Rice’s Graham earns 1,000th career win with Owls’ walkoff

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Wayne Graham stood on the top step of the dugout, pausing for a moment to enjoy the latest milestone in his Hall of Fame career.

Fittingly, the legendary Rice baseball coach who regularly preaches to his players about 'grinding it out' needed extra innings Tuesday night.

John Williamson delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning to send No. 15 Rice to a 4-3 win over Texas State for Graham's 1,000th Division I win at the school.

"A friend from high school said, 'You always do it the hard way, Wayne,' " Graham said. "That was the hard way."

The Owls twice rallied, erasing a 2-0 deficit in the first inning — aided by a pair of fielding errors — with two runs in the eighth and again in the 11th after falling behind 3-2.

In the bottom of the 11th, Leon Byrd drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on a single by Charlie Warren. Keenan Cook tied the game with a double to the right-field gap.

The next batter, Williamson, who was hitless in the his previous three at-bats, lined a fastball from Texas State righthander Dylan Bein down the right-field line.

Rice head coach Wayne Graham shakes hands with fans after receiving his 1000th career win during a NCAA baseball game against Texas State at Reckling Park on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014, in Houston. Rice head coach Wayne Graham shakes hands with fans after receiving his 1000th career win during a NCAA baseball game against Texas State at Reckling Park on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014, in Houston. Photo: J. Patric Schneider, For The Chronicle Photo: J. Patric Schneider, For The Chronicle Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close Rice’s Graham earns 1,000th career win with Owls’ walkoff 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

"To get the 1000th win in this fashion, it just goes along with Coach Graham's legacy," Cook said. "It's all about grinding it out. That's everything he preaches day in and day out."

A winning tradition

In his 23rd season at Rice, Graham has a career record 1,000-401, a .714 winning percentage that ranks fourth among active Division I coaches.

Graham has built Rice into a baseball powerhouse, guiding the Owls to 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and 18 consecutive conference championships. His crowning moment came in 2003 when the Owls beat Stanford for the national championship.

"He refuses to lose," Cook said. "It spreads to the whole locker room. It's awesome to have a leader you can trust no matter what."

After a near sweep at Stanford to begin the season, Graham said it was important for the Owls (3-1) to get the milestone out of the way early.

"I don't want that kind of pressure on the kids," he said.

Breaking through late

The Owls had plenty of pressure early on, committing a pair of errors that led to two unearned runs for Texas State (2-2) off Rice starter Chase McDowell in the first inning.

Meanwhile, the Owls struggled against Bobcats starter Tyler Davenport, who scattered three hits over six shutout innings.

Rice finally broke through in the eighth on RBI singles by Skyler Ewing and John Clay Reeves.

Ewing went 3-for-5 and is hitting .588 during the opening week of the season.

Jon Duplantier struck out six in four scoreless innings of relief. Zech Lemond picked up the win, allowing one run — on an RBI single by Tanner Hill to give Texas State a 3-2 lead in the top of the 11th — and striking out five in two innings.

Graham said he considered reaching 1,000 wins at Rice 'outlandish' since he didn't become head coach until 55 years old.

"But I'll take it," Graham said. "I'll really take it."