Rice Pitchers up for Clemens Award

Roger freakin' Clemens, y'all. Don't even get us started. But even if you want to call him a traitor, you gotta admit the man can pitch, and so can the guys up for the award named after him, the Clemens Award, which is presented annually to the top pitcher in college baseball.

Three Rice students are on the official watch-list for the award this year. ESPN Top-100 prospect Joe Savery (with a record of 6-1 and an ERA of 2.01) is the ace of the #2 ranked Owls, though only a junior. The Lamar High grad, who you might remember from his profile in the Press a few months ago, is also among Conference USA leaders in batting average and also serves as a first baseman.

Cole St. Clair, the Owls dominant closer, also appears on the award's shortlist. Though injured earlier this season, St. Clair has returned to form in recent games, striking out more than ten batters per nine innings of work. He has three saves thusfar this season, and has held opponents to a .167 batting average.

The final Rice pitcher on the list is freshman phenom Ryan Berry, whose record stands at 7-2. He boasts a 2.55 ERA and has struck out 81 batters in 81.1 innings of work. The watchlist for the award consists of everyone named pre-season All American, as well as anyone honored as National Pitcher of the Week by college baseball organizations.

The award will be presented at a gala dinner in Houston, and will be determined by votes from all Division I baseball coaches, including Rice's Wayne Graham. The award, which was first presented in 2004, has never gone to a Rice pitcher, although Rice boasted a finalist last year in starter Eddie Degarman, now in the Cardinals organization. First round draftpick pitchers Wayne Townsend (Baltimore Orioles draft pick), Phillip Humber (who has seen action in the big leages with the Mets this year), and Jeff Neimann (with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays) were all nominated for the award in 2004, the year they became the first trio of pitchers to all be drafted from one school in the first round.

We'll let you know what happens when the award's presented in July: in the meantime, go catch a Rice Owls baseball game at Reckling Park!