Rice baseball returns home to face Missouri State. The Owls are seeking their first series win of the season. Here’s how both teams stack up.
The final weekend of nonconference play for Rice baseball poses the biggest challenge of their season to date. The hot and cold Owls will take on No. 5 Texas Tech in their own ballpark for a three game series this coming weekend. A series win over Missouri State was a good first step. Taking a game or more from a College World Series perennial like Texas Tech would be an impressive statement prior to Conference USA play.
Game Notes
Times: Friday 6:30 p.m. | Saturday 2:00 p.m. | Sunday 11:30 a.m.
Venue: Rip Griffin Park
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: Friday and Saturday on Tech TV ($), Sunday on FSSW+
How each team fared this week
Rice baseball (2-10) won their first series of the season last weekend, taking two of three games from visiting Missouri State. The Owls then lost both of their midweek games, the first to Louisiana and the next to Houston.
Texas Tech (13-1) has won nine games in a row. They beat FAU last Friday before taking two games from Florida State over the weekend. They pummeled UNLV by a combined score of 22-5 in two midweek games.
Projected Pitching Matchups
Friday | Alex DeLeon (1-2, 9.82) vs Clayton Beeter (1-1, 3.00)
Saturday |Blake Brogdon (0-3, 4.60) vs Bryce Bonnin (2-0, 4.15)
Sunday | Drake Greenwood (0-1, 4.09) vs Austin Becker (1-0, 4.38)
Texas Tech Pitching
The bullpen has been the strongest part of the Texas Tech pitching staff. Micah Dallas and Hunter Dobbins have mowed through opposing batters at a remarkable pace. Those two have combined for 35 strikeouts in 23.2 innings, allowing just three runs and three extra base hits over that time. Jakob Brustoski has a 0.00 ERA and a 0.500 WHIP with 11 punchouts.
On the starting front, things are a bit rockier. Staff ace Clayton Beeter has been good outside of a start against Tennessee, Texas Tech’s only loss of the season. The rest of the rotation has struggled to get past the fifth inning. The deep bullpen has helped, but eventually the starters are going to have to carry more of the load.
Texas Tech Hitting
The Tech offense has been dynamite. Second baseman Brian Klein is hitting .431 with nine doubles in 14 games. He’s one of six every day players batting better than .300 for the Red Raiders. The rest of the lineup is nearly just as potent. Only one player with at least 10 plate appearances has a batting average below .270. Catcher Nate Rombach is slugging .787.
