Rice baseball is out for revenge against a Texas State team who shut the Owls out earlier in the season. Can they even the season series at 1-1?
It’s been a long time since March 1 for both of these teams. That date marked the first of three scheduling meeting between Rice and Texas State this season with the Bobcats winning 1-0 at the Shriner’s Classic at Minute Maid Park.
The second edition promises to look much different. For one thing, the Owls seemed to have found their bats, scoring 48 runs in the seven games following their goose egg against Texas State. Second, neither team will have their ace on the mound during this Wednesday affair.
When and Where
- Wed., March 13 at 6:30 p.m. CT
- Watch: CUSA TV
- Listen: Stretch Radio
Pitching matchups
Kel Bordwine could have been in line to start Wednesday, but the sophomore came in out of the bullpen in Tuesday’s win over Lamar. If Coach Bragga sticks with the status quo, Missouri transfer Drake Greenwood could be next in line. Given how Greenwood and the rest of the pitching depth has performed to this point, a wildcard like Ben Content or someone else could also be in play.
Garrett Herman (1-0) should be the man on the bump for the visiting team. The junior righty has two starts on the season, throwing nine innings and allowing eight hits, four runs and three walks while striking out six. That’s much more manageable for Rice than the seven innings of one-hit ball from Nicholas Fraze they faced earlier in the year.
Names to know from the plate
It’ll be the same suspects at the plate which Rice saw a few weeks ago. Will Hollis, who drove in the only run of the first meeting, has stayed hot at the plate. He’s hitting .364 this season with a team-high five doubles and 12 RBI.
Beyond Hollis, Jaylen Hubbard (.375 average) and Jaxon Williams (.339) continue to be key cogs in the Texas State offense. There has been a fair amount of shuffling at the bottom of the order so far. The Bobcats have five players who have appeared in at least 10 games with a batting average below .160. We could be in for another pitchers dual on Wednesday.
ON DECK | at FAU (Fri-Sun)
