on base Buenger and .300 with men in scoring position... Made a season-high four defensive IF w S/R assists three different times... 2007: All-Silver Glove Series... Appeared in 5-11 w 190 w Sr.-2L 65 of the team’s 70 games... Made 55 starts for the No. 1 team in the coun- Bellville try, including 34 at second base, one at third base and 20 as the designated hitter... Batted in every spot in the order except leadoff... Hit a steady .306 (Texas A&M / Bellville HS) for the year and .307 against opponents that went on to play in the NCAA Tournament... Hit .286 (4-for-14) with four RBI, three runs, a pair of sacrifice ”BING-er” flies and a walk in first trip to the College World Series... Hit .300 in the Natural leader of high character... Excellent hitter from either side of NCAA Regional, including 3-for-4 with a double and a run against TCU in the plate who was slowed by an injury last season... Anxious to make a big the championship game... Hit .333 (7-for-21) at the C-USA Tournament and contribution in senior campaign. shared the team lead in runs scored (9)... Blasted two home runs, scored Wayne Graham said — “Jess is a quality Division I player and we five times and drove in a career-high four runs in the C-USA Tournament’s expect big things from him this spring, certainly with his bat in the lineup second semifinal game against Memphis to help send the Owls to the and possibly behind the plate.” championship finale..